Top 10 Reasons To Buy A Beef Share From A Farmer - Heartstone Farm

Top 10 Reasons To Buy A Beef Share From A Farmer

By Dan Kaplan

If ever there was a year to buy a Beef Share directly from a local farm, it’s this year. (We call them “Beef Shares.” Some folks call them “freezer beef” or “Sides” or “Quarters.” It’s the same thing.)

The American food supply chain - particularly the meat supply chain - is cheap and efficient. But it is not resilient. We learned that the hard way this year.

There are many reasons to buy a Beef Share directly from a local farmer, but here are my Top 10:

1, CONVENIENCE: Do you like going to the grocery store? Maybe you do, but what about when it’s pouring rain or snow is messing up the roads? When you buy a Beef Share tonight’s dinner is already safely in your freezer. And even if you’re late getting home, your steaks or ground beef can easily be thawed in an hour.

2. SAVINGS:  When you buy a Beef Share, you’re saving on every meal. Every meat loaf, every T-bone, every roast saves your family 25%. That’s because our Beef Shares come out to about 25% below the cost of buying cuts individually.

3. QUALITY: Purchase a Beef Share and you’re assured that the quality of the steaks and roasts and ground beef is exceptional. No more taking a chance - the consistent flavor and quality of our beef is borne out by the over 1,200 5-star reviews from families all over New England.

4. SECURITY: Do you worry about the meat in your refrigerator every time you see another story about contaminated meat and a meat recall?  The beef you buy at the supermarket might have come from Nebraska or Iowa or Australia (even foreign meat can be labeled “product of USA”). There’s no way of knowing. And barely a week goes by without hearing about a meat recall. One big reason - the meat from many cattle is mixed together - making contamination easy. That’s not the case with our Heartstone Farm Beef Shares.

5. SUPPORT LOCAL AGRICULTURE: You’re supporting your local economy and the local farmers who live nearby. As cities have grown and expanded, and land prices have climbed, more and more farms have been eliminated to make way for housing developments. By purchasing your Beef Share you’re making a contribution to supporting local agriculture.

6. SUSTAINABILITY: Cattle and beef are often cited as contributing to climate change. But it’s not the cattle - it’s how the cattle are being raised in huge factory farms in the Midwest. At Heartstone Farm (and at other smaller farms), the way we raise our cattle actually has a net positive impact on the climate. Our practices of regenerative agriculture - helping the soil prosper and absorb carbon - are the complete opposite of factory farms.

7. FUN: Discovering different cuts of beef that you have never prepared before can be a fun experience - expanding your cooking horizons. Many people get stuck in a rut of serving the same dishes over and over - buying the same steak at the grocery store. With Heartstone Farm Beef Shares you’ll discover cuts you haven’t cooked before.

8. IT’S HEALTHIER: Our cattle are 100% Grassfed (no grain ever). And they never receive antibiotics or growth hormones. Grocery store beef has residual growth hormones and antibiotics (always) - which you’re consuming as you eat the beef.

9. ANIMAL WELFARE: Our cattle live on our 500 acre farm in Maine with us - we love them and respect them and honor them. We do not stress them and we do not confine them in poor conditions. Low stress results in better beef.

10. THE CONNECTION TO YOUR FOOD: The food you enjoy tonight didn’t magically appear in nice packaging on your grocery store shelf. It came from somewhere: from a farm and it was grown by a farmer. Knowing that farmer and where the steak you’re enjoying came from is about understanding and connecting to something so basic and so important as the food you eat. (This is especially a big deal for kids - of all ages.)

A personal note about that last one: many times when I am delivering a Beef Share to a customer a youngster will come to the door to see what’s going on. I love it when a parent says “This is Farmer Dan - remember? He raised the cows we eat.” And the youngster will have a big grin!

So there you have it: ten good reasons to consider sourcing your meat directly from the farmer who grew it.

Got questions or comments? - we’d love to chat.

SHOP HEARTSTONE FARM

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Pasture-Raised Chicken