Our sheep are a katahdin/St. Croix cross. We do have a few registered St. Croix breeding stock that may be for sale from time to time. These are hair sheep as opposed to wool sheep, meaning they shed their coats in spring and grow them back in the winter, and they do not produce lanolin like wool sheep, a waxy chemical that tends to give them a strong smell and taste. Our hair sheep's lack of lanolin makes for a milder taste in the meat. Our sheep are raised on pasture from birth to finish on natural grasses and forbs as they are rotated to new pastures throughout the season. We don't supplement any grain.
We offer both individual cuts that are priced below, as well as whole lamb at $6.00/LB, the estimated final price(not including butcher fee) is between $210.00 and $450.00 and the estimated final weight is between 35 and 75 lbs. Once item(s) is weighed, North Lakes Farm will charge you the final price minus the deposit. You will receive a receipt for the final charge.
Whole lambs are custom cut to your specifications and can include lamb chops, leg of lamb, rib racks, shoulder and neck roasts, shank, ground lamb, and stew meat. You can choose the thickness of your chops, grind any cuts you don’t want, and elect to have your ground made into lamb sausage.
You can expect to take home around 20-30 pounds of meat depending on the size of the finished lamb. As we approach your butcher date, we will send you a cutting sheet for Glen Meats or Lake Haven Meats, where you can make your cut selections. You will pay us based on the "hanging weight" of the carcass and Glen Meats or Lake Haven Meats for cutting(between $60 -$100), wrapping, and freezing your meat to your specifications.
You will pay the butcher fee once you pick up your lamb at the butcher shop. Any additional processing fees will be added to your total on your final invoice.
Orders will be delivered to a drop site in the twin cities metro and Duluth in March, specific dates to be determined. There is no extra charge to pick up your orders from the drop site. You are also able to pick up directly from the farm, from the butcher, or to have a customized delivery for orders over $100 and a mileage charge of $0.20/mile will be added.
We ship! We also deliver locally. Below is a chart of shipping fees. Don't see your location? Contact us and we can accommodate that. These are here to just give you a general idea of what you can expect for shipping fees. After your order is placed and payment is received, you will receive a separate second invoice via email that has your shipping costs calculated. Your food will be shipped via next day shipping every wednesday after payments are made. Our rates are based on next day shipping to ensure freshness and we ship your food packaged in dry ice to also ensure maximum freshness. If there is still dry ice in the package when you receive it, use tongs or something other than your bare hands to remove it, as it is extremely cold and can cause burns. We also deliver locally in the Minnesota area for orders over $100 and a mileage charge of $0.20/mile will be added. Orders will also be delivered free of charge twice a year to drop sites in the twin cities metro and Duluth in March and late summer, exact dates to be determined. And as always, you are welcome to pick up from the farm as well, we'd be happy to meet and chat with you and to show you how the animals are raised.