Grass Fed Beef Buy Whole Cow

Are you thinking of buying a cow? Have you decided how much?

Most people usually think about buying half a moo-cow, but did you know there other options. You can ofttimes purchase a sixteenth, quarter, one-half, or whole cow from a farmer, so you lot need to do enquiry and determine what quantity is right for your family.

We've been selling beef direct off of our subcontract for decades. Without a doubtfulness one of the beginning questions people ask earlier buying a cow is "how much beef will I actually get?" That question is usually followed by, "If I buy a cow, what role am I getting? The front one-half or back half?"

The goal of this post is to bear witness you how much beef you get when yous buy a moo-cow. We likewise have a stride-by-step guide on buying a cow from a farmer, including what questions to ask.

To put it in perspective, we've made our home refrigerator the star of the video and photos.

We've taken these pictures twice, years apart. The commencement time we simply took photos and we had a standard 18.one cu ft refrigerator with a freezer on tiptop. The second time nosotros did this, we made a video and we had a newer fridge – a 22.1 cu ft refrigerator with french doors and freezer on the lesser. Hopefully, seeing the beefiness in 2 different refrigerators volition help put information technology into perspective fifty-fifty more than.

Jump to:

• Is buying a moo-cow worth it?
• Ownership a sixteenth cow
• Buying a quarter moo-cow
• Buying a one-half cow
• Ownership a whole moo-cow
• Cuts of beef included
• Freezer space needed
• How much beefiness do y'all really get?
• Shelf life of frozen beef
• Packaging
• How practice you find a local farm?

Is ownership a cow worth it?

Yes! The benefit of ownership a cow is that y'all will relieve money and get higher quality beef.

Every yr, we compare the price of beef from our farm to local St. Louis grocery stores. With Clover Meadows Beefiness, the price is approximately $5.45/pound for all cuts of grass fed beef. This is compared to $seven.03/pound at Walmart, $7.84/pound at a local St. Louis grocery store, and $9.86/pound at Whole Foods.

Delight notation, every subcontract and beef processor prices beef differently. You lot will demand to do your own math on determining the toll per pound if you're non in the St. Louis expanse and can't order from our farm.

Ownership a sixteenth cow

Here's what our 22.one cu ft fridge looks like with a sixteenth of a cow. At our farm, a sixteenth is approximately 25 lbs of beef. This includes 13 lbs of hamburger, ii Ribeye steaks, 2 Strip steaks, 2 Filet steaks, 2 Sirloin steaks, 1 Stew Meat, ane Curt Rib, 1 package Soup Basic, 1 package Beef Liver, and 1 Roast.

Buying a quarter cow

Here'south what our 18.one cu ft fridge with freezer on elevation looks similar with a quarter beef, which is 110 lbs of beef. Every bit you can see, information technology's a lot of beef, merely it all fits in the freezer (without the freezer shelf or ice bucket).

Then what comes with a quarter? That respond varies since every cow is unique and weighs something unlike, but hither is how it typically breaks out:

With a quarter you get virtually 50 pounds of ground beef, and the remaining 60 lbs of meat is in steaks, brisket, roasts, stew meat, ribs, liver, soup basic, etc. Delight keep in listen that everything is based on the individual cow and how the beef is cut, only typical, the remaining 60 lbs works out to exist approximately 6-vii strip steaks, 6-seven ribeye steaks, 5-half-dozen filets, 5-half-dozen sirloin steaks, ii short ribs, iv-5 roasts, 1-2 package of stew meat, 1-2 packages of liver, i brisket, and several packages of soup bones.

With a quarter, yous also get the option of the one-per-animal parts similar tongue, oxtail and heart. Since in that location's only one-per-animal, these are first-come-first-serve based on the other who requests them first.

Here's what our 22.1 cu ft refrigerator looks similar with a quarter cow. Over again, information technology's 50 pounds of ground beefiness, and the rest of the beef comes in a multifariousness of cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, and brisket.

Buying a half cow

So, what if you buy half a cow? What does that wait like? With a half a cow, you'll become approximately 220 pounds of beefiness. Information technology includes 100 pounds of ground beef, and the balance of the beef are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, and tenderloin.

Merely for fun, we included a dozen eggs and a half gallon of milk in this motion picture so you would take some additional perspective 🙂

Buying a whole cow

With a whole moo-cow you would get approximately 440 pounds of beef. It will exist approximately 200 pounds of ground beef, and the other 220 pounds are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, tenderloin, etc. On average, we've found that a whole is smashing for families of three or more that eat beef with 4 or more meals a week.

Cuts of beef included

When you buy a moo-cow, y'all get a variety of cuts such as

• Steaks like filet, sirloin, ribeye, strip, skirt and flank
• Brisket
• Roasts like chuck, sirloin, arm
• Footing beefiness
• Ribs
• Stew meat
• Kabob meat
• Soup bones
• Organ meat (if desired)
• And the list keeps going on and on!

Freezer space needed

The rule of thumb is 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every xxx-35 lbs of cut and wrapped meat.

That ways you'll definitely want a stand-lonely freezer when buying a cow. If you don't take one yet, yous can usually get a good bargain at a warehouse store similar Sam'southward or Costco. We have both chest and upright freezers at our house and we like both of them.

Our biggest piece of communication when ownership a stand up-alone freezer is to get 1 with a lock and key.  This is very important for child safety reasons and because a concrete lock will make sure your freezer is securely airtight. You can also purchase an aftermarket lock.

How much beefiness do you actually get?

When you buy a moo-cow, yous desire to know exactly how much beef y'all'll put in your freezer.

Our farm is somewhat unique in how we cost our beef because it's spread-out – we tell yous how much beefiness you'll get for a specific price. Our pricing includes all processing fees and costless delivery to a specific pick-upwardly locations in the St. Louis expanse.

A quarter cow is 110 lbs, half is 220 lbs, and whole cow is 440 lbs. We've chosen to sell our beef this way because nosotros remember information technology'south easier for our customers and there are no surprises – you know exactly what you're going to get.

The other way to figure out how much beefiness yous'll put in your freezer, is to explain it with agriculture industry-lingo like hang-weight and package-weight. If these terms are new to you, hither are quick definitions:

• Live weight (or "on the hoof") is how much a cow weighs when it'due south live and walking effectually. This includes meat, bones, claret, etc.
• Hanging weight (or "on the runway") is afterward the fauna is slaughtered and all the unusable parts are removed (like head, skin and hooves), Hanging weight includes bones and meat. Typically, the hanging weight is about 60% of the live weight.
• Boxed weight (or packaged weight) is the weight of all the packages of individual cuts of meat that you will put in your freezer This is typically nigh 60 percent of hanging weight.

So, what does this mean in plain-terms? If you're told it's $3.75 per pound hanging weight, then expect to pay approximately $6.25 per pound ($3.75 / 0.60)  PLUS the butchering fee, which is usually about $600.00 for the unabridged cow (you lot'll split this fee if yous're sharing with another family unit).

No matter who yous buy from, make sure you know exactly what you'll exist taking home before you buy so yous have adequate freezer space.

Shelf life of frozen beefiness

Approximately 1-year if frozen and vacuum sealed. The amount of fourth dimension will be shorter if information technology is packaged in paper or compress wrapped.

Packaging

Most farmers will requite you an option between paper, compress wrapped, or vacuum sealing packaging. We recommend vacuum sealing because it will keep the beef fresh for longer.

Here's an example of what a vacuum sealed steak looks like.

How practice you discover a local subcontract?

So, practise you still want to buy a cow? If you're in the St. Louis surface area, let us know. We are happy to answer whatever questions you lot may have.

If yous're outside of St. Louis, read our step-by-step guide on how to buy a cow from a farmer. It will tell you how to notice a farmer, the right questions to ask, and how to know if you're getting a proficient bargain on beef.

ONE MORE Matter!

Do you lot want to learn more about beefiness? Join our weekly due east-newsletter where nosotros share farm happenings, recipes and beefiness availability. Sign-up and get a crook sheet with ix-must-ask questions earlier buying beef directly from a farmer. Or, we have an entire ebook virtually beefiness that goes through purchasing and preparing beefiness from a cattle farmers perspective.

Here are a few other links you may similar:

• Do Cows Have Teeth?
• What everybody ought to know about beef cuts
• Ownership a Cow. How Much Beef Is It?
• vii Steps to Grilling a Steak to Perfection
• How We Heighten Our Grass Fed Beef
• Piece of cake Beef Brisket Recipe (oven-roasted)
• The Best Subcontract Books for Kids

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Source: https://www.clovermeadowsbeef.com/buying-half-a-cow/

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