They are not the same, not apple to apples. We are targeting a market with discerning taste and a desire for higher nutritional content while supporting their local and regional rural communities. These attributes of our product drive costs up a bit.
Grocery store meat typically comes from high volume feed lots that can accommodate the volume needed by grocery store chains. The cattle are confined to these areas until ready for processing. Grocery stores, as they use large volume processors that are often from out of state, have a cost advantage that comes at the expense of local farmers and processors, product differentiation, and quality.
Buying half a cow from the local farmer is different also. Like our meat, the animals are pasture-raised, grazing on whatever is in the fields and live fairly stress free lives, which adds to the quality of the product. They are either grass or grain finished. Typically that meat is processed, wrapped and ready for delivery on the same day and is not dry aged. However, buying beef this way is often performed at processing facilities that are Custom Exempt, meaning that your beef was not slaughtered or butchered in accordance with State or USDA processes and procedures. Only the owner(s) of the animal being processed may procure beef in this way. It is unlawful to resell meat processed Custom Exempt. Performing proper safety and quality inspections and monitoring adds to the cost of processing.
Our meat has the additional step of dry aging which increases nutrient content in the meat and reduces the amount of weight due to moisture evaporation. The meat has a richer taste and is more tender than non-aged meat. Our meat is also packaged for resale, so it undergoes more inspection requirements.
