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| FAQ's [Frequently Asked Questions] |
Q: Why grass-fed beef?
A: Grass-fed beef is healthier, tastier and better for you. It is also better for the land and the environment. It is the way nature intended – our cows eat fresh, green pasture in the spring summer and fall and fed organic hay in the winter.
They are NEVER injected with hormones to promote growth, nor are they confined to a feedlot and fed grains to ensure weight gain. Rather, our beef is raised on grass and hay alone.
Nutritional analysis indicates that grass-fed beef is lower in calories and fat than commercially raised beef while being higher in omega-3 (the good fatty acid) and four times higher in vitamin E. Grass-fed beef is also more flavorful and tasty than traditionally raised meat.
For more detailed nutritional information the website EATWILD.COM has great information!
Q: What does humane raising of animals mean on Chestnut Farms?
A: We are all about the quality of life for our animals. Both Rich and I eat meat, but we do not support the commercial, feed-lot, hormone-laden, mass production of animals. We want to make sure our animals have a wonderful, happy and healthy life while they are with us. We allow all of our animals to live as close to the way nature intended as possible.
Calves are naturally born and allowed to nurse and stay with their mother cows for at least six months and often longer. Pigs give birth in stalls or huts, not in farrowing crates where they are confined. Piglets remain with their mothers nursing for six to eight weeks. Our sheep are moved from pasture to pasture in the spring, summer and fall where the lambs are protected by the flock. (and our two llamas!) Our poultry are raised with plenty of space, fresh air and sunshine where they peck at bugs and worms in the ground. We never clip beaks or wings.
We do chores twice a day and spend time petting and playing with our animals. We visually inspect all of our animals to ensure that everyone is healthy and well. We add toys to the pig-pens in the winter to prevent boredom and we rotate our cows and sheep from pasture to pasture in the spring and summer. Our poultry has free access to food and fresh water at all times, and in the evening we add some corn for their pecking pleasure.
Q:Some customers comment on the "chewiness" of our meat
A: We raise our cattle on pasture and hay. We believe that our meat tastes great - it really tastes like beef . Our cows do not eat corn silage and they are free to roam over our 106 acre farm. While this method of raising cattle is much more humane in our estimation, it does result in a different product than most commercial cattle in the United States today. Our beef is much leaner and may seem "chewier" to people used to more traditional, commercial beef, Even some grass-fed producers bring their cows in to a feedlot for the last 6 months of their lives and feed corn to "finish" the meat. We choose to let our cows eat what they are designed to eat: hay and grass throughout their lives. For more information on the nutritional differences of our meat see the website http://www.eatwild.com
The book the Omnivores Dilemma goes into great detail about commercial cattle rearing - most beef in the United States (including organic beef - as the organic label refers simply to what the cows EAT, not how they are raised) grow up on feedlots - these are small areas where the cows spend most of thier lives eating corn silage. Allowing cattle to walk freely increases the muscle in the animal - just like in people who exercise. Corn adds fat to the animal which serves in increase the weight of the animal (and hence the profitablity) so the combination of the containment rearing and corn feeding results in steaks that have much more fat - and taste "less chewy" because there is less muscle. It also results in beef that is more profitable to the producers.
Many commercial producers also add growth hormones in the form of implants or in the feed to the cattle. Seventy percent of the hormones produced in this country are used on animals to increase thier weight more rapidly - the added fat from the corn also increases the liklihood that these hormones will be retained in the cows body and passed on to the consumer when they eat the beef. These implants are available to us and anyone in the US raising cattle and come in the form of estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and estrodol. The implants are sold in vet catalogues like American Veterinary. Like with people, changing the hormonal ratios in an anmal will change the texture of the muscle - hence the texture or "chewiness" of the meat.
We are all about natural, hormone and chemical free meat. Our cattle are raised from birth to plate as nature intended. We do not feed corn, use hormones or contain our animals. We strongly belive our meat not only tastes great but is much better for you - We are always striving to improve our herd and each animal cuts out differently - not every cow is a top cow but we are constantly trying to improve our herd - some of it is nature - a top bull and a top cow do not always produce a top steak - however it takes two years to grow a cow out so it takes time for us to figure out the genetic results -
Our Top Round Steak is a very lean steak cut and we tell people to treat it like chicken breast. Top round is wonderful marinated for a day or two and then cooked on the grill or in a cast iron skillet with some fat- The other thing that can lead to chewiness is grilling or cooking at too high a heat Searing the meat works well when there is a lot of fat - when meat is very lean like ours searing it makes it tough. Rump and top round are considered premier cuts by our South Beach friends because they are so lean and full of protein, but takes a bit more work in cooking. - using liquid in cooking is another great way to tenderize.
I am surprised you found our Porterhouse chewy - but again it may be all what you are used to traditionally - After ten years of eating only grassfed cattle, I love our Porterhouse : ) However, I do not defrost in the microwave, do not "sear" the meat and often use a marinade or I tenderize with a fork and a bit of salt prior to cooking - the salt helps break up the membranes.
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Q: Where are your meat pick-ups?
A: We offer several sites for pick-up. These include South Deerfield, Hardwick, Ware, Brookfield and Arlington. Customers may also come to the farm.
Q: Growing up in a European household, my grandparents cooked the living heck out of pork chops. Going out to eat in MA for the past few years, I've eaten porkand pork chops that were still pink (took me a while but I got used toit) so I was curious with all the new processing and the wonderfulpork chops we've gotten here - slightly pinkish is quite ok these daysand same goes for the pork from your farm? Just checking on how Ishould be cooking it.
The times they are-a-changing - especially in regards to cooking pork. Our pork should be cooked so that it is still pink in the center -a medium to medium-well done. The cooking the heck out of pork came from pigs that were garbage fed in the 60's and 70's. The garbage often contained trichinosis that was transferred to the pigs and could harm humans if the pork was not cooked throughly - much like the E Coli of today with rare beef or salmonella from chicken.
In the early 80's the MA Dept of Food and Ag began requiring all garbage fed pigs to be fed only cooked garbage - heating the food remains from restaurants or other food service establishments before feeding the pigs kills the trich along with any other bacteria. This has nearly eliminated trichnosis in pigs. The state now has a swine inspector who goes around to farms who garbage feed and inspects the cookers. There are still the vast majority of pigs in New England that are garbage fed.
HOWEVER - we never, ever garbage feed. Our pigs are fed only grain and they are on pasture so they do eat bugs, worms and grass, but the majority of their diet is grain. Economically this makes our pork much more expensive than if we were picking up and feeding garbage but we are so disgusted by that practice that there is no way we would ever do that. Some of our breeeding moms have over $10,000 in grain in their bellies over the course of three years. We find our pigs grow well and are very healthy with the freedom to be out on pasture and a plentiful, healthy grain diet.
Grain fed pigs are at no risk of trichinosis - another reason we are meticulous about making sure our meat comes back to your table. Thus, you should cook pork to a medium point - often with liquid such as cider or pineapple juice or a mushroom glaze - The liquid or added fat acts as a tenderizer. You can also pan-fry pork chops in garlic butter, olive oil or other fat like many of the top chefs do. The quick heat will sear the outside and make for a wonderful flavor.
As with all of our meat- please be careful not to overcook.
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Q: How do I know when my pick-ups are?
A: We email a farm update the week of your pick-up. Typically pick-ups are scheduled for the same day and time each month, for example the second Monday from 5:30 – 7:00 pm or the third Wednesday.
Q: Do I pay for the whole six or twelve months at once?
A: No, we ask for the commitment so that we can plan our animals. It takes nearly two years to raise a cow and six to ten months for a pig or sheep to grown out for meat. Because we are a small family farm, we want to make sure we have enough animals to meet our customers needs. We ask that you pay as you pickup each month.
Q: Do I have to commit to a certain period of time for your CSA?
A: Yes, all memberships run for 6 month periods. We generally go from Jan through June and July through December. If you sign up for Chestnut Farms meat CSA we expect that you will commit to the full six month period. Because we understand that meat can be expensive for a family budget and because our expenses (for food, bedding, hay, fences etc...) are fairly constant year round, we charge for the shares by the month at the time of pickup. This makes us uniquie in CSA's. However, we are a farm, not a grocery store, and we have to plan on the income. If you fail to come to a pickup, we will give the meat to a local family in need and we will invoice you.
Each renewal period all current Chestnut Farms CSA members have priority to stay re-enrolled. At month five (May and November) an email is sent to all current members. This email will ask if you wish to continue for the next six month share or not. This is also the best time for making any share changes.
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Q: I don’t eat pork – can I still be a member?
A: In addition to lamb/no lamb shares we also honor members’ requests for no pork. We will substitute beef or poultry depending on availability at the time.
Q: What if I want to change my membership level part way through?
A: We have a limited number of shares available. If you decide to increase or decrease your meat amounts during your membership, we will make every effort to accommodate you, based on availability of our meat.
Q: Can I order a special cut of beef?
A: Again, we work diligently to meet the needs of our customers. We are processing animals at least monthly so with advance notice we are often able to meet any special requests.
Q: How do I sign up for a holiday turkey or ham?
A: Our turkeys are a highly sought after commodity. Once you taste our fresh turkeys, you can never go back to frozen, commercially produced turkey. Our CSA members have first chance to reserve a bird, then we take orders at farmers markets and in the community. Sign up early to make sure we can meet your needs.
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Q: I missed/can't make my designated pickup. What should I do?
A: We work hard to feed, water, clean and move all our livestock during their time on the farm. Currenlty the two of us care for over 200 head of livestock plus another 400 plus poultry. We then truck them to NH, pick up the packages, repack the shares on the farm and deliver to a convenient location. We also try and keep our shares affordable by not asking for a full 6 or 12 month payment up front (unlike almost all vegetable CSA's and most meat CSA's.) We ask that you make every effort to honor your commitment and come to the pickup on time.
We do recognize that life happens and sometimes it is just not possible to make a pickup. In this case a member has three options: 1) Send a frend or relative for the pickup 2) recieve double shares the following month or 3) extemd the commitment for a month. We do ask that you notify us in advance that you will miss a pickup and which option you select. This saves us from packing and transporting a share that will not be
Many of you have asked to come to the farm for your pickup at times that are convenient for you. At this time we do not have a scheduled on-farm pickup. We are very, very busy with chores, trucking and in the summer we are doing several farmers markets each week, including both Saturday and Sundays. These require we have chores done by 6 am to be on the road for the markets. This makes both a very long day and little time to schedule individual pickups. We do anticpate having a weekly pickup in the fall as farmers markets end and welcome you to come to the farm to pickup then!
We do welcome visitors with appointments throughout the year and have just enjoyed our first semi-annual open house on Sunday. Our next open house will be on the first Sunday in October.
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