Beef Share
For those customers that are serious about our Montana grown, grassfed beef, we offer the opportunity to purchase a share in one of our animals. We raise the cattle, and you get to choose how you’d like your meat processed and cut. You never actually have to deal with the live animal because we bring it to be processed and cut, and you pick up your frozen meat cut to your specifications (we also deliver locally* and encourage customers to help each other out with pickups and transport).
Updated 5/13/2024:
We currently have a handful of steers that have been grazing on the fresh spring grass, and are ready for butcher. These steers were born and raised on our farm and are a mix of Black Angus and Hereford. They are antibiotic and vaccine free (all-natural) and are entirely grassfed and finished.
Prices for shares are as follows:
Qtr Beef: $1200 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
Half Beef: $2200 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
Whole Beef: $4400 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
If you would like to set up payment arrangements, please email us and we will get you set up!
*Inquire for more information about delivery
**Slaughter fee averages $125 per animal and cost is split by all share owners; cut & wrap averages $.90-$1.00 per lb of hanging weight. Both slaughter fee and cut and wrap are paid to the butcher upon pickup. As soon as we schedule your butcher date, we will be able to share the slaughter fee and cut & wrap price per pound.
For those customers that are serious about our Montana grown, grassfed beef, we offer the opportunity to purchase a share in one of our animals. We raise the cattle, and you get to choose how you’d like your meat processed and cut. You never actually have to deal with the live animal because we bring it to be processed and cut, and you pick up your frozen meat cut to your specifications (we also deliver locally* and encourage customers to help each other out with pickups and transport).
Updated 5/13/2024:
We currently have a handful of steers that have been grazing on the fresh spring grass, and are ready for butcher. These steers were born and raised on our farm and are a mix of Black Angus and Hereford. They are antibiotic and vaccine free (all-natural) and are entirely grassfed and finished.
Prices for shares are as follows:
Qtr Beef: $1200 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
Half Beef: $2200 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
Whole Beef: $4400 + 1/4 slaughter fee+cut & wrap**
If you would like to set up payment arrangements, please email us and we will get you set up!
*Inquire for more information about delivery
**Slaughter fee averages $125 per animal and cost is split by all share owners; cut & wrap averages $.90-$1.00 per lb of hanging weight. Both slaughter fee and cut and wrap are paid to the butcher upon pickup. As soon as we schedule your butcher date, we will be able to share the slaughter fee and cut & wrap price per pound.
What is the difference between live weight, hanging weight, and packaged weight?
One of the trickiest things when buying a share of an animal is trying to figure out how much you are actually going to get out of your share. This gets even trickier when you see beef priced by “hanging weight”, “carcass weight”, or “weight on the hook/rail”. Here is the breakdown of the types of weight you will commonly see when shopping for beef.
Live Weight: This is the weight of the animal when it is alive, walking around. Farmers selling their animals alive at the stockyard will sell their animals based on this weight. Our steers, for example, have a live weight of about 1250 lbs.
Hanging Weight (carcass weight): This is the weight of the animal following slaughter and does not include the weight of the hooves, head, hide, blood or innards. The carcass weight is typically about 60-65% of the animals live weight. This is the weight often used when calculating the cost of beef shares per pound and the weight that will be used to determine meat processing and packaging fees. One of our 1250 lb steers will have a hanging weight of 750-820 lbs.
Packaged Weight: As the animal is dry aged, it will lose another 15-20% of weight. The weight will also be decreased by removal of bones, fat, and sinew. You can expect to receive about 60-65% of the hanging weight in the final packaged product. The steer that started at 1250 lbs on the hoof, will yield about 470-520 lbs of packed meat. This will vary depending on cut choices (bone-in weighs more than boneless).
So how can these different weights make things confusing and tricky for consumers?
Let’s say you see beef advertised at $5/lb based on the hanging weight, and also see that you will get about 100 lbs of meat. Without realizing the difference in hanging weight and packed weight, you might assume you’re going to pay $5 per pound on 100 pounds of meat. But you aren’t paying $5/lb on 100 lbs. You are actually paying $5/lb on the hanging weight, and 100 lbs of meat is only 60-65% of the hanging weight. That means you’re paying $5/lb on 155-165lbs of hanging weight. It’s understandable to think that you would only be paying $500 based on the information you see, but now that you know more about how hanging weights work, you can see that you’d likely end up spending $775-$825 for your quarter beef. That brings that 100 lbs of meat closer to $8 per pound. Also make sure to find out if processing will be covered in the price you pay.
How much beef in a share?
All shares will yield about 45-50% ground beef, 25-35% steaks, and 25-35% roasts, stew meat, and ribs. You have the option to take your share of the bones and fat if you would like, and if you would like the organs, we can ask the processor to save them for you. If you are interested in the organs, please let us know when you order your share so we can plan accordingly.
QUARTER BEEF: After processing, a quarter beef should yield between 100 and 125 pounds of meat, give or take. You also have the option to take home 20-30 pounds of bones and fat. The cuts you get on a quarter beef will depend on whether you get the front quarter or back quarter. With the front quarter you have options for brisket, ribs, and chuck roasts/steaks. The back quarter includes the flank, loins, and rounds. We will share more about the different options you have for cuts of meat as your butcher date nears. If you know you would prefer the front quarter or back quarter, please let us know when you order and pay your deposit so we can ensure you get the cuts you would like.
HALF BEEF: With a half beef, you get the front and back quarter of the animal for about 200-245 pounds of meat. You can take home the 40-60 pounds worth of the bones and fat.
WHOLE BEEF: The whole animal comes out to about 400-490 pounds of meat, along with 80-110 pounds of bones and fat if you choose to take it. You have plenty of options for cuts of various steaks, roasts, rib cuts, etc as the two halves are symmetrical with the exception of the organs.
How much beef will I need?
Your beef will have the best flavor if you can make it through your frozen stash of beef within a year. Adults typically eat 1/2 pound boneless meat and 1 pound of bone-in meat, while children typically eat 1/4 pound of boneless meat and 1/2 pound bone-in meat. Many steak and rib cuts can be made with the bone remaining, or boneless. Certain cuts like T-Bone are cut with the bone in.