I'm buying farm direct from a local farmer who sells from their front door at the farm. They have everything in fridges and freezers ready to go. They take cash.
Damned tasty, top quality, organic, and cheaper than the grocery store. Beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.
We just have to drive out to the farm to get it. Currently I don't even have to go there, as someone else is doing that and delivering my order right to my front door. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Eating like a king:)
How do you find farmers doing that? There's an endless spread of farmland about 1/3mile away from me and I'd like to take advantage of that.
I met mine through a local co-op person in town who was already buying there for years. Farming and co-op business goes hand in hand.
After that I'd say the local Saturday morning farmer's market is the best spot to find the smaller local vendors. A farm is a big financial venture, with or without the retail store front. They have the same concern as every other business, with sales being foremost in their mind. Any vendor selling in a farmers market is willing to deal with the consumers directly, so, they may also be willing to sell to you at the farm itself. You gotta talk to them about it. They may only sell at the weekend markets for logistical reasons.
Not all farmers are willing to sell to end consumers. I'd say most are probably not willing to do that. Running a retail aspect means having someone on staff available to deal with customers during regular retail hours. That's a pain in the ass, believe me. It's worth doing when you have enough regular customers. Otherwise dealing this way means you probably have to call ahead to set up a time to drop by. Asking them to reschedule their day so they can just make $30 or $40 in profits isn't doing them any favors. They have to streamline their time.
So, it may not be exactly easy to find a cooperative local farmer selling this way, but they are out there, and it's a great way to buy great food.
I'd say it's worth going the extra mile to find one. It certainly has been for me.
Guess I'll be looking into a chest freezer soon then.
when i was growing up we had apple trees and made cider with the local boy scouts, a raspberry bramble, mint grew right by the downspouts, rhubarb, and a garden every year, and there was a cattle ranch on my paper route and my dad hunted
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