Sigh. The key thing I was responding to was, “It also supports local farmers and helps keep them in business. That in itself makes it worthwhile to me.” That might be pleasing, but it’s not economically rational. It’s like saying, “buy American, because it helps America.”
There was one mention about aging, however it was not tied into getting a side of beef. Normally supermarkets sell wet aged beef. It’s not as tasty however it makes the meat heavier per pound, thus they can make more even if charging less per pound. Consumers are accustomed to look at price per pound and will generally chose wet aged also for this reason.
However if you buy the side of beef what is the aging method? Can you chose?
I don’t know how ours was aged, and I don’t know whether we could choose. But I do know that so far the beef is more tender and has more flavor than what we purchase at the grocery.