{"id":1419,"date":"2024-02-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clovermeadowsbeef.com\/?p=1419"},"modified":"2024-04-26T11:18:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T16:18:11","slug":"buying-half-a-cow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clovermeadowsbeef.com\/buying-half-a-cow\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying a half cow or whole cow. How much beef is it? (video)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Are you thinking of buying a cow? Have you decided how much? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When most people think of buying farm fresh beef, they often think of buying half a cow, but did you know there other options. You can often buy a sixteenth, quarter, half, or whole cow from a farmer, so you need to do research and determine the best choice for your family. Regardless of the quantity you choose, choosing to purchase beef from high-quality family farms is a great way to get high-quality meat, a variety of types of cuts, and all at a great price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been selling beef directly off of our farm for decades. Without a doubt one of the first common questions people ask before buying a cow is \u201chow much meat will I actually get?\u201d That question is usually followed by, “what’s the total cost?” And last but not least, \u201cIf I buy a cow, what part am I getting? The front half or back half?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this post is to show <\/em>you how much beef you get when you buy a cow. We also have a step-by-step guide on buying a cow<\/a> from local farmers, including what questions to ask before placing a bulk beef order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put it in perspective, we’ve made our home refrigerator the star of the video and photos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve taken these pictures twice, years apart. The first time we only took photos and we had a standard 18.1 cu ft refrigerator<\/a> with a freezer on top. The second time we did this, we made a video and we had a newer refrigerator \u2013 a 22.1 cu ft refrigerator<\/a> with french doors and freezer on the bottom. Hopefully, seeing the bulk meat in two different refrigerators will help put it into perspective even more.<\/p>\n\n\n[feast_advanced_jump_to]\n\n\n

Is buying a cow worth it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes! The benefit of buying a cow is that you will save money and get the highest quality beef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, we compare the price of beef from our family farm to local St. Louis grocery stores. With Clover Meadows Beef, the price is approximately $5.45\/pound for all cuts of grass fed beef. This is compared to $7.03\/pound at Walmart, $7.84\/pound at a local St. Louis grocery store, and $9.86\/pound at Whole Foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note, every farm and beef processor prices beef differently. You will need to do your own math on determining the price per pound if you’re not in the St. Louis area and can’t order from our farm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See a Whole Cow, Half Cow, Quarter Cow and Sixteenth Cow in a refrigerator (video)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
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Here’s what our 22.1 cu ft refrigerator 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, 2 Ribeye steaks, 2 New York Strips steaks, 2 Filet steaks, 2 Sirloin steaks, 1 Stew Meat, 1 Short Rib, 1 package Soup Bones, 1 package Beef Liver, and 1 Roast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buying a quarter<\/span> cow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what our 18.1 cu ft refrigerator with freezer on top looks like with a quarter beef, which is 110 lbs of beef. As you can see, it\u2019s a lot of beef, but it all fits in the freezer (without the freezer shelf or ice bucket).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what comes with a quarter? That answer varies since every cow is unique and weighs something different, but here is how it typically breaks out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a quarter you get about 50 pounds of ground beef, and the remaining 60 lbs of meat is in steaks, brisket, roasts, stew meat, ribs, liver, soup bones, etc. Please keep in mind that everything is based on the individual cow and how the beef is cut, but typical, the remaining 60 lbs works out to be approximately 6-7 ny strips, 6-7 ribeye steaks, 5-6 filets, 5-6 sirloin steaks, 2 short ribs, 4-5 roasts, 1-2 package of stew meat, 1-2 packages of liver, 1 brisket, and several packages of soup bones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a quarter, you also get the option of the one-per-animal parts like tongue, oxtail and heart. Since there’s only one-per-animal, these are first-come-first-serve based on the other who requests them first. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Here’s what our 22.1 cu ft refrigerator looks like with a quarter cow. Again, it’s 50 pounds of ground beef, and the rest of the beef comes in a variety of cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, and brisket. For a quarter beef, we recommed a freezer with 5 cubic feet of freezer space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buying a half<\/span> cow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, what if you buy half a cow, also known as a side of beef? What does that look like? With a half a cow, you\u2019ll get approximately 220 pounds of meat. It includes 100 pounds of ground beef, and the rest of the beef are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, and tenderloin. For an average half cow, we recommend an 8 cubic foot freezer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just for fun, we included a dozen eggs and a half gallon of milk in this picture so you would have some additional perspective \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n

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Buying a whole<\/span> cow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a whole cow you would get approximately 440 pounds of beef. It will be approximately 200 pounds of ground beef, and the other 220 pounds are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, tenderloin, etc. On average, we\u2019ve found that a whole is great for families of three or more that eat beef with four or more meals a week. With purchases of whole beef animals, customers can have it custom cut and we will provide you with the cut list (i.e. cut sheet) in advance. Purchasing a whole beef is the best value, but it’s also a lot of beef to eat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cuts of beef included<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you buy a cow, you get a variety of cuts such as<\/p>\n\n\n\n