From the Farm: Buy a steer

By CAROLE SOULE

For the Monitor

Published: 11-12-2023 7:00 AM

Want to buy a steer? It could live in your backyard and eat the grass – your very own lawn mooer. In winter, you’d buy hay for your steer and ensure it has non-frozen water. Your steer would supply manure for you and your neighbors – as fast as you can shovel it. You might fall in love with your steer and want to keep it forever. How could you ever turn your inconvenient pet into extremely convenient meat? I can tell you from experience, it’s hard on the heart.

A better idea: Buy an already-processed steer, a common practice, and let the farmer deal with the heartache. If it’s a farmer you trust, you’ll know your steer was treated humanely before it was processed.

Remember back in 2020 when the grocery store shelves were empty and the meat counters bare? Having a half or whole steer in the freezer is wise, even today. Aside from having enough to eat, there are other reasons it makes sense to buy in bulk.

Taste: The flavor of locally raised, grass-fed beef beats the taste of big-business, feed-lot meat. Calm cows are tasty cows. Literally.

Price: Buying in bulk might seem like a lot of money, but it’s usually only about $11 a pound for all cuts, from delicious steaks to tasty ground beef.

Convenience: You’ll never have to worry about what’s for dinner because your freezer will be full of yummy beef.

Humanity: Do you care about how animals are treated? So do we. Ask your local farmer about their care, handling, and living conditions, and you’ll see what I mean.

Health Benefits: You don’t want to feed your kids the added-growth hormones and systematic antibiotics that come with commercial meat. With all those labels on grocery-store beef, who’s to know what it means? It’s simple. Local meat usually has no added ingredients, and as much as I love an Aussie accent, it’s not from Australia.

But if you don’t have room for a freezer or aren’t ready for commitment, your local beef farmer can sell you your favorite cuts. You’ll still be preserving farmland and family farms, while boosting the local economy with every bite.

Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm (www.milessmithfarm.com), where she raises and sells pastured pork, eggs and beef. She can be reached at carolesoule60@gmail.com.