A $100 deposit per 1/4 share is required to hold your order, and the balance will be due after the final weight and processing is calculated. You will pay a combination of two invoices: one invoice to us, the farm, for the actual beef at $3.85/lb. rail-weight (what the animal weighed at slaughter) and a second invoice to the butcher for your processing. If that sounds unfamiliar, see the info at the bottom of this page for the primer on how farm-direct beef shares work. It’s a different mode of buying meat than supermarket-style, but it’s the most economical and sustainable way to buy meat.
1/4 Share – $100 deposit, estimated final total cost $800 – $900.
1/2 Share – $200 deposit, estimated final total cost $1300 – $1500
- Animal price: $3.85/lb. beef rail-weight
- Processing price can range between $1.20/lb and $1.30/lb rail-weight, depending on your choices…
- When your animal is delivered to the butcher, you will have a call with the butcher and give your own precise instructions about cutting, grinding, and even curing (sausages) as desired.
- When complete and packed you can, pickup in Ladoga, Indiana -or- get it delivered to your door for $50.
How much meat will I get?
A typical 1/4 share will include approx. 35lbs ground beef, 12lbs of premium steaks (ribeye, strip, and filet), 12lbs of common steaks (sirloin, round, and swiss), 25lbs of common roasts (chuck and rump), 6lbs of stew meat and/or short ribs. All of this can vary slightly based on the animal and your cut instructions (e.g. if you get less roasts, you’ll have more ground beef). For a half, double that. For a whole beef, double it again.
FAQ | How does buying beef shares work?
If you have never bought freezer beef straight from the farm, here’s a quick primer on how farm-direct beef shares:
- You buy a fraction of the cow (a whole, a half, or a quarter) and you pay the farmer for the animal based on it’s rail-weight, and the butcher for the processing. That means your total bill can vary based on the final weight of the animal, typically ranging from 625 to 675lbs
- You get to experience “tongue-to-tail” eating. You will get your fraction of everything a beef cow yields, which includes the commonly-known cuts like steak and ground beef, but there are also roasts and soup bones, too.
- The beef will hang to age (for flavor and tenderness) at the butcher for at least 10 days, then they will package it and freeze it at it’s peak of freshness. We will arrange a date when you can pick up the beef at our farm.
- A ½ a beef will rail-weight at about 325lbs, and after the unusable bone and grissel is trimmed, you will have closer to 200lbs of meat. So, a quarter would be about 100, and an eighth more like 50. These are estimates, of course. But, it’s a lot of meat, so you’ll need a chest freezer to store it all. If you’re not accustomed to buying food in bulk, please be sure you have enough freezer space to store this, as we don’t have the ability to inventory any meat.
How is the beef raised?
This is pasture-raised beef, which means that their primary diet is foraged greens (grass, clover, and alfalfa hay in the winter). They are given a supplemental diet of non-GMO corn that is also raised and harvested on our farm. The little bit of corn helps with marbling and flavor. The beef are never given any antibiotic or hormone regimens.