What is a Beef Share?

Here's a visual of everything you get on a quarter cow share!

Why buy a 1/4, 1/2 or whole share of beef?

🥩 Buying a share is the most bang for your buck if you’d like to have a lot of dairy beef in your life and kitchen! Price is billed on hanging weight (fresh carcass), plus you pay cut and wrap to the butcher. This evens the cost out across all cuts, giving you the best value.

🥩 It’s more sustainable. Buying in bulk means fewer trips for the consumer and farmer. It also keeps the processing even more local and less transportation for the cattle. When we can, we do custom-exempt processing for share, meaning the cows don’t even have to leave the farm to be slaughtered.

🥩 Supports whole animal butchery. You get every cut from the front and rear so you don’t miss out on anything! By learning how to make the most of every cut, it honors the whole cow and maybe you get to try something new that you’ll love! This also helps ranchers move all types of cuts at once. By learning how easy and delicious all cuts of the cow are to cook, this diversifies your plate, utilizes more of the cow, results less waste and really helps farmers out!

🥩Supports local farms. By buying direct, this is the best way to support a local farms and all your dollars go to the farmer, not a middleman. Buying in bulk is also the easiest for the farmer. Farmers have a lot on their plate and being able to move larger quantities at once, with a variety of cuts helps them thrive.

All of this leads to a more sustainable, regenerative, local food system and happier, healthier animals!

How is it priced?

Shares are billed on the hanging weight. This is the fresh carcass weight, the day the cow is processsed. Currently, local, custom exempt shares are $7.50/lb plus cut and wrap.

Cut and wrap fee is paid to the butcher, which is $1.00-$1.15/lb depending on how complex of cuts you choose. Slaughter and disposal fee is also paid to the butcher, and averages $60 per quarter. 

These cows are hung for an average of 14 days before cutting and wrapping. This is the standard hang to achieve more tenderness and flavor.

How much beef do I get back?

We are working with live animals, so there's always some variation. Return weight off of hanging weight, averages 50-60%. Factors that influence this are bone-in vs boneless cuts (bone in cuts are going to add overall return weight for the same amount of meat), the bone to meat ratio of the cow (like humans, some cows just have bigger bone structures). Utilizting all parts in a 1/4 share get you even more value. Bones, fat, and offal (organs) are all included if you'd like them.

Have more questions? Shoot us a message! Happy to answer anything!