Annual Subscriptions (CSA)

What is This?

This subscription model is called community shared agriculture (CSA) and it is sometimes also called community-supported agriculture.

A Subscription (CSA) customer places an order for a certain quantity of meat in advance of receiving the meat (usually at the beginning of the growing season). This allows the customer to reserve their annual portion of the farm’s production (1/8th of a cow or 8 whole chickens as an example) which is then delivered over the course of the next delivery season in one lump sum delivery, or several smaller deliveries.

The sale of subscriptions allows the farmers to focus on farming, without having to live with the uncertainty of not knowing whether all of the year’s production will be sold. Subscriptions (CSA) give farms the stability to farm well, act ecologically, and produce better-tasting and more nutritious food.

How does it Work?

Every year, about 450 households from across the Ottawa / Gatineau area receive meat from Grazing Days Farm through the subscription (CSA) model. This is how it works:

1. You decide on what kind of subscription they want based on how much meat they eat in a year, and how much freezer storage space they have at home. Please use the filter menu on the left side of our subscription pages to help you select the right order for your household or refer to our Order Guides.
2. You enter your postal code during the check-out process and select the available delivery dates for your orders to be delivered.
3. You check-out and pay for your order.
4. Over the course of the spring, summer, and fall we raise the animals on our farm and prepare them for you to enjoy. We invite you to keep up to date on what is happening on the farm through our website and social media accounts and invite you to join us on the farm for a farm tour.
5. About 10 days prior to your first delivery, we get in touch with you to confirm the details of your delivery and to invite you to add any additional items such as soup bones, organ meats, or anything else that you may want to add to your order.
6. About 3 days prior to your we confirm a 90 minute delivery date within which we will be at your house.
7. We deliver your order.

If your order is spread out over a number of deliveries, we will keep track of the types of cuts you are receiving and when, and make sure that you receive a variety of cuts that is proportionate to the make-up of the meat in the animal.

Whom is it for?

A Subscription (CSA) order from Grazing Days farm is ideal for people who:

1. Want to support Grazing Days and all of the work they are doing to raise livestock ethically, in a way that is healthy, good for the environment and builds community and the local economy.
2. Are looking for the best value. Our Subscription offers are at least 10% less expensive than if you were to order the same cuts of meat individually through our Order by the Cut system. Also, there are often little bonuses of more than 10lbs in a 10lb box.
3. Don’t want to worry about what or how much meat to buy more than once a year – With the subscription, you place your order once and you are set for the year.
4. Love variety. We keep track of the cuts of meat that you receive over the course of a year and make sure you receive a great variety of cuts.
5. Like the challenge of cooking with cuts that they are less familiar with and have received as part of their order.
6. Like the home delivery. All subscription boxes are delivered to your home at no additional cost.
7. Want the option of adding items from our Order by the Cut menu to their subscription order at no extra cost.
8. Want access to our delicious bacon. Since bacon is in limited supply, people who order subscriptions get first dibs.

Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) Contract

The following outlines a few of the things that we as Grazing Days agree to and what a customer agrees to when they sign up for a Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) share.

Starting:

Middle of October

Duration:

Grazing Days boxes of frozen grass-fed beef, pastured pork and pastured chicken are available for 9 months, from October until June. The deliveries will happen on Saturdays and will vary each month depending on the neighbourhood within which you live. You will sign up for the precise delivery dates at the time of your order.

Grazing Days:

Grazing Days is committed to raising and distributing quality grass-fed Angus beef, pastured pork and pastured chicken to you, our subscription (CSA) member. While providing you with this delicious and healthy beef, we promise to run our operation in an ecologically friendly way that protects our soils and rejuvenates our aquifers. We promise that our beef is 100% grass-fed (no grain) and free from artificial hormones and antibiotics.

Grazing Days will use antibiotics to treat a sick animal if there is no other organic treatment available. This meat will be sold to our customers, but we will fully disclose that the animal has been treated at the time of sale and we will adjust the price accordingly.

Grazing Days promises to provide you with the delivery of frozen grass-fed beef, pastured pork, or pastured chicken as per your order, to an address in Ottawa or Gatineau. The deliveries will happen on or near the dates that you have specified.

Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) Customers:

As a Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) customer, you promise to understand the challenges related to raising and delivering grass-fed beef:

1. You will promise to be flexible around the types of cuts you receive in your delivery. At Grazing Days we are aware of the value of different cuts of meat and we promise to make an effort to distribute the beef fairly so that over the course of the delivery season the value of the meat you receive is proportional to the total value of the full animal.
2. You promise to work with us to arrange a time to be available to receive your box on delivery weekend. Delivery dates and times will be arranged about 10 days in advance of your beef delivery weekend. Please note that if you miss your agreed delivery time we will charge a $10 delivery fee for each time we need to return to your address to deliver you beef.

As a Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) customer, you promise to read the CSA information found on https://grazingdays.ca (this website) and to stay informed about being a Grazing Days Subscription (CSA) customer. We commit to sharing information from the farm with you throughout the season on our website and through our mailing list. We commit to providing you with opportunities to visit the farm and to learn about grass-fed beef production.

Together we will be making our food system happier, healthier, more safe and more sustainable. We look forward to being part of your local food community and getting to know you better.