What It’s Like to Buy a Half Beef

We sell most of our beef by the whole or half carcass and often get the same question: “I’ve always wanted to buy bulk beef… but I don’t really know what that means.”

So here’s a simple, honest look at what it’s like — how it works, how much you get, what it costs, and whether it’s a good fit for your household.

First — what does “buying a half” actually mean?

When you buy a half beef, you’re purchasing half of one animal raised on the farm . That beef is dry aged, cut to your specifications (we love to help with this part), wrapped, frozen, and then you pick it up directly from us here at the farm.

Instead of buying individual cuts over time, you’re stocking your freezer all at once with a mix of steaks, roasts, ground beef, and slower cooking cuts. And you know it all comes from the same animal and from the same place.

Basically, you’re buying about a year’s worth of beef in one go. No more grocery store mystery meat.

How much beef do you actually get?

A half beef typically yields somewhere around 150–180 pounds of take-home meat, depending on the size of the animal and exact cuts.

That usually looks something like:

• Ground beef

• Steaks (ribeye, NY strip, sirloin, etc.)

• Roasts (chuck, arm, rump)

• Short ribs

• Brisket

• Stew meat

• Soup bones, organs and fat (if you want)

You don’t get a mountain of ground beef — you get a balanced, cook-through-the-week kind of mix, which is what most families end up loving.

How much freezer space do you need?

Because we raise Dexter cattle—a smaller beef breed—you don’t need a humongous chest freezer to bring one home. You’ll get all the familiar cuts, just in quantities that fit nicely into a real family’s life.

A half beef fits comfortably in:

• about 7 cubic feet of freezer space

• roughly half of a standard chest freezer

• or a small dedicated freezer

It’s usually less space than people expect. The packages stack neatly and are all labeled.

How long does it last?

It depends on how you cook, but roughly:

• Couple: 8–12 months

• Family of 4: 6–8 months

• Big beef eaters: 4–6 months

Many folks do this once a year and call it good.

How pricing works

We sell our beef at $8 per pound hanging weight, and we cover all processing fees. A half beef typically ends up in the $2,000–$2,400 range, depending on carcass size.

That works out to a blended price of about $12 per pound across all cuts — steaks, ground, roasts — everything included. So your steaks cost way less than what you buy at the store, and your burger costs about the same.

What the process looks like

Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Reserve your half with a deposit.

2. We schedule processing with Genuine Meats in Riverton.

3. We work with you to decide how you want it cut up (how much ground beef do you want, how you want steaks cut up, do you want organ meat, etc.).

4. Beef dry ages for flavor and tenderness.

5. It's cut, vacuum sealed, and frozen.

6. We pick it up and bring it back to the farm.

7. You pick up here and fill your freezer.

Very easy. No stress, no complicated decisions.

What it’s like to cook with it

A freezer full of good beef is both inspiration and sustenance and a perfect starting point for building a simple dinner. It’s less about bulk buying, and more about settling into a rhythm — pulling something from the freezer, thawing it, and building meals around what you have.

In our house, we’re often grabbing a pack of ground beef—very last minute—to make burgers, spaghetti sauce or tacos. When we’re more deliberate, we pull meat from the freezer at the beginning of the week for family meals. We’ll make steak and mashed potatoes with a fresh chimichurri sauce. Or braise a larger roast to incorporate into meals for the week: sandwiches, grain bowls, quick stir fries.

Opening a chest freezer full of beef feels luxurious. A stocked freezer gives you options without a last-minute trip to the grocery store.

A few common questions

Is this too much beef?
For some households, yes. Some people split a half with a friend and take a quarter each. We’re happy to help with these logistics.

Do I need a huge freezer?
No. A small chest freezer is plenty.

Is everything vacuum sealed?
Yes — labeled, frozen, and ready to stack.

Can I request special cuts?
Yes! One of the perks of buying a whole beef is you get a say in how it is cut up. Want to a prime rib roast for the holidays. Great. Want the brisket for smoking? Got you. Want the suet to render for tallow? Sounds like fun.

When do I pick up?
Pickup is on the farm in Lander, once we have everything back from processing.

More questions?

We know buying beef this way can be a big up-front investment and we want you to feel confident in your decision. We’re happy to chat more about our cows, how they’re raised, the processing or anything else. Contact us here.