Cows and pigs

My grandfather was a cattle rancher and, growing up, we always had a chest freezer full of yummy beef from his ranch in our garage.  As an adult, knowing where my food comes from and how it was grown has become increasingly important to me.  We have a year-round half-share at our local CSA where organic and sustainable gardening methods are employed.  We have two raised beds in our backyard where I try my hand growing a variety of veggies (not always successfully but I'm always learning!).  We have three chickens in a backyard coop who keep us (and our friends) stocked in eggs*.  

So, it should come as no surprise that I'd be interested in buying a quarter of beef and a half or whole pig.  The first obstacle is that we don't have a chest freezer.  But, after some surfing on craigslist, I'm confident that we can find one for a reasonable price.  I'm leaning towards an upright just to minimize the garage space that will be taken up since we both park our cars in the garage.  The next step is researching local farms.  I've found a couple near Corvallis, Oregon that look promising.  We really want to buy from a ranch that uses sustainable practices and raises their animals without antibiotics or growth hormones.  We even have good friends who are willing to go in with us on the purchase - making it even more cost effective and helping to make sure that the meat is gone through fast enough to keep it as fresh as possible.  I guess that the next step will be to email the growers with any questions that we may have and then to make an order!!  


* - I'll be doing a post on this soon but our chicks have been eating their own eggs for about a month now.  I've done some research and will be implemented steps to correct this.  I'll post more once I've started the experiment!