These Angus/Simmental steer are humanely raised on pasture in the spring and summer and fed hay in the winter. In the last few months of finishing they are grain fed for a quality marbling. They would grade out as choice or better but are ungraded and are inspected by the State of Wisconsin.

A side (half) of a steer hangs at about 350 pounds. You can order a full side (aka half), a quarter (aka half of a side) or a split quarter. That means that you can custom order any cut of beef from a side regardless of it being a full side or a split quarter. The online order sheet will walk you through what your choices are. You can also ask for bones and offal back as desired.

Beef prices start at $3.50 per pound hanging weight with processing costs included (smoking/stuffing is extra if requested). All prices include processing and are current as of March 2020. A side of Beef (half) is $3.50 per hanging pound. A quarter or split quarter is $3.75 per hanging pound. An 1/8 must be ordered with another customer to fill a quarter. 1/8 orders are $4 per hanging pound.

Deposits are required. An online link will be sent to you to process your cutting order.

Once the hanging weight is received your balance is due before your meat is released for pick up. Pick up at is Roskom in Kaukauna when called. Expect about 2 weeks from your cut date (always on Wednesdays) to pick up dates. This allows for proper cooling and hanging time for tender beef.

 

To learn about buying bulk meat click here.

Our pork is a heritage breed called Red Waddle. We also have Berkshire crossed with Red Waddle. These pigs are fed hay and corn mash for a wonderful marbling. The taste is amazing compared to factory pork.

 

To learn about buying bulk meat click here.

We raise laying hens TRULY free range, truly free range. You will see our flock in our yard, pasture, the neighbors yards and in the woods. They eat mostly grasses, seeds, bugs and worms in the spring and summer then move more toward our own custom soy free feed as the seasons get colder.

 

In the winter they don’t go out of their 20 ft x 30 coop much. They have full spectrum LED lights and heated water to keep they producing. You may find two or more ultra bright yellow to orange yolks in a white, brown, green or blue shell. All shell colors have the same nutrition as it’s what’s inside that matters. Laying hens lay anywhere from 200 to 350 eggs per year. They don’t need a rooster to lay an egg as most people assume.

 

Our eggs are not fertilized and and may have things your not used to in older eggs from the store: the “stringy” white thing is what keeps the yolk suspended perfectly in the egg shell. “Blood spots” are brown to red bits that are completely natural. White dots on the yolk are also natural. All of these things decrease and go away as the eggs age (as with grocery store eggs).

 

Did you know? Eggs come with a natural “bloom” coating that protects them from germs. In the US it is required to wash the egg and refrigerate it before selling. If unwashed then the egg can stay edible for up to 2 weeks+ on the counter top. In Europe it is actually ILLEGAL to wash eggs to be sold!  Once that bloom is removed then the egg is susceptible to infiltration of air and bacteria. All washed eggs need to be kept in refrigeration to prevent contamination due to the now porous shell.

 

To test any egg’s freshness (or spoilage) fill a glass or measuring cup with warmish water. When you gently place the egg in it it will sit on its side if fresh. As air enters the shell from aging the bubble inside gets bigger. So an aged egg will tilt (still safe to eat) then stand up straight (it’s great to hard boil these ASAP) then when they float you need to toss them out (or dogs LOVE them). An older tilting or standing egg is great to hard boil because the air bubble in the shell expands as it heats. This is what makes the shell easy to peel off.

 

Another thing – raw eggs CAN be tainted with bacteria if the shell of an unwashed touches the eggs – you must cook them thoroughly according to the FDA. Raw cookie dough can make you sick – but not only from an egg (though the egg is very unlikely to sicken you) – it’s due to the raw flour that harbors bacteria!

All of our vegetables are uncertified organically grown in the ground.  The soil is what gives vegetables flavor.  You can always tell a veggie is hydroponic or aquaponic but its perfect color and no light or dark spots. have you noticed how vegetables have lost their flavor over the years?

 

We fertilize our soil naturally with our livestock and chicken manure compost. We try to control weeds with plastic sheeting and torching.

 

Our vegetable selections and quantity always vary year to year but we generally have fall pumpkin, garlic, tomatoes, asparagus, bean, peas and peppers.

Our soy free pelleted chicken feed is made specifically for us. It is careful developed by a nutritionist to make sure chickens eat what you will eat. Soy fed animals may pass soy estrogen and phytoestrogen to you via milk, eggs or meat. This is proven very well and your body actually changes due to this soy. The National Institute of Health says “Consumers should be aware that soy contains endocrine disrupting compounds and make dietary choices accordingly.”

 

Our feed is paper bagged in 50 pound bags. It stores well for about 6 months.

Now you’re getting into local food and have more questions so you clicked on this tab, am I right? We’re up for it!

 

• Are you Organic? No. Certified organic is very, very expensive for a small farm. Inspection is done by other farmers – it’s a questionable certification in our view. We do everything organically but don’t pay the fees or have a logo. We use cedar posts for fence posts instead of treated pine, we use compost instead of fertilizer, we plant organic seed for vegetables. We can not financially support feeding organic certified hay and grain – there just is not enough demand or reward for it. Feed mills will have to build new silos and mixers just for organic – same with GMO.

 

• Are you GMO free? No. Wisconsin corn is GMO all the way. GMO feed doesn’t transmit genetics to animals – it protects the grain itself from disease, heat and insects so you can use less insecticides. In our view GMO is a win win for the environment. We don’t actively search out GMO ingredients but your soft drink and sugar in your cupboard is likely GMO beet sugar. Our genes cannot be modified by what we, or the animals, eat – genetic modification occurs at a cellular level with DNA and RNA
  • For genetic feed to modify an animal eating it the following would need to occur:
    1. 1.    Uptake by cells
    2. 2.    Integration into the host cell DNA
    3. 3.   In the case of a plant-derived gene, integration in a location and orientation that would allow a host promoter to switch on the gene and make it express (plant promoters are highly inefficient in animals and humans).

 

• What does ‘Grassfed’ mean? Certified Grass fed means the animal only had milk and grass for it’s whole life. For the rest of us grass fed means our animals eat grass and hay (hay is dried grass- it’s green, straw is dried wheat stems and it’s yellow). We feed grass and hay but also supplement with soy free grain. Grain helps animals in lactation and gestation. it also adds interstitial fat between meat fiber which helps your meat stay moist.

 

• What is “Pastured”? Pastures are grass and legume fields. We put a lot of time and work into keep pastures healthy and productive which, in turn, keep our animals healthy and productive. More of our time and money goes into pasture management than livestock. We’re basically grass farmers and the animals just eat and poop. “Pastured” can mean they are out year round on pasture or that they get to go out on pasture. Ask your farmer what they do. Our livestock are on pasture for 5 months here in Wisconsin – the other 7 months are too cold to support pasture growth so we switch to hay fed in pastures.

 

• “Confinement” might be a better ask: Confinement is also relative but it will give you an idea if animals are confined in a stall, in milking stand, in a cage or in dry lot. Technically all livestock are confined inside fencing – so it’s up to you to decide what confinement means to you. Our livestock is free to go outside at any time – including the chickens. In fact our livestock are inside only a few days every year during sub 20 degree storms or for vet care.