After 7 months, and many hassles, the Bartletts finally had their labels. “I guess that was about 10 years ago. We changed phone numbers a few years back, and I was really worried that that would send us into another round of trouble with the labels, but luckily it didn’t.”
The Bartletts continue to direct-market everything they raise. They have a CSA, and member families can purchase shares for lamb, chickens, and turkeys from the Bartletts, as well as their vegetables. The CSA members can also purchase beef shares that come from another farmer in the area.
“I’m determined to do as much direct-marketing as I can. I really think it’s crucial in small-scale farming. But it’s not easy. It takes time to deal with the regulatory people. To market meat, you need to be set up to accommodate your customers, and that means having freezers and storage facilities. We set up a small store in an old barn on the farm, and that works, but it takes a real commitment.”
Advocates work on an ability-to-pay basis, and they are overworked and understaffed. The documentation you prepared earlier should again help them to help you. If you go through the courts and your appeal is denied, than you must do whatever the bureaucrat originally told you to do.
Liability
Unfortunately, we live in a time when there are almost as many lawyers as there are farmers! And lawyers need lawsuits, so liability is a much more serious issue than it was in the days when Ken’s grandfather peddled his milk door to door from the back of a horse-drawn wagon.
Liability generally arises when someone fails to meet his or her responsibilities. The cattle break out and trample the neighbor’s prize rose bushes — liability. The hired hand cuts off a finger in a piece of machinery that doesn’t have proper belt guards on it — liability. A customer’s child sustains a deep cut from a piece of broken glass while running around barefoot — liability. The ground beef you sold was contaminated with salmonella at the processing plant, and a customer’s family became ill — liability. An employee verbally insults a customer — liability.
The best way to avoid personal liability is to pay attention to details. Make safety a top priority on your operation, studying each area of your farm and everything you do for possible hazards. Follow all laws; they may seem like a nuisance, but they offer you a degree of protection. If you have employees, develop written personnel and safety policies.
Safety policies can also extend to customers: “No shoes, no service” is an excellent policy on any farm. Place signs up for your customers to see. Areas that are off limits to customers should be clearly marked: DO NOT ENTER THE BARN — EMPLOYEES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT. Also, don’t be afraid to tell customers or their children to stop doing something that may be dangerous: “Please stop chasing the chickens!” If a customer is annoyed and leaves in a huff, count your blessings — you don’t need people on your farm who aren’t safety conscious, and who don’t respect your rules.
Even if you are very safety conscious, accidents can still occur. And even if something isn’t your fault, you may still be sued. Your property insurance company should be able to offer you extended personal liability coverage that will cover you for both employees and customers.
CHAPTER 11
Butchering & Processing
If you have enough do-it-yourself determination and a sufficiently mechanical mind to take things apart (in butchering you only take apart, you don’t have to put back together), you can learn to butcher.
John M. Mettler Jr., DVM, Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game
BUTCHERING INVOLVES the actual slaughtering and cutting up of animals for meat. Processing is taking raw meat and making some other type of product through the addition of other ingredients, as in a can of stew; or through specialized handling, such as smoking.
With the exception of poultry (which can be butchered on the farm for direct-marketing), I’m not going to go into the actual processes involved in butchering and processing. If you want to learn the techniques of butchering your own large animals, get a copy of Dr. Mettler’s book (see the quote above), or check with your County Extension Agent to see if he or she can get you a booklet on butchering. These sources will do a far better job of describing the techniques than I could in this chapter.
What I will go over here are some things you’ll need to know about butchering and processing for a direct-marketing operation. For instance, how much meat will a 1,000-pound (454-kg) steer actually yield? How do you respond when the butcher asks if you want the short ribs? And what do you say to first-time customers who are considering purchasing a lamb, but want to know how much meat they’ll receive and how much freezer space it will take up?
Yields
When a butcher uses the term yield, he’s generally referring to the hanging weight, which is what’s left after the animal is bled, decapitated, gutted, and skinned. The term comes from the fact that butchers hang a carcass on a rail attached to the ceiling of the cutting room to make their work easier.
Typical Hanging Yields
Beef
60–65% of live weight
Pork
70–75% of live weight
Lamb
50–55% of live weight
Depending on the type of animal and its age, it can either be cut up immediately or hung in a cooler, for up to 2 weeks, to age the meat. Aging helps cure meat, improving flavor, texture, and tenderness.
Of course, when you are selling meat you aren’t interested in the hanging yield, but in how much meat actually comes back. The meat yield depends on how closely fat is trimmed, and on how many bone-in cuts are prepared.
Let’s look at a few examples: A 250-pound (113 kg) hog will hang on the rail at about 185 pounds (84 kg), and when you pick up the packages of meat, you will receive about 140 pounds (64 kg) of meat. A 1,000-pound (454-kg), grass-finished steer will hang around 650 pounds (295 kg) and yield 500 pounds (227 kg) of meat.
On average, cut and wrapped meat requires 1 cubic foot (0.03 m3) of freezer space for each 35 pounds (15.9 kg) of meat. The meat from a whole steer will almost fill a 15-cubic-foot (0.45-m3) chest freezer. The pig will require 4 cubic feet (0.12 m3), which is about the size of the freezer space in a large combination refrigerator-freezer, but it is too much for a smaller combo unit. The lamb will fit into the freezer compartment of a small refrigerator-freezer.
Cutting Orders
When you drop an animal off at the butcher, he or she will want to know your “cutting orders.” These are simply the directions that specify how you want the animal cut and wrapped (Figures 11.1, 11.2, 11.3).
Trimming
The first thing to tell the butcher is how you want the animal trimmed. Trimming is cutting away external fat. Trimmings can then be added back into ground meat, if your goal is to get more pounds back, but we always specify well trimmed, with no extra fat added to the ground beef. With these cutting instructions, our ground beef comes back in the 96 to 97 percent fat-free range. This is so lean that pan-frying requires us to put a spot of cooking oil in the bottom of the pan to keep the meat from sticking.
Typical Meat Yields
Beef
45–50% of live weight
Pork
55–60% of live weight
Lamb
40–45% of live weight
Figure 11.1. Beef carcass/cuts.
Figure 11.2. Pork carcass/cuts.
Figure 11.3. Lamb carcass/cuts.
Some processed meat products do benefit from the addition of some trimmings, though. We once had all-beef wieners prepared without additional fat. They were too dry! Luckily Karen, the woman who took cutting orders where we were getting meat butchered at the time, warned us about this, so we had only a few pounds made up to try them. Had we made up a large lot, our dogs and cats would have been happy, but we would have wasted our money.
Number, Thickness, and Packaging
The butcher also needs to know how many steaks, chops, and so on, you want in each package, and how thick to cut them. We found that
for direct-marketing, packages with two steaks or chops each are a good size. Larger families can take out multiple packages. We also found that thicker cuts are more popular than thinner cuts. Three-quarters of an inch (2 cm) seems to be ideal for most steaks and chops.
Most of the meat from the round (the butt) and the chuck (the shoulder) is best ground. People purchasing directly from the farmer are generally the kind of people who can afford high-quality cuts — tender-loins, T-bones, sirloins, and rib eyes. They are not as interested in the low-quality steaks, like the rounds and the chucks. We did find that 2-inch (5-cm) thick “mini roasts” cut from the round, which fill the role of a traditional pot roast, sold moderately well, so we’d get a few of those off each steer.
Short Ribs
The first time we took a steer in to have it butchered, Karen asked if we wanted the short ribs. I stared kind of dumbly and said, “Well, I don’t know. Why?” She went on to explain that most people didn’t take the short ribs because they’re tough and stringy, and there isn’t much meat on them. On that outing, I opted not to take them.
The next time we took in a steer, when Karen asked about short ribs, I told her we’d keep them — I was thinking they’d serve as dog food if nothing else. I also told her we wanted all of the organ meat, even the tongue, as well as packages of soup bones and boxes of dog bones. Our policy had become: Get everything back, because something will eat it.
Short ribs are, true to their reputation, stringy and tough when prepared by most conventional cooking methods. But we discovered that they’re actually pretty darn good if cooked in a pressure cooker. The technique: Put about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker, load in the short ribs, pour some barbecue sauce over the top, and pressure-cook them for about 45 minutes. After this treatment, they fall off the bone and taste great, though they are messy.
Pork Cutting Orders
Lamb, bison, deer, and elk all have cutting orders similar to beef, but pork is different. The butcher will want to know if you want hams or fresh roasts. Hams are just cured or smoked roasts. Most consumers want to purchase hams, but we did find some call for fresh roasts. Like the hams, bacon is cured side pork. We found that a lot of old-timers really enjoy side pork, so we always got a few packages, but again, bacon is far more popular. The front shoulder of a hog can be made into a picnic ham or sliced for pork shoulder bacon — nice lean meat much like Canadian bacon.
One point to keep in mind if you are marketing pork is this: Many people avoid cured meats because of concerns about additives such as salt and nitrates. If you run into some of these consumers, don’t try to talk them out of their concerns; instead point out the availability of your fresh roasts, or research recipes that don’t use additives.
With hogs, the butcher will also want to know if you want the pig’s feet and knuckles back. We didn’t have any market demand for these, but our dogs liked them.
There is a lot of trim on a hog (and it isn’t all fat), so plan on getting lots of sausage made. All types of sausage are great direct-market items. Sausage sells at a fairly high premium, and the varieties are seemingly endless: Polish, bratwurst, Italian, breakfast, smoked; the list goes on. Consumer taste in sausage varieties varies depending on where you are located around the country, so discovering what’s going to be most popular in your area may take some trial and error. Scope out area grocery stores to get some idea what is popular where you live.
Butchering Poultry
Butchering poultry isn’t fun, but it does fall within the scope of on-farm, direct-market operations. If you’re planning to butcher many birds, you need to develop an assembly-line approach to the job, or find a poultry packer. If you’re starting out with a small number of birds for home use, or starting to assess your production and marketing strategies, the following directions work and will get you started.
Tools You Need
Three 5-gallon (19-L) buckets: one to catch blood and guts, one for the hot water, and one for cold water.
Two sharp knives: one paring-style knife about 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm) long, and one thin boning knife about 4 to 5 inches (10.2 to 12.7 cm) long. If you don’t know how to sharpen knives correctly, learn. (The best set of instructions I know of is in the Joy of Cooking cookbook.)
Ax (optional), for chopping the head off a bird, if that’s your chosen method of dispatch.
Hot water for scalding — the ideal temperature is between 130 and 140°F (55 and 60°C).
A heat source, to continually heat the water for scalding.
An automated plucker (optional) — available from NASCO (see appendix E, Resources).
Cold water, for rinsing and cooling the bird — the colder, the better. Add some ice cubes to keep it very cold.
A trash can, for feathers and offal. These can be buried in a compost pile after you’re done, but they should be placed deep in the pile so they don’t attract vermin, and so they heat up sufficiently to kill off bacteria.
One short, dull knife or tweezers.
A small propane torch to singe hairs.
Wax (optional), for removing pin feathers and hairs instead of the dull knife and propane torch. Wax is most often used when butchering ducks and geese.
Preparing the Bird
1. Starve birds for 24 hours before you butcher them. This helps pass out the contents of the digestive tract, so you have less to deal with. The birds should still have access to water.
2. Dispatch the bird. Though killing an animal is never a pleasant task, when done correctly each of these methods is quick and humane. — Wring the bird’s neck. This is an old, somewhat lost skill. Pick the bird up by its head and swing it completely around in a 360-degree circle. If you use this method, hang the bird up after it’s dead and cut its throat, as described below. — Chop the head off with an ax on a block. Also an old method, though somewhat messy. — Hang the bird upside down with its feet tied, or in a killing cone. Place a bucket beneath the bird. Using the sharp paring knife, slit the bird’s throat by making a cut directly behind the lower jaw, but try to avoid cutting through the esophagus and windpipe. When you cut the bird’s throat, you cut the jugular vein. Carefully placing the bucket underneath the bird will catch the blood and make cleanup easier. (Note: This is the most common method in use today.)
3. Bleed the bird. After the bird is killed, allow it to bleed out for a couple of minutes. This step keeps the meat cleaner and less likely to spoil.
4. Scald the bird. This loosens the bird’s feathers for easier plucking. Submerge the bird in the scald bucket for about 40 seconds by holding it by the feet and dunking it headfirst. (130°F [55°C] water works for a small bird, and 140°F [60°C] for a large bird). If your scald water gets cool, leave the bird in longer; if the water is too hot, the bird will be over-scalded, which results in “cooked” meat. Swishing the bird around a little in the bucket helps move the heat around all the feathers.
When you’re working with multiple birds, try to keep the scald water fairly clean; otherwise it can be a source of contamination. If the birds are dirty, hose them off prior to scalding.
5. Pick the bird. Picking means removing the bird’s feathers, and it should be done immediately after scalding. When you’re picking by hand, it’s easiest if you hang the bird so you’re working at a comfortable height. Pull the feathers down and away from the body. If the scalding temperature was right, most of the feathers will come off fairly easy. If you plan on butchering lots of birds, a rubber-fingered “plucker” makes the job easier.
6. Rinse. After most of the feathers have been picked, rinsing with cool water from a garden hose or under a faucet reveals any remaining feathers, as well as the pinfeathers.
7. Remove the pinfeathers. Pinfeathers can be either scraped off with a short, dull knife or picked out with tweezers. Any hairs can be singed with the propane torch (older birds have more hairs than young ones do). For waterfowl (which have lots of down and pinfeathers), dip each bird in hot wax (150°F [6
6°C]), then in cold water to set the wax, and peel the wax away. This should remove most pinfeathers. A second dip may be required.
Butchering the Bird
Note: You may find it easier to work on a cutting table than with the bird hanging. Try both approaches.
1. Remove the head. Cut just below the first vertebra in the neck and twist the head off.
2. Remove the neck: — Insert the thin boning knife in the skin above the neck, at the shoulders, and cut forward to open the skin. — Pull the skin away from the neck. — Pull the crop, the trachea or windpipe, and the gullet away from the neck skin, and sever where they enter the body . — Cut the neck off where it enters the shoulders, by cutting the muscle around the bone and then twisting off. Wash the neck; then set aside in your bucket of ice water.
3. Remove the oil gland. About 1 inch (2.5 cm) in front of the oil “nipple” on the tail, make a clean cut all the way down to the vertebra in the tail. Then cut out the oil gland by cutting from front to back and scooping out the gland.
Small-Scale Livestock Farming Page 23