Buying a quarter, half or whole beef: what to know before you order

By Osage Creek Farms

A half beef sounds like a lot of meat, especially if you’ve never bought it that way before. Where will you put it? What cuts will you get? Will your family use it all? And will it fall over if it only has two legs?

Thankfully, we send it home in packages.

The other questions take a little more thought. Buying beef in bulk should fit the way your family eats, and we’re happy to help you figure out whether a quarter, a half, a whole or a smaller box makes sense.

Start with what you like to cook

Think about the meals you make regularly. Burgers, tacos and spaghetti? A roast in the slow cooker? Steaks on the grill?

A beef share gives you a mix of cuts. If your family enjoys ground beef, steaks and roasts, you’ll have plenty of ways to use it. You may also get a few cuts you don’t usually buy, which can be a good excuse to try something new.

But if you mostly want ground beef, that’s worth knowing before you order. One of our ground beef boxes might suit you better. You don’t have to buy a half beef to keep good beef in your freezer.

How much meat are we talking about?

We guarantee 100 pounds of packaged meat for a quarter, 200 pounds for a half and 400 pounds for a whole beef.

That’s the weight of the packaged beef you’ll take home. Other farms may price their beef by live weight or hanging weight, before it’s trimmed and packaged. When you’re comparing prices, make sure you know how much meat you’ll take home and whether you’ll need to pay the processor separately.

Our beef-share prices include processing. Applicable sales tax is additional, and you can find the current prices and available shares on our bulk page.

To get a rough idea of how much to buy, think about your monthly use. If your family cooks about 20 pounds of beef a month, a quarter would give you roughly five months’ worth. At 10 pounds a month, that same quarter would last about ten months. Consider that alongside how you plan to store and use it.

If you go through beef more quickly and have the freezer space, a half or whole may be a better fit. A whole beef can also make sense if you’re splitting an order with family or friends.

Take a look in the freezer

We suggest allowing about 3 cubic feet of empty freezer space for a quarter, 6 cubic feet for a half or 12 cubic feet for a whole beef.

The important word is empty. The vegetables, ice cream and mystery container you’ve been meaning to identify still count toward your freezer’s capacity.

You don’t need to measure every package, but it’s worth clearing space before pickup day. Our bulk beef page has freezer illustrations to help you picture what you’ll need. Package sizes and how you arrange them will affect the fit.

You don’t need to be a butcher to order

Our quarter beef comes with a standard selection of steaks, roasts, other cuts and ground beef. You can see the full list of cuts on our quarter-beef product page. Half and whole beef orders include custom cutting.

If you’re ordering a half or whole beef, we’ll help you work through the cutting choices. Some cuts come from the same part of the animal, so choosing one can mean giving up another. Knowing what you enjoy cooking is more helpful than knowing every name on the cutting sheet.

For example, if burgers and tacos are regular meals at your house but you rarely cook a brisket, you might choose to have it ground. We’ll walk through those choices with you so your cutting order fits the way you cook.

From reservation to pickup

Once you’ve placed your order, we require a 50% deposit to reserve your spot. If you pay by card, we’ll charge that deposit within a few days of your order. If you prefer cash or check, we need to receive your deposit before we can guarantee your spot.

Your deposit goes toward the total price. The remaining balance and any unpaid sales tax are due by pickup.

Bulk beef is pickup only, with arrangements separate from our weekly store delivery schedule. We’ll confirm the pickup timing and location with you so you know where to go and when to have the freezer ready.

If you’re considering stocking your freezer with grass-fed, grass-finished beef from our farm here in Northwest Arkansas, start with the current bulk beef options. And if you’re still unsure about the size, get in touch. Tell us what your family likes to eat and how much freezer room you have. We’ll help you figure it out.