Local, hormone free meat source

[squashblossom]

This past weekend I attended a sustainable farming conference ( I am an organic vegetable grower) and I sat next to a meat producer from Boonsboro, MD at dinner. (Dinner was amazing- but that's another topic....) He sells in Frederick, MD at a market, and has been trying to get into the Dupont market, but that's surprisingly difficult to do- there are waiting lists. He would love to establish a market in DC, so I offered to try to find enough interested people to make the trip down worthwhile for him. If you are interested or have more questions, please email me. Here's a little more info about what he offers and his operation:

The farm is DaKaRoh Farm, located in Boonsboro, MD. It is owned and operated by Danny Rohrer. He raises beef cattle, pork, lamb, goat, chickens and turkeys. He is not certified organic, but his animals are hormone free. His cattle are pastured, then penned and "finished" on grains (corn, soybeans, barley, wheat, Timothy hay) for about two weeks before they are butchered. He believes corn finished cattle have a superior taste to purely grassfed. His chickens are free-range. By law, butchering is done at a USDA certified station.

So- get some very fresh, tasty, hormone free meat and support small-scale local farms!

[Malawry]

As a certified farm market junkie, I'd be willing to schlep to Frederick once and check it out.

Meanwhile has he tried for the Takoma (Park, MD) market? (It too has a waiting list, but it's not nearly as long as Dupont's...and it costs less to vend there too). Also there's tons of new markets in places like Mt Pleasant, Adams-Morgan. There's a market in Rockville and one in Silver Spring, both of which would benefit greatly from a new meat vendor. Has he checked out the Courthouse (Arlington, VA) market, which is one of the largest and busiest in the area? There's a lot more than Dupont around...

[hjshorter]

The Rockville Market has no meat vendor at all. It would be great to get one. The market isn't year-round though, it runs June - October.

[laniloa]

A subset of the people at the Dupont market have a seasonal market in Georgetown. It just started last fall and I hope it will be back this spring.

[squashblossom]

I'll suggest all these things to him- does anyone know where I can get a list of contacts at various markets for him?

[bbq4meanytime]

Can you post contact info for him and/or the ranch? I'd be interested in patronizing him, and a good foodie friend of mine lives near Frederick, MD, I'm sure he'd be interested too.

Edited January 21, 2004 by bbq4meanytime (log)

[squashblossom]

Rohrer's Meats

DaKaRoh Farm

dakarohfarm@aol.com

[Malawry]

Squashblossom, washingtonpost.com normally maintains a list of area farm markets including contact info or websites so your friend can learn more about how to vend. Let us know if he finds any success...I'm not the only farm market junkie around here who'd support this person.

[tjaehnigen]

Man, I'd love some good local meat, too.

[squashblossom]

Thanks guys. I just got in touch with the ladies who run the freshfarm markets and they sent him an application- they have/are going to open more markets so hopefully he'll be here soon!