Pep's Poultry

it's a store in a farmer's market. I would be surprised to hear they raised their own animals. I always thought they were a bit on the expensive side? have they dropped their prices?

I found them on the internet. It is cheaper to buy their meat and have it shipped than it is to buy grass-fed stuff locally. I never even thought that they might not raise their own meat.. Hm.. Their prepared stuff might be expensive but the raw stuff on their website is unbelievably cheap!

next time I'm up there I can ask them, but I really didn't get the impression they had their own farm on prior visits. They are in this huge permanent flea market/ farmers market type complex open on weekends only.

k_dawg

I found them on the internet. It is cheaper to buy their meat and have it shipped than it is to buy grass-fed stuff locally. I never even thought that they might not raise their own meat.. Hm.. Their prepared stuff might be expensive but the raw stuff on their website is unbelievably cheap!

 Their prices don't seem unbelievable cheap to me - about typically of what I pay here for chicken (which I think is a bit high actually).

Well, to give some examples, I pay $6.50 a pound locally for grass-fed ground beef, Pep's charges $1.55 per pound. Their tripe is only $1.99 a pound which I can't even find locally, I can only find it in the can, which is over $2 a can. Their necks and backs are $.65 a pound and I pay $1.29 a pound. And the list goes on. The last time I placed an order with Pep's  I was pretty late on my payment (they actually shipped it before they even gave me the total) and the guy got really irritated with me, so now I don't feel comfortable grilling him about the care of the animals. All I remember is that a long time ago I asked if they were free-range (or did I say grass-fed? I can't even remember... and he said yes. And it seems unusual to me for a place to have such a comprehensive list of raw meat for sale if they don't raise the animals themselves.

k_dawg

Well, to give some examples, I pay $6.50 a pound locally for grass-fed ground beef, Pep's charges $1.55 per pound. Their tripe is only $1.99 a pound which I can't even find locally, I can only find it in the can, which is over $2 a can. Their necks and backs are $.65 a pound and I pay $1.29 a pound. And the list goes on. The last time I placed an order with Pep's  I was pretty late on my payment (they actually shipped it before they even gave me the total) and the guy got really irritated with me, so now I don't feel comfortable grilling him about the care of the animals. All I remember is that a long time ago I asked if they were free-range (or did I say grass-fed? I can't even remember... and he said yes. And it seems unusual to me for a place to have such a comprehensive list of raw meat for sale if they don't raise the animals themselves.

 Actually the fact that there is such a variety makes it far more likely they aren't raising their own animals, as it would be very unusual to find soemone raising so many different animals themselves. I get goat and beef from the same place - the guy tried raising turkeys a few years for Thanksgiving but otherwise he just raises cows and goats. Chicken comes from a large scale chicken farm that doesn't raise anything but chickens. When I used to feed turkey necks, they came from a farm that just raises turkeys. Distributors tend to have carry more of a variety, since they stock what there is a demand for.

Well dang.

Well, to give some examples, I pay $6.50 a pound locally for grass-fed ground beef, Pep's charges $1.55 per pound. Their tripe is only $1.99 a pound which I can't even find locally, I can only find it in the can, which is over $2 a can. Their necks and backs are $.65 a pound and I pay $1.29 a pound. And the list goes on.

yeah, but I really don't think their meat is grass-fed free-range, and if so, it's incredibly expensive. You can buy the same cuts on sale at your regular grocery for much less- chicken quarters commonly go for 50 cents a pound, and I've never seen chicken necks cost more than 25 cents a pound.

Well, the point was to get grass-fed meat. Trust me, it is far cheaper than anything around where I live. I don't buy grocery store meat. I finally emailed the guy. No response yet.

Here we go! Looks like we were both right. This is his response:

Anyone who raises livestock should be prepared and happy to answer any customer's questions about how they're raised. So if you want to know whether they feed anything besides pasture, use hormone implants or supplements, separate animals that have been treated with antibiotics, etc. you should ask those questions too and hopefully get a forthright response. Good job in finding a local source of good quality poultry. I can't wait until we can raise our own here. Eggs and good quality chicken are so expensive at the store.

well, if you're really concerned about the welfare of the livestock you might demand some addresses and go take a look. The amish in general have a truly unpleasant rep here in PA about how badly they treat their animals, varies by individual though I'm sure.

Dang! I just can't win.