Back Beyond Farm

We are exploring the idea of starting a meat CSA here at Back Beyond.  The program would involve receiving boxes of meat on a regular basis, either monthly or bi-monthly.  Shares would likely include beef, chicken, and pork as well as seasonal offerings such as turkey and possibly duck.  Are you interested in getting a variety of healthy grass based meats for your family?  Contact us and let us know what you think.

 At Back Beyond Farm we raise a variety of produce including greenhouse tomatoes, corn, broccoli, squash, onions, garlic, leeks, potatoes, and carrots.  All of our produce is certified organic and grown in our fertile loam soil at 1600 feet elevation.  We sell our produce at the Norwich Farmer’s Market, the South Royalton Co-op and the Hunger Mountain Co-op.   

We raise certified organic, free-range fresh turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday.  As with all of our poultry, our turkeys are given a healthful diet of organic grains and fresh pasture.  Please contact us early to reserve your turkey for November pick-up at the farm.  

Thanksgiving turkeys for 2009 will be $3.50/lb.  Due to the surges in fuel and grain costs, we reserve the right to change the price.  Please call as soon as possible with your order to lock in your price.

 Pigs are the great recyclers on the farm and it would be almost criminal to raise vegetables without a few pigs around.  Beyond their practicality though, pigs which are raised with care and fed good quality feed can also generate wonderful pork superior to anything available from a factory farm.  We raise all-natural pork, meaning our pigs never receive routine antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones and are never fed meat or meat by-products.  We treat our pigs very humanely, giving them access the outdoors as the weather permits and clean areas to live.  Why is raising small groups of hogs without antibiotics better for you than factory production?  Check out this piece from the NT Times by Nicholas Kristof.

Want to try our pork served as it should be.  Check out Umpleby's Bakery in Hanover, NH.  Charles and Carolyn are locally famous for their meat pies and we are pleased to provide them with hams.

Our pork is available all year in individually wrapped cuts or by the half or whole.

The half and whole price for 2009 is $4.25/lb by the hot hanging weight.  There is an extra charge for smoking hams and bacon.  Please call or email to reserve cuts of pork, especially special ones, such as whole hams or loin roasts. 

Note Regarding Hanging Weight:

 Hanging weight refers to the weight of the carcass following skinning and eviscerating.  Pork sides will have to be chilled at least 24 hours in order to bring internal temperatures down to 35°F.  As producers, we have only limited control over when the slaughterhouse processes the hanging carcass due to inspection and time contraints.  Finally, weights can vary from 40-50% of the hanging weight due to the removal of bone and trim as well as excess backfat.  It is important to realize that a 125-lb. side of pork does not equal the same weight of meat in a box at the end of the process.

 If you have never had a pastured chicken, you probably don’t know what chicken was meant to taste like.  We raise certified organic Cornish Rock cross broilers on a diet of locally milled organic grains and pasture.  The birds are moved through pastures using electric netting, giving the birds access to fresh grass and great views of the mountains.  The manure left behind creates a fertile, lush sward of pasture which will be utilized later by other birds.  Chickens that have access to fresh grass and exercise live a much healthier, lower stress life that results in an unmatched quality of meat.  Birds are available fresh during the summer and fall and frozen during the winter and spring. 

Along with our meat birds, we raise a variety of breeds of laying hens which forage on pasture.  Our eggs have a bright orange yolk and are truly “farm fresh”.

The whole bird price for 2009 is $4.25/lb.  The bulk price (5 or more birds at a time) is $3.85/lb.  In light of the spikes in the price of fuel and grain, we reserve the right to change these prices as necessary.  Chickens are going fast this year.  Please call or email in advance to reserve your birds.