Shawano Farm Market

Johnson Quality Meats
My sister and brother in-law, Lindsay & Brad, and their son Isaac raise beef cattle and during the warm months broiler chickens. Make sure you check out their website. You can read more about how the chickens are raised and even listen to them chirp in this post.
Fast forwarding a few weeks to the end product: meat for the consumer. Once the animal has gained the proper amount of weight it is ready to be harvested. This takes place at a state inspected facility. The beef is made into smaller, consumable cuts (see types of cuts here) for you to prepare in your kitchen. The chicken is sold whole but is shrink-wrapped and weighed at the butchering facility.
Now we know that Isaac loves beef and chicken; however he can’t eat it all himself, so they sell it at the Shawano Famer’s Market every Saturday in the summer and fall. They even let me help out one Saturday, here’s what I saw:

Over the years they’ve established quite the clientele. People come just to get a Johnson steak, package of beef or whole chicken.

This is packaged ground beef. All of the meat is stored in a large freezer chest kept on the back of their truck.
It's critical that meat remains frozen until it is ready to be thawed for cooking.

A farmer’s market is a great place to get your questions answered about where your food comes from. Who better to ask than the person, Lindsay in this case, who raised it.

When the tent is up they're ready for business!
As you can imagine, lots of socializing takes place.

The work ethic of farm kids is instilled at a young age. At only 1 year Isaac already wants to help out in the Johnson’s Quality Meat tent. He’s not putting on an act just because he’s in public, Isaac works just as hard behind the scenes at the farm by carrying feed pails (so what if they’re empty) and handfuls of hay to the cows. So those cows in return can someday feed you and your family.

Isaac thought the prices on the whiteboard needed to be adjusted.

If you’re ever in the Shawano area on a Saturday, stop in at the Farmer’s Market and pick up some Johnson beef or a chicken.
Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about Famer’s Markets or if you have a burning question on how farm animals are raised.