Frequently Asked Questions

  • Ordering is simple. Just contact us via our website or phone to reserve your quarter, half, or whole beef. We’ll confirm availability and guide you through the process, including choosing your cuts and submitting a deposit. Many customers reserve their beef in advance since supply is limited. Once your order is placed, we’ll schedule your beef for processing and keep you updated.

  • Yes. We ask for a nonrefundable deposit to secure your quarter, half, or whole beef order. This deposit goes toward the final cost and allows us to reserve the beef for you. The remaining balance is due once the meat has been processed and is ready for pickup or delivery.
    Deposits are: Whole Beef = $500, Half Beef = $250, Quarter Beef = $125.

  • Typically a few weeks.

    Once you reserve your beef, we schedule the processing date. During the processing, the beef is dry-aged for about two weeks to maximize tenderness and flavor. After aging, the beef is cut to your specifications, packaged, and frozen. We’ll then either arrange pickup or delivery.

    If you order well in advance of the next processing date, your wait could be a bit longer, simply waiting on our next herd to be ready for harvest. But once the process starts, it’s usually a few weeks until you have the beef in your freezer.

    We appreciate your patience as this carefully timed process to ensure the freshest quality of beef.

  • Our pricing is transparent. The cost is based on the “take-home” weight - the weight of your professionally cut, vacuum sealed, labeled, and flash frozen packages that you take home.

    All standard processing and butcher fees are included in our pricing, so you’re not surprised by any hidden costs. The price we quote covers the animal, USDA processing, cutting to your specifications (not available for the Quarter beef bundle), and standard packaging.

    The only extra costs would be optional special requests like patties, sausages, or extra smoking/curing of cuts, those services aren’t part of the normal process.

  • Yes. The processing facility has passed a USDA inspection. The inspection ensures the butchering process is done safely, humanely, and hygienically. For you, this is an extra layer of food safety and quality assurance. It also means our beef can be legally sold by the cut and you can have full confidence in the handling and safety of the final product.

  • For a Whole beef, you’ll receive a variety of cuts from across the whole beef. Expect a mix of steaks (ribeye, New York strip, sirloin, tenderloin/filet mignon, flank, etc.), roasts (chuck, arm, rump/round roast, etc.), brisket, short ribs, stew meat, and a generous amount of ground beef.

    A Half beef includes all the varieties of cuts as a Whole beef, just half the quantity.

    A Quarter beef is a “mixed quarter” so you won’t get meat from just the front or hind portions, but a mix of both. We’ll take a whole beef and divide it out package for package, into ¼ of the beef quantity.

    Essentially, you get a share of every major cut: from premium grilling steaks to slow-cooker roasts to versatile ground beef. We can provide a sample cut list upon request – but rest assured, you’ll get all the favorites and more.

  • Yes. When you buy a Whole or Half beef you have the opportunity to customize your cut instructions. This means you can decide how you’d like your beef cut up: for example, steak thickness, roast size, how many pounds per ground beef package, which cuts to prioritize, etc. You’ll fill out a “cut sheet” with our help.
    Customization of cuts is not available for Quarter beef orders.

  • The exact amount varies with each beef, but generally: a Quarter beef yields about 112 pounds / Half beef yields about 225 pounds / Whole beef yields about 450 pounds of professionally cut, vacuum sealed, labeled, and flash frozen finished beef, ready for your freezer.

    It’s important to note that the “take-home” weight, the actual pounds of meat you receive, is less than the live weight of the animal. After the beef is harvested, it undergoes a hanging process that involves the removal of inedible portions, reducing the live weight by about 40%. Further trimming/boning reduces it to the final packaged weight.

    Typically a 1,000 pound live weight steer will have a 600 pound hanging weight, resulting in roughly 360-400 pounds take-home weight.

  • A good rule of thumb is: 1 cubic foot of freezer space is needed per 30–35 pounds of meat. For reference:

    • Quarter beef: aprox 112 pounds of meat = 3.2 cubic feet freezer space

    • Half beef: aprox 225 pounds of meat = 6.4 cubic feet freezer space

    • Whole beef: aprox 450 pounds of meat = 12.9 cubic feet freezer space

    It’s always better to have a bit of extra space so that air can circulate and you have room to organize the cuts.

    If you’re tight on space, consider a quarter beef which can often fit in the freezer compartment of a regular refrigerator if it’s mostly empty.

  • When properly frozen and packaged, beef can last a long time in the freezer. Vacuum-sealed beef stays fresh for 12–18 months without a noticeable loss in quality. Even after a year, it will still taste great. However, for peak flavor and texture, we recommend consuming your frozen beef within about a year. To help with this, all packages will be labeled with the date.

  • In most cases, yes – buying in bulk is very much worth it.

    When purchasing a Half or Whole beef, we offer a discount = .25¢ Half / .50¢ Whole per pound.

    You typically pay significantly less per pound for the higher-quality cuts. The per pound cost is across the board - from steaks to ground beef, it’s all the same price. Your per-pound cost for steaks, roasts, ribs, etc. often come out less than the grocery store price.

    Quality is a huge benefit; you’re getting farm-fresh, locally raised Angus beef that’s flavorful and nutrient-rich. Many also appreciate knowing the source of their food and supporting a local farm.

    You’ll enjoy custom-cut selections of beef while having the peace of mind and convenience of a full freezer. It’s an investment up front, but one that pays off in value and health for your family.

  • Grass-fed, grain-finished refers to cattle that graze on pasture for most of their lives (grass-fed) but are fed a grain-based diet in the last few months before processing (grain-finished). This approach increases marbling in the meat for enhanced flavor and tenderness.

    Our cattle are pasture-raised in open fields for their full life plus finished on a balanced grain diet for about the final 90 days. This combination provides the animal with a natural life on grass while ensuring the beef develops the rich taste and marbling that many prefer.

  • Beef from grass-fed, grain-finished cattle offer a great balance of nutrition and flavor. Because the cattle spend all of their life on grass, the meat tends to be leaner and can have higher levels of OMEGA-3 fatty acids, CLA (a healthy natural fat), and antioxidants compared to conventional feedlot beef sold in retail stores. At the same time, the grain finish adds extra marbling, which contributes to tenderness and a classic beefy taste. The result is nutrient-dense, heart-healthy beef that’s free from any added hormones or antibiotics – a choice you can feel good about feeding your family.

  • Yes, we dry-age the beef, unlike most supermarket beef which is often not aged at all.

    After harvest, your beef is dry-aged in a refrigerated cooler for about 14 days before cutting and packaging. Dry-aging is the process of allowing the beef to rest in a climate-controlled cooler, which causes natural enzymes to tenderize the meat and concentrate the flavor. This aging period significantly improves the taste and tenderness of the beef you receive. We find that about two weeks is the sweet spot – it imparts excellent flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. By the time you get your beef, it’s been aged, cut, and frozen at peak quality, ready for you to enjoy.

  • We offer a few convenient options to get your beef to you.

    Local pickup where you can pick up your order directly from the processing facility. We also provide local delivery in our area, often for a small fee or sometimes free within a certain radius. If you’re within our delivery range, we can bring the beef to your home, scheduled at a time that is convenient for you.