kanshow said:
Nicole, Do you store your cuts at your place or do you have freezer space rented at the locker? I imagine laws vary from state to state but wonder if the inspection becomes void after the meat would leave the state inspected locker.. I need to check our state laws because we could sell a lot of beef this way.
We have 3 uprights that we keep full here at our place. When I first ran an ad in the paper someone from the State Board of Health stopped by. We told him where it was processed and he said you are fine then and keep doing what we where doing. Didn't ask to check our freezer temp or anything. I think he just stopped by to make sure we weren't processing in our back yard. We do not have a retailers license. We run it thru our farming operation as farm income.
The business is out there. There are several people in Indiana doing this. They also take coolers to Farmer's Markets across Indiana. One farm goes to an affluent part of Indianapolis and sells out their vehicle a couple times a year.
Do your homework on pricing and what you need to charge to make money. Do not try to compete with store prices. You are selling a specialty product. Once people try our meat they do not want to buy it from the store again.
I have customers come and buy 2-20lbs of hamburger at a time. Some just want steaks or roast. It works out great for them and for us.
Let me know if you have more questions.
