Willow City Farm

We hope all our customers and Goats + Yoga yogis are well! We are doing our best to keep ourselves (and you) healthy during these uncertain times.  Emmet and Finnegan are enjoying homeschooling at the farm with all these spring babies around.  We've welcomed quite a few new baby animals already, and we're excited about our biggest addition this summer, another little HUMAN baby boy due in July!  

 

With the new baby due this summer, we're taking extra precautions!  As a firefighter, Joe is still working and following lots of extra protocols to keep the city AND our family safe, too, so rest assured that the farm (outside at least) is still operating as business as usual!  We even have volunteer opportunities that can be done practicing safe social distancing!

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New Meat Purchase Policy

Sorry, but we are currently out of all individual meat cuts. We are still able to process whole and half hog and steer, or whole lamb or goat.

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Due to the crisis at processing plants, it's very difficult to get a processing date!  We currently only have whole and half or quarter steer, half or whole hogs, or whole lamb or goat available.

 

 Our steer processing dates are in June and July, and our hog processing is set for July 27th and not again until August.  We don't currently have any lamb or goat dates available as those are set as deposits are made.

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We currently have openings, but they are filling up fast.  To make a deposit for find out how much meat you'll get (or freezer space you'll need!) check out our butcher cut instruction page here.

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Here's how the process works:

 

Once you place your deposit, we'll set your butcher date.  (As May 14, 2020  we have dates secured and animals available for the next few months.  Once those dates are sold, we'll call to schedule new butcher dates.)

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Once your date is secured, we'll contact you to let you know when your meat should be available.  Sometime before cutting, we'll go over the butcher cut instructions with you step by step.  It can be confusing, but we'll ask you all kinds of questions to determine the right cuts for you.  Do you have a big family, or small?  Do you have a smoker?  Do you like your steaks REALLY thick, or just average?  We'll cover it all with you!

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When will it be ready?

 

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For steer, they will hang and dry age for about 14  - 21 days.  We will deliver the meat as soon as it's ready!

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Hogs don't dry age, but the cure does take 2 weeks, so if you have ham or bacon in your order, expect it ready about 2 weeks after the butcher date.

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Lamb and goat are available within the week of the butcher date.

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As always, feel free to call us with any questions.

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How much does it cost?

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• Beef:  The average WHOLE steer's hanging weight is 760lbs.  Grass fed steer are a little less.  Beef prices are between $4.90/lb to $5.20/lb hanging weight.  The processing fees are extra, and are on overage $.70/lb.  Slaughter and disposal fees vary as well, and are about $75 per WHOLE steer.

• Pork: The average WHOLE hog's hanging weight is 140#.   Pork prices are between$2.90/lb hanging weight.  The processing fees are extra, and are on overage $.50/lb.  Slaughter and disposal fees vary as well, and are about $50 per WHOLE hog.

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Goats + Yoga Updates

Goats + Yoga is what keeps our farm running, so it's scary for us that our events may have to be cancelled or rescheduled.  The goats earn their keep and pay for themselves.

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We have rescheduled our May events @ Obed and Isaac's!!! Our new dates will be September 6th for Peoria and August 23rd for Springfield!  We've also added a date at our farm on June 14th!

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If you already have tickets, you will automatically be rescheduled for the new date/time. If the date works for you, you won't need to do anything. Your old tickets will work!

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If the new date doesn't work, just let us know. We have three other events scheduled for Springfield and currently one other for Peoria in September. (We will open registration in the next few weeks for our fall events.)

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Please note your tickets are good for ANY Willow City Farm event for 18 months.

If in fact we must cancel any classes and cannot reschedule them, we will be offering rainchecks to ANY class that are good for 18 months. 

 

Want to help us out?  Purchase a ticket that's good for any class anytime here!  Our goat yoga program pays to keeps our animals healthy and fed, and without our ticket income, we're having to make difficult financial decisions that we never thought we'd have to make as a small business.  We know you're things are difficult for everyone, so know we're here to sympathize with you! Thanks again for your amazing support!

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Tara