Good Winter Eating

We have two freezers full of lamb, chicken, corn, broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes, 30+ quarts of canned beans, a big bag of potatoes in the cellar and a very nice crop of celery yet to be harvested along with a big pile of dried beans to be threshed. It's a nice feeling going into winter with all this stored food. Certainly we have the option of buying what we need as we need it but having it already and especially having produced it ourselves makes all the hard work worthwhile.

I was reviewing the "books" this week and see that the lamb we sold this year almost paid for all our hay for the coming winter. That's not bad when you figure we kept two lambs and a hogget for ourselves. The chicken project worked well. The demand outstripped our supply (assuming everyone who placed an order ends up actually buying). On the economic side, $2.50 per pound provides a nice profit margin. A 5-pound bird sells for $12.50. In our experience, it ate about $6 worth of organic grain plus $0.65 for the chick. Basically, Jennifer and I made a combined $25-$30 per hour for butchering if we figure nothing for our labor in actually raising the birds. Since we would have done this anyway to raise chicken for our own table (priceless) that labor is not accounted for. For more information see Gene Logsdon's writings about "pastoral economics" vs. "industrial economics."

Last but not least, I was talking to Mike, who owns Border's Market when I picked up my lamb last night and I think I may have found a source for fat grass-fed beef. Most of the beef we've had has been quite lean. Since we've begun trying to eat in a nutrient-dense, traditional manner, I've become sensitive to eating meat that is too lean. I want grass-fed beef but it must be finished, i.e. fat. Mike gave me the contact info for a customer of his that is doing just that. If you're a farmer in north central Ohio in need of butcher, I can't recommend Border's in Plymouth highly enough. They are one of the only ones left doing on-farm slaughter which, in my opinion, is the most humane, natural way to bring an animal from the pasture to the table.