Is this overpriced?

[Ldavis24]

So anyone who might know I would love just some perspective on this.

We have a local farm that we love and are friends with the owners. They provide us with chicken meat, eggs, veggies, fruit and some other goodies all summer. It is a great place and we go their weekly during the season with our DD and buy our stuff and wander the farm so she can see the animals..None of that is really relevant but a little background.

So they are providing pork this year which is awesome. I have seen the pigs, they have a great life and are supposedly delicious. The price is 4.50/lb and can be purchase by the half or whole. There is also a $100.00 processing fee. A half is about 80 to 90 pounds btw.

So the overall price for a half would be 4.50/lb at about 85lbs +100.00 processing fee. Total cost approximately $482.50

In my head this is sounding way overpriced. I have never bought pork by the half though so I really don't have a point of reference.

These pigs are feed an amazing and varied diet of mostly scraps from their produce itself. They are in pens but have plenty of room and the pens are rotated so they are never stuck in their own filth or ankle deep in mud. I really want to try the pork but we would also have to buy an additional freezer for the basement as we do not have one yet. 

So worth it or not? What would you do!

[Addie]

That sounds really expensive to me.

We often buy pastured pork from a local farmer, either a half or a quarter pig at a time. Here is their pricing structure, for reference:

Halves and Wholes - (cut to order, so you get to request the cuts you like)
$1.75/lb, hanging weight, plus processing cost.  
Halves - avg hanging weight is 80 lbs., avg processing cost is $70.
Wholes - avg hanging weight is 160 lbs., avg processing cost is $140.
 
Quarters - (predetermined cuts)  
$3.25/lb. on Hanging Weight--this includes the processing cost.  Avg hanging weight is 40 lbs.

So yeah, $4.50/lb plus processing seems really pricey. Plus the cost of a freezer. We already have one so it's not a concern for us, but you might be better off waiting for a sale or finding one used on craigslist or something, instead of needing to get one now for this purchase.

Maybe buy some cuts a la carte for now, see how your family likes it?
 

[Ldavis24]

Wow, ok that is a major difference in price and this pork I wouldn't technically consider pastured...

We unfortunately cannot buy individual cuts, which is what I would prefer never having had the meat before I would like to see if it is actually worth it taste wise. I am willing to pay a fair penny for meat from animals that were raised locally and humanely, preferably pastured but this just seemed sooo overpriced to me.

Their chicken is 4 bucks a pound and the only reason I pay it is because it is thus far the only farm I have found around here with chicken. Sigh...their christmas goose was 10 bucks a pound....Yeah they are overpriced I just needed confirmation for my guess that the pork could be much much cheaper!

[Annie Mac]

I would compare with other items in your area. To me, $4.50 a pound for ANY meat, from ANY source sounds fantastic! In the latest grocery store flyer I have, they are advertising (and these are their "on sale" prices) chicken thighs for 4.49/lb; drumsticks for 2.99/lb, veal leg for 9.99/lb, bottom roast for 4.99/lb. They don't even give a price for the pork. This is from a chain grocery store, so think mass produced unhappy animals here. I'd compare to your local grocery store and see where they stand in comparison. Prices vary a lot from region to region. Obviously, you are going to pay a little bit more for natural meat which was treated humanely during their lives, and fair enough, imo. 

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Annie Mac 

 

I would compare with other items in your area. To me, $4.50 a pound for ANY meat, from ANY source sounds fantastic! In the latest grocery store flyer I have, they are advertising (and these are their "on sale" prices) chicken thighs for 4.49/lb; drumsticks for 2.99/lb, veal leg for 9.99/lb, bottom roast for 4.99/lb. They don't even give a price for the pork. This is from a chain grocery store, so think mass produced unhappy animals here. I'd compare to your local grocery store and see where they stand in comparison. Prices vary a lot from region to region. Obviously, you are going to pay a little bit more for natural meat which was treated humanely during their lives, and fair enough, imo. 

Wow, I think you could save money by driving south and stocking up on meat.  We're in the Seattle area and simply going to Costco you could get boneless skinnless chicken breasts for less than $2.50, legs for $1, etc...

[cristeen]

For some reason my post from last night disappeared...

I would definitely comparison shop on your area, prices are so regional.
For humanely raised pork, I'd jump at that price. But my CSA meat costs me $8/lb, and joining the CSA cut my meat budget in half, to give you some idea.

[Annie Mac]

Originally Posted by TiredX2 

Originally Posted by Annie Mac 

 

Wow, I think you could save money by driving south and stocking up on meat.  We're in the Seattle area and simply going to Costco you could get boneless skinnless chicken breasts for less than $2.50, legs for $1, etc...

Oh yes, it's true. Which is why cross-border shopping is so common. However, for me it involves a ferry ride, which adds 4 hours and $120 (providing there's only ONE person in the car) to the trip. But if I were on the mainland, I would likely go regularly. My husband works in the U.S., and we do buy big ticket items there. Our crib, for example, was about 1/3 of the price (and both were sold by Toys R Us). But I will try not to derail this thread into a rant about Canadian prices. I just tell myself the healthcare evens it out :)

[Ldavis24]

It's alright Annie Mac. I find the price differences just nuts! I had no idea it was like that.

Around here on Cape Cod, 4.50/lb is not a great deal for pork. You can get it extremely cheap from a regular supermarket but obviously we aren't not interested in that meat.

I have begun to shop around farms within an hour drive. There are sadly not that many but I am going to keep looking. I have so many websites to look through it is tiring just thinking about it.

This is why my fantasy is to have just enough land for some chickens and a nice garden with maybe a pig and cow!