Ladies and Gentleman,

On Saturday, Rising Spring Meat Company had what I think was, if one were to look back at some point in the future, a pivot day with sales at the retail shop on Cooper Street in Spring Mills and as new vendors in the parking lot at Meyer's Dairy in State College.  We have struggled to find our stride, fits and starts, missteps, robbing Peter to pay Paul…and we continue to strive but yesterday, I think, should be set aside as day to mark time by.  It was a good day and we have you to thank for it. 

Many of you noted in your conversations with us that you had read the article in the CDT.  We have Anne Corr to thank for that.  None of us had seen the article until day’s end so we heard about in bits and pieces from you throughout the day.  All accounts were of a beautifully written article that also included, among others, Clay and Melanie Phillips from the Village Eating House and Lyn Garling of Over the Moon Farm, both of whom we are proud to work with.  The photography was great, lucky for us Rich doesn’t seem to take a bad picture and those steaks really got the message across.  Simply and publicly, to Anne, thank you. 

As we develop our understanding of what you’d like to see in our meat cases, it was apparent yesterday that steaks are a big hit.  The rib steaks, NY Strips and Delmonico’s were flying out of the cases and required a special restocking trip.  We are fortunate to have an excellent supply of high quality meats of both the grass- and corn-fed varieties, depending on your tastes.  We continue to get good reviews on our ground meat (if you bought it yesterday I believe it is accurate to say that it had at no point been ground longer than 4 hours at any given time as we kept running out [oh, and the animal was walking Tuesday morning]) and the patties seem to be taking off as well. 

We have found at the Meyer Dairy location that one of our challenges is having everything that you might be looking for.  Of course, we cannot have every last thing Rich carries at the retail shop on Cooper Street but we’d like to do our best to have what you want.  If you know ahead of time what you will need, we encourage you to pre-order and, if all else fails, we’ll try to get it too you later in the day or make some other arrangement.   One of you mentioned that using my cell number (814 359 6845) seemed intrusive…admittedly, late nite calls might not get answered but I give it to you for your convenience, please, feel free to use if it you have any questions about availability or timing or whatever (or complaints, believe it or not, I want to know). 

One thing I need to let you know is that though Rising Spring will be at Meyer Dairy Saturday stacked with steaks, grinds, patties, sausage, lamb and whatever else we can get on (and don’t forget), neither Mike or I will be there.  Mike is going to be planting crops on his family farm in Indiana and Laura and I will be at our niece’s graduation from high school in Decatur, IL.  Don’t worry, you’ll be in the good hands of Helen Kollar-McArthur, one of our people that you’ll be getting to know if we continue to serve you well and you make Rising Spring Meat Co. your regular meat supplier.  And just so you are convinced that I am crazy, the cell will still work so if you need something I’ll try to coordinate it from afar. 

One last note, we are bringing in more lambs for some of you Monday nite (that might be translated tonite depending on when I get this sent and when you are reading it).  If any of you have not yet ordered one and would like to, let me know by mid to late afternoon (no later than 4 pm…5 at the very latest…OK,6 if you have to).  An example of one of last week’s transactions was an animal that had a hanging weight of 42#, cost the customer $4.50/# on the hanging weight plus $15 for hauling and $75 to cut wrap and freeze (grand total of $279 for about 40# of meat in their freezer).  Not sure what the different weights mean? Check out our frequently asked questions section on the website here: http://www.risingspringmeats.com/frequently-asked-questions.  These lambs are from an entirely grass-fed herd and I can assure you that the meat is spectacular, the most mild lamb I have ever had the pleasure of eating. 

As always, we crave your business and commentary and thank you for your interest.   We trust all is well with you and thank you for making us your meat supplier. 

Jay Young

Rising Spring Meat Company

Good Morning!

Woke up to a bit of frost on the gardens this morning – what happened to ‘spring has sprung’? At least the willow is leafing out to provide proof that we’re not far off from warmer times. We also snuck a few chunky cuttings of asparagus last night for a snack while gardening – sure proof that the weather man is trying hard to tell the truth!

So, as you are getting your day underway and getting garden beds cleaned out and maybe your garage – have you planned dinner yet? If not, consider this – a beautiful drive to/through Penns Valley on Rt. 45. Take a right onto Fire Hall Road, your first right onto School Street, a left onto Long Street and a sharp right curve later you’ll be at the end of a rainbow at a place called Rising Spring Meat Company at 117 Cooper Street in Spring Mills!  We’ve been open since June for custom animal processing, since July for USDA inspected processing and now we get to add to that list of great opening dates that our retail shop is now open too! We opened about three weeks ago and are thrilled with the reception we’ve received!

Our cases contain fresh meat (chicken, pork, beef): steaks, roasts, stuffed meat, chops, burger, etc. We also carry John F. Martin lunchmeats and cheeses, hot dogs and bacon. In addition to our meat selection, we are carrying local products as well. Our current supply includes local: honey, marinades, roasted coffee, potatoes, jams and bread. Our local meat special this week is pork cuts and pork sausage from grass fed-pigs from Woodward, PA. We can arrange for other meats and cuts either on demand or for a future pickup.

Take a ride along 45 or along the creek and you’ll find us – we’d love to see you today – open from 8am-4pm. Call if you have any questions – 422-8810!

 With spring on our minds,

The staff at Rising Spring Meat Co.

Spring is definitely here and we are so excited that the doors to our retail shop are now open! It has been a long time coming and the team has been working hard to get this far. We’ll plan to have a grand opening of sorts sometime in the future, but for now we’re working on a slow/soft opening until we can get the hang of things and to learn what our customers are looking for. We sourced some great product for this week and hope that you’ll come have a look in our display cases and walk away with a few meals.  In weeks to come, we will begin sourcing local meat cut in our own slaughterhouse and would like some feedback about what you’d like to see!

Rising Spring Meat Co. is located on Cooper Street in Spring Mills – you may remember the old Myer Brother’s Meat shop – same place just new owners and a new name! We’ve heard stories from the Myer’s family and area residents how there used to be cars lined down the streets during the days when Myer’s had a retail store. We look forward to serving the community in that way again and are happy to bring quality meat to you!

Remember, in addition to our retail shop, we also process cows, hogs, sheep, bison, deer and goats in our slaughterhouse. So if you are a farmer and are looking for a location to have your animals processed, we’d love to talk to you. Also, if you are a customer and are looking to fill your freezer, we would be happy to acquaint you with some of the farmers with whom we regularly work so that you can talk about those possibilities.

Thank you for your interest in Rising Spring Meat Company. We are a young and enthusiastic group and your feedback is important to us – please let us know how we can serve you better!

Below you’ll find a list of the items in our cases today with their pricing. In addition to these items, we are also beginning to source other local products. This week you’ll find: Ardry Farm potatoes, Village Eatinghouse Sauces and Dressings, The Cornerstone Coffee Works Fresh Roasted Coffee (we watched it roast last night!!), Lost Hollow Honey and Demeter’s Garden Jams and Preserves. All of these items are from hard working farmers and small business owners from Boalsburg, Spring Mills, Howard, and Pleasant Gap and we will continue to feature these items and others as you request.

Have a great day and we hope to see you at the shop!

The ownership and staff at Rising Spring Meat Co.

Deli Items

• JF Martin Jalapeno and Onion Cheese Franks - $3.19/lb.
• JF Martin Cheese Franks - $3.09/lb.
• JF Martin Franks - $2.69/lb.
• JF Martin All Beef Franks - $3.79/lb.
• JF Martin 5lb. Box Franks - $10.49
• JF Martin Ring Bologna - $4.29/lb.
• JF Martin Turkey Breast - $5.99/lb.
• JF Martin Smoked Turkey Breast - $6.29/lb.
• JF Martin Roast Beef - $5.89/lb.
• JF Martin Virginia Baked Ham - $5.69/lb.
• JF Martin Cooked Ham - $2.79/lb.
• Sweet Lebanon Bologna - $4.79/lb.
• Regular Lebanon Bologna - $4.99/lb.
• Heidi Ann Swiss Cheese - $5.79/lb.
• Large Hole Swiss Cheese $5.79/lb.
• White American Cheese - $3.19/lb.
• Marble Colby Deli Horn Cheese - $4.49/lb.
• Pepper Jack Cheese - $4.59/lb.
• Horseradish Cheese - $4.49/lb.
• New York X-Sharp Cheddar Cheese - $5.99/lb.
• Munster Cheese - $4.89/lb.
• Provolone Cheese - $4.19/lb.

Beef

• Ground Beef - $3.29/lb.
• 1/4lb. Ground Beef Patties - $3.89/lb.
• Beef Cubed Steak - $4.59/lb.
• Boneless Top Blade Steaks - $4.99/lb.
• Boneless Beef Stewing Cubes - $4.29/lb
• Beef Bottom Round Steak - $4.49/lb.
• Boneless Beef Shoulder Steak - $429/lb.
• Boneless Beef Chuck Eye Steak - $4.99/lb.
• Delmonico Steaks - $8.99/lb.
• New York Strip Steaks - $7.99/lb.
• Boneless Sirloin Tip Steak - $4.99/lb.
• Boneless Top Sirloin Steak - $6.49/lb.
• Beef Bottom Round Roast - $3.89/lb.
• Rolled Rump Roast - $4.09/lb.
• Boneless Beef Shoulder Roast - $3.99/lb.
• Boneless Beef Chuck Roast - $4.19/lb.

Pork

• Stuffed Boneless Pork Chops - $3.99/lb.
• Boneless Pork Country Style Ribs - $3.00/lb.
• Pork Shoulder Butt Steak - $2.69/lb.
• Boneless Pork Loin Chops - $4.99/lb.
• Boneless Pork Loin Roast - $3.99/lb.
• Center Cut Pork Loin Chops - $3.69/lb.
• Country Style Pork Spare Ribs - $2.99/lb.
• Pork Shoulder Butt Roast - $2.49/lb.
• Loose Ground Pork (Sweet, Country, Hot Italian)
• JF Martin Bacon, 5lbs. - $19.95
• JF Martin Bacon ends and pieces - $2.89/lb.
• JF Martin Sliced Bacon - $4.49/lb.
• JF Martin Center Cut Ham Slice - $4.29/lb.
• JF Martin Ham Ends - $2.19/lb.

Chicken

• Whole Chicken Legs - $1.69/lb.
• Whole Chicken Breast – 2.39/lb.
• Stuffed Chicken Breast Boneless - $2.99/lb.
• Chicken Thighs - $1.89/lb.
• Chicken Drumsticks - $1.79/lb.
• Split Chicken Breast - $2.59/lb.
• Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast - $3.49/lb.

             The latest in RSMC news….. we have moved forward with opening the retail store which is located directly in front of our facility on Cooper Street in Spring Mills. An interesting thing happened recently as we were building the heat deflector panels to go behind the wood stove we put in the retail store. We have tried very hard to preserve the history of the abattoirs that came before us in this facility. As such we have repurposed a lot of the materials that were taken out during renovations. For instance the desk in our office is built from the old holding pens (obviously cleaned and sanded). The tin roof that was over the old holding pens was re-fabricated by Jay Young to become the new heat deflector. As Helen and Jay were installing the panels they stepped back to look at their handy work and saw that right in the middle of the panel there were two stamps 1) Bethlehem Steel and 2) Rising Spring, Pa. Needless to say Jay and Helen were very excited by the Rising Spring stamp, especially since they did not see it earlier. It was quite serendipitous. Rising Spring was the name of the railroad stop in Spring Mills a very long time ago and the namesake of our company. Next to the Rising Spring stamp were initials and the last name Stover. After some digging we found that the name matched that of what was known as a drayman, someone who would deliver materials from the train to businesses by a horse drawn flatbed carriage. The delivery man would stamp his name on the goods. So we know that the roof came in when there was still a rail stop in town as well as the use of draymen. Suffice it to say, the tin is old. The story seems to evolve a little more every day. Keep following to find out more about the neat history of RSMC.   

The retail shop right after the roof was rebuilt

            RSMC has been shaking things up lately and made some changes that are important to pay attention to. First off, around the holidays we added three new people to our staff. Brian Stover, Lorie Getgen and Rich Spangler are settling in nicely with the rest of the staff. They were all a welcome addition to our team as our ability to tackle all of our work with just a three person crew was becoming quite impossible. We see the growth of our staff as a positive sign that our business is headed in the right direction.

                Second, there have been some changes made to our pricing and cut sheets. You can access the new price list here: http://risingspringmeats.com/pricing Please also take a minute to look over the new beef cut sheet document. Cut sheets are a difficult document to put together so that they include all the necessary information but are not overwhelming. We hope ours will serve to both educate our customers as well as help to provide us with as many details as possible so that we can make sure your orders are exactly how you want them. You can download our cut sheet here: Beef cut sheet

             Finally, if you are looking to get involved in a good cause and perhaps get some exercise consider donating, volunteering or riding in the upcoming Bike MS Keystone Country Ride.  Helen’s sister, who was diagnosed in 2011, will be riding this year for the first time. You can learn more about how to help her team The Myelinators  or peruse the main information page here http://bikepax.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/PAXBikeEvents?fr_id=20527&pg=entry

As always take care,

The Staff at Rising Spring Meat Co.

We here at RSMC are very familiar with Benjamin Franklins adage about death and taxes.....on that note if you are one of the lucky ones who is getting a refund this year consider investing it and re-stocking your freezer at the same time.

We have local beef available for sale by the half and the quarter (cut to your specifications). Give us a call at (814) 422-8810 for more information.

               Quite a bit of press has been given toward the safety of red meat as of late. The Centre Daily Times ran an article on December 9^th, 2012 documenting some of the problems that have been part of some of the more recent beef recalls. One main concern is beef contaminated with E. coli-0157:H7 (learn more about E.coli from the CDC here: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/general/index.html  ) E.coli 0157:H7 is a particular concern because  it can cause more severe health  problems than other types of E.coli.

               The Centers for Disease Control explains “ [that] some kinds of E. coli cause disease by making a toxin called Shiga toxin. The bacteria that make these toxins are called “Shiga toxin-producing” E. coli, or STEC for short. You might hear these bacteria called verocytotoxic E. coli (VTEC) or enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC); these all refer generally to the same group of bacteria. The strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104:H4 that caused a large outbreak in Europe in 2011 was frequently referred to as EHEC. The most commonly identified STEC in North America is E. coli O157:H7 (often shortened to E. coli O157 or even just “O157”). When you hear news reports about outbreaks of “E. coli” infections, they are usually talking about E. coli O157”  (http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/general/index.html#difference ).

                The way that meat becomes contaminated with E.coli is when feces, or ingesta is makes it onto the outside of a carcass. E.coli is a naturally occurring bacterium that is always present in the intestinal tracts of animals and people. It is impossible to completely eliminate all traces of E.coli but it can be brought within safe thresholds by taking several important steps. The article by the CDC talks about meat plants having a HAACP plan in place and that this is not sufficient because it is designed and executed by the processor and not the government. While it is true that our HAACP plan at RSMC is designed by us it is not true that there is no enforcement behind it. Perhaps because we are so small there is even more oversight than you might find at a larger factory slaughterhouse. A HAACP plan is the written instructions for how we will control for food safety issues and what steps we will take if there is a deviation from the plan. The major hazard we are controlling for one is E.coli. As outlined in our plan and enforced by the USDA we use the following major steps to mitigate and eliminate bacteria (there is a whole lot of hand and knife washing that goes on continuously throughout the process).

All equipment, facilities and personnel are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized prior to slaughter. This is checked by both an employee and a USDA inspector before a slaughter commences.

•  Care is taken to keep live animals as clean as possible
• When hides are removed from carcasses they are opened outwards away from the meat and pulled taught as  to not touch the outside of the hide to the surface of the meat.
• After the hide and inedible parts of the insides have been removed a “zero-tolerance check” is performed. The zero tolerance check involves one person cutting off all visible contaminants (feces, ingesta, milk) found on the carcass while another person monitors their trimming. After this is complete a USDA inspector then looks over the carcass. If anything was missed the carcass is trimmed again. After this the carcass is washed with hot water. The hot water serves to both kill bacteria and provide and adequate surface for the final step.
• A Lactic Acid wash is then applied to each carcass. A combination of hot water wash, lactic acid application and dry aging (which we also do) have been shown to significantly reduce the amount of bacteria found on meat to levels considered safe for human consumption.

In addition to this RSMC keeps detailed records of these steps being performed for each animal and performs both generic E.coli and 0157 testing at several points throughout the year on both ground beef and cuts of meat. These steps are taken whether or not an animal is considered USDA inspected or not. We also have a recall plan in place in case of a possible outbreak we can track all of the meat that comes into our facility and where it went to so we can promptly alert our customers to any portential hazard.

Rising Spring Meat Company takes pride in ensuring that our standards for sanitation and food safety both meet and in some cases exceed those which have been outlined by federal regulations. All of our sanitation protocols are supported by scientific articles and are not just ideas we came up with on a whim. Because we are a small plant we have the ability to track and trace our products on a level that large operations cannot necessarily do. We also do not mix your meat with the meat from other producers. What you bring in is what you get back. If you ever have any questions as to more specific details of our daily operations we are happy to answer any and all questions. We also welcome visitors (please set up a time to come though). RSMC is committed to being a transparent operation that is an asset to our local food system. We are honored to have your business and wish you and yours a happy holiday season and peaceful new year.

The Staff at Rising Spring Meat Company

The first snows have fallen here in the Valley and with it the first deer of the season. We are offering deer processing for $65/head cut, wraped, and frozen. Please call ahead at 814-422-8810 to let us know you are coming.

We are also running a special on some fresh local ground beef for $2.49/lb. Advance orders only. Call Helen or Rich at 814-422-8810 to palce your order and schedule your pick up.

In other news we are incredibly busy, which is nice. Howver, we are a tad short staffed if you are an experienced meat cutter or packer looking for work we would like to talk to you. Please email us your resume so that we may consider you for an interview. Our email address is info@risingspringmeats.com .

We hope everyone is staying warm and cozy and enjoying the changing of the seasons with those that they care about.

The Staff at Rising Spring Meat Co.

Hello RSMC Patrons,

October is flying by fast!! We are still running a special this month on:

• Ground Beef Patties
  
•  Local / Frozen
• 10lb. Box
• $2.89/lb.
• Boneless Chicken Breasts
• Fresh
• 10lb. Bag
• $1.89/lb.
• Pork Loin
• Whole
• Boneless
• No Charge for Cutting
• $2.49/lb.

Call 814-422-8810 to place your order and schedule a pick up day.

Life at the abattoir is trucking along as it should in the fall. We are very busy with USDA inspected slaughters on Tuesdays. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to add an additional day of USDA inspected slaughter to  our schedule. Until then we will do our best to accomodate our customers needs.

Rich, Cody, Helen and Bill have had the opportunity to have some new experiences latley. From processing Bison to going through our first Certifierd Organic slaughter we seem to be moving rapidly toward our vision of what this business should be. We are always open to fresh ideas and suggestions from our customers. If you have an idea of how we might be able to improve our services we welcome your comments.

If you are looking for some interesting meat info we suggest you check out the round up from NPR's "Meat Week". It's kind of like the Discovery channels "Shark Week" just not as scary. Go check it out the link is full of articles, videos and interviews worth pondering.

Have A Good One,

The Staff at Rising Spring Meat Co.

*Photo Credit:  Rob Decker, taken in Spring Mills, Pa over this past weekend.