Happy Hobo Grass Fed Beef Jerky

Our friends and grass-fed beef jerky meat suppliers Dave Dutton and Sonia Sola, of Nectar Hills Farm, were recently featured in a New York Times story, In New York, Local Meat Is Easier to Find.

One of the new meat sellers is Dave Dutton, who, with his life and business partner, Sonia Sola, left a life in Manhattan to start raising the shaggy cattle called Scottish Highland on a farm in Schenevus, N.Y., near Cooperstown.

They like the breed because it’s hardy enough to survive on meager hay and because the animals’ long coats mean less fat, which means leaner meat, which some people prefer.

They plan to slaughter about 20 this year, some of which they’ll sell at a Greenmarket near Columbia University in Manhattan on Thursdays. Even the ground beef, at $8 a pound, sells fast.

“The people who are aware of what they’re eating are realizing things are getting pretty scary out there,” Mr. Dutton said.

It’s a good article, even though the reporter didn’t visit the farm, just the photographer. The reporter didn’t mention the farm’s name, either, which would be helpful for struggling farmers. Enterprising web searchers will easily be able to find Dave and Sonia’s site by searching for their names, but it sure would have helped to mention the farm.

Of course, we send Nectar Hills Farm grass-fed beef all over the world, making it decidedly not local. But we do take the water out, which is what beef jerky is, and our product is very light. We figure the benefits of opening new markets for this beef (which is better for you, the animals, and the planet) outweigh the cost of shipping the lightweight product to people who want to support us.