Any TF'ers in Virginia?

[Taedareth]

We're considering moving to Virginia. Anyone on this board live there? I'm hoping you can answer a few questions about how easy/hard it is to eat TF in Virginia.

Is raw milk legal? Is it easy to find? What's the price per gallon?

Can you find pasture-fed beef from a local farm or butcher? Price per pound?

Do you have a source for pastured eggs? Price per dozen?

Are there any discount health food stores around? Meaning, places that sell organic, whole foods vitamins and acerola cherry powder and other TF-friendly supplements at discount prices.

Any local farmer's markets or cooperative farms where you can get a good price on organic fruits and veggies?

Anything else a TF'er would want to know about living in Virginia?

[fullofhope]

Hi, I'm actually both new to TF and new to Virginia- we are moving there next week! I came here to ask the very same question! We'll be at Fort Monroe. So consider me subbing to see what answers you get!

[Taedareth]

Great! I think that's exactly the area DH was looking at relocating to. You'll have to tell us how things go after you move...

[blastomom]

Sorry, I don't know much about Fort Monroe/Hampton/Norfolk area, but here in Richmond we can get raw milk, it just takes a bit of planning and is quite spendy. First off, you have to buy a share of a particular cow (I think it's an up-front cost of about $80 + "bottle fees") and then about $30/month "board and maintenance" and for that you get one gallon a week.

In VA it is illegal to buy/sell raw milk, but you can drink raw milk from an animal you own. Therefore, you "own" a share in the cow so you can drink her milk any way you choose.

[Taedareth]

Jennifer - that's exactly the kind of thing we need to know, thanks! We're currently in Washington State and raw milk is legal but the state is determinedly making life hard for the raw milk dairies, so the prices keep going up and it's harder to find a supply. We're now paying $8/gallon for milk, which I guess isn't all that much different than the $7.50/gal you're paying, except that you also have to pay the $80 up front fee.

So with cow sharing, you ONLY get a gallon a week? That's weird... I thought cows produce 1-2 gallons per DAY. Is this cow owned by 7-14 different people, then? If your family needed more than a gallon per week (we go through 4 per week and there are only 3 people in our family) then would you have to buy shares in multiple cows?

Maybe we just need to buy a house with a 1/2 acre yard and get a goat...

[ustasmom]

That is what one share buys. If you want more gallons per week, you have to buy more shares.

I own shares at two farms in VA. One is $60 per share, and $24 per month (but will most likely go up to $28 per month this summer). There is no dry time at this farm. The other farm is $55 (but you can pay $15 down and $4 per month until it is paid off) and $18 per month. They do have a dry time for about 10 weeks (but you still have to pay).

[ustasmom]

You would have to be sure of your zoning. I am on 9 acres and we could have a goat. But, we really aren't set up for a goat but we do have chickens. My friend breeds goats and she told me that I could easily buy a goat for $200. She estimates feed at $20 per month and that would yield a gallon of milk per day.

[blueridgewoman]

We're in Charlottesville and we have a TON of great places to get grassfed meat. There are at least two place to get raw milk. Lots of good local food too.

[AarenLisbeth]

Thanks for the cow share info. We are actually closing on a 30 acre farm in Floyd Va. ( South West Va. ) at the end of this month and are moving up from Asheville, NC when my son is finished w/ school in May. I am SOOO excited to get some chickens of my own and a jersey cow for milk/butter/cheese etc.. I was orginally thinking goats, but we'll see. . .

I've been pretty excited w/ the availability of grass fed beef, and livers etc. Of course it is all frozen stuff, but both the Co-ops in Roanoke and Floyd, as well as another neat new shop in floyd that raises pastured chickens ( they start harvesting them in May, I can't wait!, and carry various livers and localish grains and milled flours) seem to have more selection than I would have guessed.

Check out the Local Harvest webpage for your planned area and then go from there. . . Prices are going to vary according to what region of VA you are looking at I would assume.

[sixgifts]

We are moving from Northern Virginia at the end of the month We have looooved our food supply here. We order farm products, including raw milk "for pet consumption" from an Amish farm in Penn. Go to farmorders.com to find out about it. You have to join the co-op and pay dues to participate. It's great quality. They deliver every other week. Also, we order from a food co-op from the east coast of Virginia called Quail Cove Farms (quailcovefarms.com). They deliver once a month. They sell natural and organic foods. Wonderful!! We are already mourning the loss of our food supply as we prepare to move to Mississippi. It's been great here. I hope you enjoy living in Virginia.

Speaking of Mississippi, any TF'ers near Biloxi? I haven't been able to find anything except a few farmer's markets. No raw milk anywhere.

[Taedareth]

SixGifts - I checked the Farm Orders link but didn't find anything about milk. Where on the website is it listed?

Everybody who buys pasture-fed beef - what's the price per pound?

[ustasmom]

I pay $1 per pound on the hoof. I think that it is going up to $1.10. And then it was .40 per pound. I imagine that will be going up, too. What isn't?

[blueridgewoman]

We pay $2.25 per pound on the hoof for Polyface beef.

[fullofhope]

Okay, like I said I'm new to TF- what is "on the hoof"??? Buying a whole cow?

[ustasmom]

On the hoof means the live weight cow. They will weigh the cow before slaughtering it and that is the price per pound, before waste. I'm not sure of the exact percentage that you lose. But figure, blood, bones, skins, excess fat, some organs, and the such. It is significant, though, something like 25-35%.

I bought a half a few months ago. I paid the farmer $450 and the processor $160. Even at 35%, I probably netted close to 300 pounds. I get some specialty cuts/wraps, so I pay a little extra for those. But still, all in all, my cost per pound is a little over $2.00 per pound.

We typically get around:
75 pounds of ground beef, individual chubs
A couple of standing rib roasts
Several chuck roasts, tip roasts
Porterhouse steaks
Sirloin steaks
T-bone steaks
Sandwich steaks
Stew beef
bones for soup/broth

I give away the liver, the pin-bone steak and the arm roast. I also tell them to skip me on the heart and the tongue.

[sixgifts]

Taedareth -- You have to go to farmorders.com and enter the site, then click on "contact" and email them asking for information on how to join. They will contact you and explain the contract and dues. Good luck!

[Taedareth]

Oh, okay thanks Just for the record, can you tell us how much you were paying per gallon of raw milk?

[sixgifts]

I pay about 7.50 a gallon. The 10% delivery fee is included in the price of the food.

[bluejay8]

I tried the whole milk your own goat thing==we were paying considerably more than 20/month for organic feed and hay. Try 20/week on hay and 50/month or more on grain treats, alfalfa and minerals, for 2 does and offspring. Plus they ate everything in sight on 2 acres.
So... I bought into a milk co-op. MUCH cheaper and I don't have to milk every single day.
It was fun while it lasted.
:-)