Week 13: Mid-season review and winter CSA preview

This week's share: ground beef

I thought it would be fun to do a little mid-season review this week. We're two-thirds of the way through the share, and here's what the summer beef CSA has included: ribeye steaks; T-bone steak, london broil steak, sirloin steak, skirt steak, chuck roast, porterhouse steak, ground beef (5 weeks including this week), and one members' choice selection. Prices vary of course, but I calculate that our running average is $13.69/lb based on our retail prices. That's a conservative figure using 1.8 lbs for the weeks when steaks were distributed, which can be difficult to combine into precise 2-lb pairs, and 2.2 lbs for the chuck roasts, which were a little larger. Figuring exactly 2-lbs per week works out to about $14.25/lb. Either way, we're running somewhere around a 20% discount off our retail prices. Not a bad return for your $11/lb investment!

While the money is always a factor, there is so much more going on that you are supporting. At Moose Hill, we're seeing really good regrowth of clover in the pastures. This is important because clover is a legume, which fixes nitrogen from the air, and is a key driver of soil fertility. At Chestnut Hill, the new fences will allow us to dramatically improve management of the former hayfields and improve the grassland both for livestock and ground nesting birds. At Powisset, some of our neighbors in the equine community requested changes to the fence system for the safety of riders, and the delayed start and good growing season produced more grass than we could keep up with. After nesting season we had the fields cut for hay to buy some more time to complete the fence updates.

As we look ahead to the winter season, we have most of the details worked out for the Winter Meat CSA. As last year, the winter shares will include beef, pork and chicken, and this year we are adding lamb from The Trustees FARM Institute at Katama Farm on Martha's Vineyard. Based on your feedback, we are simplifying the share offerings to a single 7-lb size and instead offering two distribution schedules, biweekly or monthly. If you want more meat, go biweekly. Less meat? Monthly is for you! Full paleo family? Get one of each! We are also extending the winter shares, going November through May this year, and adding a distribution at Appleton Farms in Ipswich. This aligns the Meat CSA offerings with Trustees vegetable CSAs, and will allow us to offer our members more-or-less-continuous year-round service. We haven't confirmed pricing yet, but we don't expect significant increases.

The sign-up page on the website is being updated, and current shareholders will have the first chance to subscribe. Watch your inboxes for the link and don't delay because we're expecting increased demand this year!

Take care,
Jesse