Frequently Asked Questions
Your most frequently asked questions about halves and wholes, individual cuts, restocking, who we are, and how we raise livestock - here!
Who We Are
Who Are You?
We are The Butlers – Dylan, Erica, and Baby Tye.
Hayfield Farm was established in 1997 by Dylan’s father, Chuck. The farm began so Dylan and his sister, Jacklyn, could raise livestock for 4-H Club. The Butler family raised show cattle, beef steers for friends and family, and cow and calf pairs. Dylan continued to raise cattle and we met in 2017.
In 2018, we decided we could really do something with this farming thing. Not long after that, the website was created and our meats were sold from the freezers in our unfinished basement until February 2020, when our on-site Farm Shop was built.
We got married in October 2020 and welcomed our son, Tye, in February 2022.
We now raise beef and feeder cattle, hogs, laying hens, and meat chickens.
In July 2023, we added full-time management to help us keep things running smoothly and relocated to Marshall, Virginia.
Where Are You Located?
Our Farm Shop is located at 8335 W Main Street Marshall, Virginia 20115.
Type “Hayfield Farm” into your GPS and look for us in the Marshall area.
Why Do You Farm?
We started Hayfield Farm to provide our community with premium local meats and be a location where folks could come and get quality, local products, learn about agriculture, know their farmer, and reconnect with their food.
We have always pushed for knowing your food and knowing your farmer – straight from the source.
Where To Buy
On-Site Farm Shop, Local Pick up Locations, Markets
Where can I get updates?
Follow us on social media for the quickest updates, restock alerts, behind-the-scenes of farm life, and more!
Facebook @hayfieldfarmbeef
Instagram @hayfieldfarm_va
Do you have a CSA?
We no longer offer our CSA memberships; however, we do offer our FarmHand Club membership. Members receive a variety of our most delicious beef, pork, and chicken cuts in two pick ups per month. We offer two local pick up locations, as well as two membership sizes to fit your family’s needs. Bonus perks include a “pass” item if you are certain you don’t like something and exclusive cuts for members only that the public doesn’t have access to. Plus, a 10% discount on additional orders!
Individual Cuts
Can I order just a few steaks, packs of bacon, or some pounds of ground beef at a time?
Yes! We have individual cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken available for purchase year-round.
How is the meat packaged?
All of our cuts are vacuum sealed with commercial-grade packaging. Bone-in cuts have an additional layer to prevent piercing. All cuts are labeled with our name, the name of the cut, the weight of the cut, and the required USDA verbiage.
Our ground meat (ground beef, loose sausage, etc) are packaged in approximately 1lb packs, our steaks our packaged individually, our sausage grillers are in packs of four, our pork chops are in packages of two, our short ribs and osso bucco are several cuts per package totaling 3-4lbs, and our spare ribs, roasts, briskets, and pork shoulders are packaged individually. Each cut has a description of how it is packaged and the approximate weight of each package.
Is the meat USDA-inspected?
Yes! All of our meat is processed at USDA-inspected facilities.
Why do my meat cuts have two different labels?
In recent years, local processors have been overwhelmed with livestock farmers, as well as homesteaders wanting to bring in their own livestock for processing. While we do book our butcher dates for the year in advance, we are much busier than we expected to be – thank you! Because of this, we have partnerships and are on the butcher schedule with two processors. One is local, just 25 minutes from the farm, and processes most of our retail cuts sold in the Farm Shop and at Farmer’s Markets, as well as all of our halves and wholes. Their label is black and white. The other is a small family owned and operated butcher shop in Pennsylvania and processes retail cuts sold in the Farm Shop and at Farmer’s Markets. Their label is red and white.
Butchers cut meat slightly differently – it is truly an art and both processors hand cut and trim the meat. So, you may see differences in your meat cuts or the way they are packaged. If you intend to sample cuts to try for your own half or whole, you will want to look at cuts from the local butcher – with the black and white label.
Ordering Online
When will XYZ be restocked?
We restock our meat cuts as the butcher finishes processing our livestock. Processing takes several weeks.
Typically, we restock beef, pork, or both biweekly.
When we restock, it will not be all of the cuts we have available on the site. We rotate selections when filling out our cut sheet. Additionally, there are limited quantities of certain cuts in each animal.
OUR WEBSITE IS KEPT UP TO DATE.
If you are waiting for a particular cut – please continue to check the site and follow us on social media to keep up with our restock alerts.
Why do I have to use the "PREORDER" coupon code?
Unfortunately, there is no e-commerce system that works in harmony with products that have varying weights.
On the website, the price listed as the price per pound. You select the # of cuts you want. Our cuts vary in weight, some cuts weigh more than a pound, some weigh less than a pound.
When you enter the coupon code PREORDER at check out, it will make your order total $0.00. This allows you to submit your order to us, without payment. We receive the order, pull the cuts you selected, and fill an invoice according to the number of cuts you selected, their weight, and the price per pound.
We will then send you an invoice via email for payment.
I ordered online, but haven't received an invoice yet.
If you received order confirmation, we received your order! We do our best to fill orders as quickly as possible, but between work, farming, and the baby – sometimes it takes us a little while to get into the shop to fill online orders. You can check your order status through your confirmation email or give us a call at (540) 349-6706.
Please only arrive for pick up at the day/time you select, otherwise you will not be able to get your order.
What if I can't pick up at the day/time I selected?
Due to space restriction and the nature of our items, customers are required to pick up their online order at the day and time they selected at check out.
Orders that are not picked up will be restocked after 2 (two) days and the invoice will be cancelled.
Do I need a cooler to pick up my order?
It depends! If you have a long drive, or if you have plans to stop before you get home to your freezer, or if it’s very hot – we recommend bringing a cooler. Customers don’t typically need ice/ice packs, unless it will be hours before you are home.
Halves & Wholes
Where do I go to purchase a half or whole cow or pig?
Our Halves & Wholes Page
www.hayfield-farm.com/wholesale
This page has the next available butcher dates, cut sheet forms, resource articles detailing the entire process, pricing, and everything else you need to know!
This is my first time, where do I get started?
We have many articles detailing each step in the process, pricing, timeline, how much meat to expect, how to fill out the cut sheet, etc.!
Our Halves & Wholes page has the following posts in the Resources section:
- From Field to Freezer: The Process, Pricing, and Timeline of Buying Whole + Half Beef
- Filling Out a Cut Sheet for a Whole Beef
- Filling Out a Cut Sheet for a Half Beef
- How Much Beef to Expect + Sample Inventory Sheets
- From Paddock to Plate: The Process, Pricing, and Timeline of Buying Whole + Half Hog
- Filling Out a Cut Sheet for a Whole Hog
- Filling Out a Cut Sheet for a Half Hog
- How Much Pork to Expect + Sample Inventory Sheets
Can I order a half or whole cow or pig any time throughout the year?
Yes! We process steers and hogs all year round, several times per month.
When is the next available butcher date?
You can find the next available butcher date for beef or pork on our Halves and Wholes page.
When will my beef or pork be ready for pick up?
Beef takes approximately four weeks to complete from the butcher date.
Pork takes approximately three weeks to complete from the butcher date.
Where do I pick up my beef or pork?
Pick up is directly from the butcher shop, Finest Butcher, at 11746 Ag Industrial Drive Bealeton VA.
Do you do whole smoker hogs?
We no longer offer smoker hogs.
Our Livestock
Are your cows grass-fed only?
Our cattle are on pasture 24/7/365. When our beef steers are 90 days out from processing, they are bucket-fed a few pounds of locally-sourced grains per day. This makes your steaks taste good!
Grain-finishing allows us to process our steers in their absolute prime and produce premium beef. Steers are the ideal age, weight, and composition when it is time to process them. Bucket feeding them also gets them very comfortable with us, so when it is time to bring them into the barn and to the stock trailer, there is no stress.
Our cattle eat grass all day, every day. Cattle must eat the majority of their diet in grasses, as they are ruminants. There are *no* studies that show grain-finished beef is less nutritious than grass-fed only beef. Beef is an incredible source of essential vitamins and minerals.
It is most important to source your meats locally, straight from the source. This way you know where your meats come from, how the livestock are raised, and who raises them. Bonus! It promotes sustainability in our community.
Which breeds of cattle do you raise?
We raise angus and angus-cross beef steers. Our crosses are Simmental, Charlois, Hereford, and Shorthorn.
Did you know there are over 50 breeds of beef cattle? It’s not all about black angus. At Hayfield Farm, we appreciate biodiversity and it’s contribution to nature’s natural variety.
If you see other breeds at the farm or on social media, these are our feeder cattle. This is a separate program we have from our beef steers. These cattle are shipped out to the mid-West to be grown on feed lots and feed the rest of the world. We do not process these feeder cattle for our own beef.
Do you offer unwashed eggs?
Yes! While our eggs are washed by default, request unwashed eggs in the notebox at check out. We prefer to keep our eggs unwashed because we appreciate nature’s intentions and look at it as a fun learning point for folks to get in touch with their food. However, since we sell to the public, at markets, etc. it is best practice to wash the eggs for sale, although not required by law. Our eggs are sold within 5 days of being gathered.
Why wouldn’t you wash the eggs?
The hen lays a protective coating (sometimes visible, sometimes not) on the outside of the shell. This is called the “bloom”. The bloom seals the porous shell and prevents bacteria from entering the egg. Nature’s intention here is to protect the chick inside. Since our eggs are for eating and don’t have chicks in them – keeping the bloom intact, by not washing the eggs, allows us to leave our eggs on the counter. They do not require refrigeration because the bloom protects the egg from bacteria.
Our recommendation is that customers can leave their unwashed eggs on the counter for one month or two months in the fridge. Use your best judgement. Wash with water before using then wash your hands. Once washed, the eggs must be refrigerated.
Commercial eggs are washed, bleached, and can be three months old by the time they make it to your grocery store shelves. Our eggs are gathered daily and are available to customers immediately after being gathered or within several days.
Can we do a farm tour/pet the animals?
We do not allow farm tours as we are a private working farm. Follow us on social media for all the behind the scenes action!
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