I didn't realize it until I'd already beaten it twice. Of course, I didn't really know anything about Final Fantasy yet, so as far as I was concerned, Chocobos only appeared when an animist used "Chocobo Rush," lol.

Jerky Days mission (#221) is where you get Jerky from. It appears in any pub during the Kingmoon month, once you've cleared mission 15, Scouring Time. Scouring time is a storyline mission, so you may not have fulfilled the requirements just yet. I don't know how far into the game you are.

Zodiac Ore comes from mission #203, "Dig Dig Dig." It appears in any pub during the Madmoon month, once you've cleared mission #20, "Present Day 2." It's also a main storyline mission, and it's pretty far into the game. You'll probably have to wait a while for that one.

You can also get Zodiac Ore from treasure hunts if you're really lucky (or in my opinion, really unlucky, since the Dig Dig Dig mission reoccurs and I can think of better treasure to get in treasure hunts).

Hope that helps!