For the last few years we have been buying 1/2 side of beef from my cousin’s husband, who is an Angus beef farmer.
While not certified organic, his animals receive no shots or injections (except for a worm shot when they are young), and they are free to graze all day with plenty of room. He feeds them very little grain.
Last year we missed the opportunity to get a 1/2 side of beef, so we got a 1/2 side of ground beef instead.
After a year without steaks and other cuts of meat, we were excited to get the full 1/2 side of beef.
This time the total 1/2 side of beef was smaller than usual; the drought in the Midwest this summer meant that his cows had a tough time putting on weight. Just like us, when the heat is on, cows apparently eat less.
Here is what we received from the order this time around:
- Beef Sirloin Steak (4)
- Ground Beef (51)
- Beef Chuck Roast (4)
- Beef Sizzler (4)
- Beef Porterhouse Steak (2)
- Beef Rib Eye Steaks (3)
- Beef T-Bone Steaks (2)
- Beef Round Tenderized (8)
- Beef Rump Roast (1)
We received 98 pounds of meat and paid $490. That equates to $5 per pound. Considering the quality of the meat as well as the variety of meats that we bought and the fact that I don’t have to worry about pink slime in my ground beef, we are very happy with our purchase.
Plus, the meat is better than any we can buy in the grocery store.
Do you buy straight from the farmer? Why or why not?
It’s a top idea. My folks regularly buy their meat in bulk when they can. Last year they bought a whole lamb and half pig.
Like you said the quality is so much better and you make a massive saving.
We just bought part of a side of beef in the fall through a farmer ( we split it up with some friends). After getting used to the taste, it’s something we’re definitely going to be doing again.
I find the taste much better, don’t you?
Our family doesn’t eat a whole lot of beef, maybe once a week tops, so this would not be a good purchase for us, but I’ve known a few people who do this and swear by it.
Wow, that’s a lot of beef! $5/lbs is great though.
We buy straight from the farmer with our beef and have for quite a few years now, and its so nice not having to buy it on a regular basis and knowing the quality is there is a huge plus.
Last year, for $450 I got 40lb hamburger, 4 – 3lb roasts, 12 steaks, 24 cubed steak, 8 lb stew meat. Half Steer is $950 but I’m not sure what cuts and how much you get. I might get that this year, we’ll see. Your prices look much better than mine!
With the way we are going through meat on my Paleo diet, we should look into buying 1/2 instead of 1/2 side.
It’s so nice to have a huge stock pile of meat. We did this once and it was wonderful. I haven’t thought about it in awhile, but it might be something worth doing with some of our tax return! It will save on groceries in the long run also!
That’s a lot of meat! Good job in buying hormone free “healthy” meat… and knowing where it’s coming from makes a big difference. We stopped buying/cooking meat more than a year ago, and our grocery bills have dropped by $20 per week. We still enjoy it occasionally if we go out to eat, or if someone else cooks. It’s a nice treat for us now =)
We also buy straight from the farmer, for a different reason: my son is allergic to corn, so we buy all grass-fed cattle from a local farmer. We usually get it for about $4 a pound, so it’s nice to know we’re feeing our family good beef, and actually saving money from grocery store prices in the process! I would highly recommend this method of beef purchase.
That is a great price on grassfed beef! How did you find the farmer?