What is a Herd Share?
How it Works
- Ownership: Purchase a share of an animal (e.g., 1/4 of a cow) or a portion of the entire herd
- Contract: A legal agreement establishes partial ownership
- Boarding: Pay the farmer ongoing fees (agistment fees) for feeding, housing, and caring for the animal
- Product: Receive share of the processed meat and/or dairy production as it becomes available or in bulk, often after slaughter and custom butchering
- Legality: It is a legal workaround in some areas to access products like raw milk or meat where direct sales are restricted, by making one a part-owner rather than a direct buyer of the final product
Benefits of Investing in a Herd Share
- Access to high-quality, pasture-raised meat with transparency in how it is produced
- Directly supports small, local agricultural producers
- Often provides better value for premium cuts compared to store-bought meat
- Fosters a connection to your food source and local food systems
Why We Chose Flourish & Roam
Local Location
Flourish & Roam is located in Moscow, OH, an easy drive from our current home in Independence. The closer to home our food is raised, the more comfortable we feel consuming it. Having a local meat and dairy source also allows us to get eyes on the environment and practices being used to raise our animals.
Furthermore, it allows us to really get to know the farmers caring for our animals. We have already had several conversations with the owners of Flourish & Roam, Josh and Sarah (absolutely wonderful people), visited the farm and shop, and have even tried some of the meat and dairy from past itemized purchases.
Since we are able to visit the farm from which we get our meat and dairy, there is 100% transparency with regards to how our food is raised (cleanliness, practices, space, health). The owners have even offered to give us a tour of the property and practices. They encourage questions and provide detailed transparent answers.
Organic Products
The unfortunate truth is that the label “organic” at the grocery store is relatively easy for meat and dairy producers to obtain and does not necessarily line up with the kind of food for which we are looking. During our search for organic local meat sources, we found, in the fine print, many indications and practices that did not align with what we thought of as organic, but instead satisfied the federal requirements of the label.
Flourish & Roam is the real thing with absolute transparency- 100% organic (no pesticides, herbicides, or mRNA vaccines). From our past conversations with the owners, we learned they always opt for holistic disease prevention when possible (pasture rotation and regenerative grass grazing). Pigs and chickens receive no vaccines whatsoever. While cattle may receive traditional vaccine administration only when there is a risk of life-threatening viral or bacterial infection, these animals are never processed until the vaccine is 100% out of their system (typically ~1 year).
Regenerative Farming
Most of the food we consume (meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, etc.) is produced through conventional farming, which focuses on control through chemistry (fertilizers, pesticides), separation and confinement of crops and livestock, and monocultures to maximize yeilds, often to the detriment of the ecosystem.
Regenerative farming aims to restore and improve ecosystems by building soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and sequestering carbon. It uses natural practices like cover crops, no-till farming, pasture rotation and grazing, true free-range access, natural plant and animal behaviors, reduced or no antibiotics, natural disease remedies, and integration of crops and livestock. Its goal is to find harmony with nature to create healthier, more resilient systems which results in more nutrient-dense food, improved water cycles, and restoration of soil health.
Flourish & Roam was founded by owners, John and Sarah, each of whom obtained their PhD in Animal Science, with regenerative farming as the basis. Their goals are to (1) provide healthy nutrient-dense food to their own children and to other local families, (2) restore the health of our depleting soil, (3) improve biodiversity, and (4) fight climate change through holistic techniques and farm-to-table style farming.
Return On Investment
Buying in bulk already saves us money for meat. It’s true that we will pay more for organic, regenerative farming-raised meat, but when the cost is broken down, we are right at market value for the cuts we receive. Where the real value comes in is in the quality of the food. The nutrient-dense meat we eat will, in theory, reduce costs of supplemental health-related efforts such as vitamins, medicines, doctor visits, skincare, etc.
We are of the opinion that you cannot put a pricetag on your own health. The more holistic our efforts, the more value we attribute. Quality food is at the basis of our quality of life, and we believe the prices of shares with Flourish & Roam are fair and justifyable given the many benefits not only to our bodies, but to our local environment, our local farmers, and our lifestyle goals.
There are many meat herd share options including Berkshire Hog, Dry Aged Beef, and Chicken, as well as raw milk shares with Flourish & Roam. Furthermore, their shop includes other items such as lamb, fish, eggs, yogurt, honey, flour, skincare, and more.
What is a Herd Share?
How it Works
- Ownership: Purchase a share of an animal (e.g., 1/4 of a cow) or a portion of the entire herd
- Contract: A legal agreement establishes partial ownership
- Boarding: Pay the farmer ongoing fees (agistment fees) for feeding, housing, and caring for the animal
- Product: Receive share of the processed meat and/or dairy production as it becomes available or in bulk, often after slaughter and custom butchering
- Legality: It is a legal workaround in some areas to access products like raw milk or meat where direct sales are restricted, by making one a part-owner rather than a direct buyer of the final product
Benefits of Investing in a Herd Share
- Access to high-quality, pasture-raised meat with transparency in how it is produced
- Directly supports small, local agricultural producers
- Often provides better value for premium cuts compared to store-bought meat
- Fosters a connection to your food source and local food systems
Why We Chose
Flourish & Roam
Local Location
Flourish & Roam is located in Moscow, OH, an easy drive from our current home in Independence. The closer to home our food is raised, the more comfortable we feel consuming it. Having a local meat and dairy source also allows us to get eyes on the environment and practices being used to raise our animals.
Furthermore, it allows us to really get to know the farmers caring for our animals. We have already had several conversations with the owners of Flourish & Roam, Josh and Sarah (absolutely wonderful people), visited the farm and shop, and have even tried some of the meat and dairy from past itemized purchases.
Since we are able to visit the farm from which we get our meat and dairy, there is 100% transparency with regards to how our food is raised (cleanliness, practices, space, health). The owners have even offered to give us a tour of the property and practices. They encourage questions and provide detailed transparent answers.
Organic Products
The unfortunate truth is that the label “organic” at the grocery store is relatively easy for meat and dairy producers to obtain and does not necessarily line up with the kind of food for which we are looking. During our search for organic local meat sources, we found, in the fine print, many indications and practices that did not align with what we thought of as organic, but instead satisfied the federal requirements of the label.
Flourish & Roam is the real thing with absolute transparency- 100% organic (no pesticides, herbicides, or mRNA vaccines). From our past conversations with the owners, we learned they always opt for holistic disease prevention when possible (pasture rotation and regenerative grass grazing). Pigs and chickens receive no vaccines whatsoever. While cattle may receive traditional vaccine administration only when there is a risk of life-threatening viral or bacterial infection, these animals are never processed until the vaccine is 100% out of their system (typically ~1 year).
Regenerative Farming
Most of the food we consume (meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, etc.) is produced through conventional farming, which focuses on control through chemistry (fertilizers, pesticides), separation and confinement of crops and livestock, and monocultures to maximize yeilds, often to the detriment of the ecosystem.
Regenerative farming aims to restore and improve ecosystems by building soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and sequestering carbon. It uses natural practices like cover crops, no-till farming, pasture rotation and grazing, true free-range access, natural plant and animal behaviors, reduced or no antibiotics, natural disease remedies, and integration of crops and livestock. Its goal is to find harmony with nature to create healthier, more resilient systems which results in more nutrient-dense food, improved water cycles, and restoration of soil health.
Flourish & Roam was founded by owners, John and Sarah, each of whom obtained their PhD in Animal Science, with regenerative farming as the basis. Their goals are to (1) provide healthy nutrient-dense food to their own children and to other local families, (2) restore the health of our depleting soil, (3) improve biodiversity, and (4) fight climate change through holistic techniques and farm-to-table style farming.
Return On Investment
Buying in bulk already saves us money for meat. It’s true that we will pay more for organic, regenerative farming-raised meat, but when the cost is broken down, we are right at market value for the cuts we receive. Where the real value comes in is in the quality of the food. The nutrient-dense meat we eat will, in theory, reduce costs of supplemental health-related efforts such as vitamins, medicines, doctor visits, skincare, etc.
We are of the opinion that you cannot put a pricetag on your own health. The more holistic our efforts, the more value we attribute. Quality food is at the basis of our quality of life, and we believe the prices of shares with Flourish & Roam are fair and justifyable given the many benefits not only to our bodies, but to our local environment, our local farmers, and our lifestyle goals.
There are many meat herd share options including Berkshire Hog, Dry Aged Beef, and Chicken, as well as raw milk shares with Flourish & Roam. Furthermore, their shop includes other items such as lamb, fish, eggs, yogurt, honey, flour, skincare, and more.