CSA Shares

Community Suported Agriculture (CSA) is a way of connecting farmers to their customers in a relationship of mutual support.  We sell "shares" at the beginning of the season, which supports the farmer in buying feed and necessary supplies, and supports the community by making local and nutritious foods available and convenient.

North Mountain Pastures (NMP) will operate a little differently than a typical vegetable CSA. The main similarity is that we are collecting the money up front.  We guarantee that you will get the amount of meat you pay for (measured in weight). Another difference is that we are offering products from more than one farm. Our goal is just to offer quality meats, whether they be grown here or sourced locally. In this sense, we are like a cooperative of farmers selling products through the NMP CSA.

Our CSA offers a monthly delivery of pastured, grass-fed beef, pastured chicken, grassfed lamb, and pastured pork.  Our third season will run five months: July - November 2010.

Meats offered:

All of our meats are humanely raised on pasture.  The chickens and hogs are fed a grain mix of organically grown or GMO-free grain and minerals.  The hogs also get whey from a grassfed cheese-making operation.  The beef and lamb are 100% grassfed.  If you have questions about how the animals are raised, please visit our livestock webpages and feel free to contact us. All meat is delivered frozen, unless noted otherwise.

Chicken: whole (with the exception of original quarter shares and small everything shares which only get the equivalent of one half of a chicken or chicken pieces per month). 

Pork: cuts included are an assortment made up mostly of chops, ribs, and shoulder roasts. 

Beef and lamb: cuts for all shares are a mix of ground, steaks, and roasts, reflecting the yield from a whole animal.

Share Types and Prices:

We are asking for full payment by June 30.

Description of Share Types:

Original Shares– Beef and Chicken: about 55% beef and 45% chicken:

• Full share: 20 lbs/month- approx. 11 lbs. of beef and 9 lbs. of chicken (2 whole)
• Half share: 10 lbs/month- approx. 5.5 lbs. of beef and 4.5 lbs. of chicken (1 whole)
• Quarter share: 5 lbs/month- approx. 3 lbs. of beef and 2 lbs. of chicken (halves or pieces)

Pork Included shares– Beef, Chicken, and Pork:  about 45% chicken, 27.5% pork, and 27.5% beef:

• Full Pork Included share: 20 lbs/month- approx. 6 lbs of pork, 6 lbs of beef, and 8 lbs of chicken (2 whole)
• Half Pork Included share: 10 lbs/month- approx. 3 lbs of pork, 3 lbs of beef, and 4 lbs of chicken (1 whole)

Everything Shares- Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Lamb: about 25% each chicken, beef, pork, lamb:

• Full everything share: 20 lbs/month- approx. 5 lbs of beef, 5 lbs of pork, 5 lbs of lamb, and 5 lbs of chicken (1 large whole)
• Medium everything share: 12 lbs/month- approx. 3 lbs of beef, 3 lbs of pork, 2 lbs of lamb, and 4 lbs chicken (1 whole)
• Small everything share: 8 lbs/month- approx. 2 lbs beef, 2 lbs pork, 2 lbs lamb, and 2 lbs chicken (1/2 whole)

Chicken Only shares - three chickens a month, averaging about 4 lbs each.  These chickens are always whole, unless noted otherwise.

We assume that one serving of meat (for an adult) is about 0.5 pounds (picture two 1/4 lb. burgers, or an 8 oz. steak, or one large chicken breast).

So, a full share would be appropriate for:

• A family of four eating 9-11 meals/mo. from the CSA
• A family of three eating 12-15 meals/mo.
• A family of two eating 16-22 meals/mo.

All meat is delivered frozen, unless noted otherwise.

Please Note:  We do pro-rate shares every month.  Please see our Online Ordering page for up to date pricing if you are signing up late in the season!