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GrassRoots Meats Newsletter July 2008
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in this issue
-- Late, Late, For a Very Important Date!
-- Survey Results
-- New Pricing on Packages
-- Safe Meat
-- No More DHL Delivery
-- Cheaper Shipping Costs
-- In Closing ...
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Late, Late, For a Very Important Date!
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SO very sorry this newsletter is late this month. I don't suppose any of you are anxiously waiting for the newsletter to arrive each month, but being late is not my mode of doing business. A lot has been going on, and things have been pretty hectic. Getting the newsletter out was something that just had to wait. Perhaps you would have been too busy to read it anyway! |
Survey Results
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Thanks to all of you who took our survey, and thanks for all of the compliments on our website and about our product. The survey was overwhelmingly positive, which is so encouraging. However, many of you did express a desire to be able to order online. I will try to get something done on our website to make this possible, but it is not as easy as you might think. The first difficulty is that every package weight is different, so if you were to order a custom package of meat there is no way to check out online because there is no way to be certain the you will be receiving the exact weight that you ordered. Also, to do an online checkout, freight charges would have to be set and standard for all shipments, and as you know the prices vary tremendously depending on what part of the country you live in. That would mean I would have to average out the shipping costs, and most of you within our two day UPS shipping area would be paying MUCH higher shipping while those in farther reaching areas would pay less. I just don't think that is a good idea, as we are trying to concentrate on a more localized area and this would work very negatively in that regard. I know all of you are very concerned about the high cost of food and fuel, and we are doing everything we can to keep our prices as low and competitive as possible, so that you can afford to feed your families healthy meat.
I am going to begin work on an online order form that is just a preliminary order, and one that I would figure freight charges and actual weights and get back with the customer for confirmation and credit card numbers. Hopefully this will be a good compromise solution. I will let you know when the online form is available. In the meantime, please know that you can always send us an email to place your order, and if we do not already have your credit card on file, we will call you at your convenience to get it. Once we have your card on file, all future orders can be done via email. |
New Pricing on Packages
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We only had a few changes on beef prices in July, and some actually went down. Hopefully this will be our last beef price change for a while. We also changed the pricing on a number of the beef packages, and actually increased the amount of meat in each of them. I honestly think they are an even better value now. They will certainly be a better weight for minimizing shipping costs. Check them out and see what you think.
New Meat Package Prices |
Safe Meat
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I guess Kroger just announced a huge recall of Ground Beef because of E.coli contamination. Please be assured that the beef and lamb you buy from us is safe, for a number of reasons. The primary reason, though, is that our beef is finished on grass, with no added grain. It is the grain that leads to E.coli problems.
The acid balance in the animal's stomach is changed when it is fed grain, and it leads to an environment where it is more acidic and less neutral, which is its normal state. It actually becomes more like our stomachs. In meat from a grass finished animal, the E.coli that might survive is easily eliminated by the acid in our more acidic stomachs. However, as the stomach of a grain finished animal becomes more acidic because of the grain that it is eating, it begins to look more and more like our stomach, and resistant E.coli strains begin to develop. Since our stomachs are no longer more acidic that the animal's stomach, we are unable to kill off that strain of bacteria and we become sick. While scientists in the meat industry are searching for all kinds of ways to kill off E.coli bacteria, we continue to produce beef and lamb the way God intended, and continue to offer you safe meat that you can trust will not make you sick because of E.coli contamination. |
No More DHL Delivery
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For all of our customers in the areas beyond our UPS Ground Delivery, I am very sorry to tell you that DHL has cancelled pickups in our area and we will no longer be able to ship to you in this way. Our only alternative will be UPS Two Day which is more expensive than DHL. We can still ship to you, but apoloigize for the increased cost. |
Cheaper Shipping Costs
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I am working on a few things that may decrease shipping costs some. More news about that in future newsletters, when I am able to get it done. In the meantime, keep in mind that in the summer we need to take extra precautions to insure that your meat gets to you still frozen, such as thicker box liners and the addition of dry ice. Both of these options add some additional cost to your shipping, but at least we can relax knowing that you will get your meat in good condition.
One thing to think about for the future is to stock up in the spring for the summer. This could save you a little money, but requires some planning. While the savings is not tremendous, it is a way to save a little money for those of you on tighter budgets. |
In Closing ...
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It has been a great summer so far, and as always we like to thank you for your continued support for GrassRoots Meats. It has been hot and dry here, but we are finally getting some much needed rain. The animals are doing well and looks like we will have lots of meat this fall. Keep those orders coming in!
Lois & Allan |
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Phone: 970-731-1471; 800-681-2260
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