Buying Beef in Bulk: Do’s and Don’ts to Purchasing Whole Beef, Half Beef, and Quarter Beef
Are you thinking about purchasing beef in bulk? Are you tired of shopping at the grocery store, only to end up settling for low-quality, flavorless feed lot beef? Many shoppers are now finding out that purchasing beef directly from the farm can be exciting, fulfilling, and help to provide more nutrients (not to mention flavor) to their families and friends. If you have considered purchasing beef in bulk, but don’t know where to begin, let me help you with some “Do’s and Don’ts”!
Why buy in bulk?
Before we get into the “Do’s and Don’ts”, let’s talk about why it’s important to purchase your food directly from a farmer, or from a store that supports farmers directly, rather than from a large chain grocery store. Although there are some great grocery stores out there that provide high-quality meats to their customers, the best way to buy beef is directly from the farmer, or butcher. Aside from being a better value, and usually better quality beef, the best reason to buy in bulk is what’s called “food dollars”. A food dollar is the dollar you spend on food, and the term refers to how that dollar is split up throughout the supply chain. In a traditional beef supply chain, the first person is the farmer that breeds and births the calves. But, in the commercial system that provides the overwhelming majority of beef in the us to consumers, that farmer does not participate in the full life cycle of that calf and will sell it to another farmer to help grow the calf for about a year. Those cattle are then shipped off to a feed lot, slaughtered in a large processing plant, and make their way to a steakhouse, a grocery store shelf, or even sold online to be shipped to your doorstep, ala “Omaha Meats”.
In the farm-to-table world, which I believe to be a better way of consuming meat, the farmer that births the calf will likely grow that calf until it’s ready to be harvested into beef. The reason why this is important is so pasture-based cattle can have a substantial impact on the land they graze. You may have heard of “regenerative” farming, and that is certainly a type of farming that I advocate for. More on regenerative farming can be found in one of my other blog posts, Regenerative: the new Sustainable. But, whether or not it’s regeneratively raised, if you purchase beef from a farmer that raises their cattle from birth to slaughter, that farmer is getting 100% of the food dollar up front. The farmer then will need to share that dollar among their supply chain, however that is broken up. Some farmers will pay a butcher to harvest and cut the meat, other farmers may own the processing portion of the supply chain themselves. Some farmers may need to pay someone for cattle feed at certain times of the life-cycle, others are able to feed their cattle exclusively on their own land. In any of these scenarios it’s the farmer that controls how and where that food dollar is spent.
In some cases, it may be better or easier for you to purchase your bulk beef order from a butcher, rather than the farmer. In those cases, I strongly recommend having an in-depth conversation with the butcher about how the food dollar is divided between that butcher and the farmer.
And this leads me to my first “Do” – ask where is the beef raised, and by whom? Now that we have established why it’s important to buy directly from the farmer, or a butcher that supports farms directly with their revenue selling beef, we can talk about where the beef is raised and who is raising it? Many companies online will advertise their beef to be “grass fed”, “all natural”, “antibiotic and hormone free”, and “organic”. But, if the company doesn’t talk about the farm where that beef is raised (not just “family farms”), with a region or location specifically, and who the farmer is, I advise caution in purchasing that bulk beef order over another farm that does tell you those things.
When advertising these selling points such as grass-fed, many online retailers, as well as national and regional grocers are actually selling imported grass-fed beef from New Zealand, Australia, or South America. And, although those products may be good (many are not), I would argue that buying directly from a farmer that you can call, visit and shake their hand, and see their farm is way better. Not only because of the food dollar, which we talked about earlier, but because it’s much more likely that the beef being raised locally by a small farmer that is your neighbor will be healthier for you, for the land, the planet as a whole, and for the employees working to bring that beef to your plate. The carbon footprint of beef grown outside of the US is substantial compared to the beef grown in your area. The transportation of the meat on ships, trucks, and the cold storage required all contributed a great deal to the carbon footprint of that imported beef. Purchasing local beef helps to ensure your food dollars stay local and don’t go to a corporation outside of the U.S. such as China, or Brazil. “Don’t” – buy from some online company that is aggregating their products from around the world.
“Do” – ask about what the cattle are fed. Cattle can eat all kinds of things to gain weight, get fat, and ultimately produce good looking beef (looking being the key word). However, this beef may be lacking in flavor, and nutrients. If the cattle are not eating a balanced diet, and are being fed high sugar and carbohydrate feeds, they may not be very healthy either. Cattle are meant to graze on pasture, and the types of grasses they consume must have the proper variety of nutrients for them to grow in a healthy way, putting on fat and weight so that your steak is delicious and nutritious. Feeds such as carrots, potatoes, corn, and soy for instance can fatten cattle. Depending on your preference as a beef eater, you may want 100% grass-fed/grass-finished beef. However, some people prefer grain finished beef. There are some farms that finish their cattle on feeds other than grass, and they do so responsibly in a way that helps keep the animal healthy. Either way, you will want to ask the farmer what they feed their cattle so you know you’re buying beef that you will really enjoy eating.
“Do” – ask what comes in your order. Cattle come in different breeds, and as we just discussed they are fed different things to help them grow. Genetics and feed are the two biggest factors in what dictates the size of the calf when it’s harvested. You may already know the price, whether it’s per-pound, or for the full order. But you should also know how much beef you will be getting and what cuts are included. Some farms have access to world-class butchers that can cut any type of steak known to man, while others are old-school and have a standard cutting style that has worked for them for generations. The farmer should be able to help you understand what comes in your order or put you in touch with the butcher who can then explain how your beef can be cut. It’s important to know how much of each item will be in your order so that you can feel comfortable with the amount of ground beef, roasts, steaks, and thin meats you will be getting. And, if you’re interested, ask about the bones, liver, heart, tongue, oxtail, and kidneys…maybe even the head is available.
“Don’t” – ask for everything to be steak. It’s ok if you’re unfamiliar with the anatomy of a beef carcass. That’s why you’re reading this post, to learn! When communicating with the farmer on your beef order, or with the butcher for the cutting instructions, please understand that there are only a limited amount of steaks and special cuts that can come from one side of beef. If you’re purchasing a half or a quarter, you can only have steaks, roasts, and other cuts from one side of the beef. Beef carcasses are split evenly in half, so you can get cuts from nose-to-tail. But, many cuts only come one per side such as tri tip, flank steak, brisket, or teres major (aka petite shoulder filet). Other examples are T-bones and porterhouse - if ordered the butcher cannot cut NY Strip Steak and Filet Mignon, because the NY Strip and Filet Mignon are what make up the T-bone and porterhouse. If you want to know specific details of the carcass breakdown, read my post Why So Much Ground Beef?
If you’re purchasing a whole beef, you can ask for each side to be cut differently, giving you more steak options. Please also keep in mind that you will get about half of your order (in weight) in ground beef, and you will also get a lot of roasts and stew meat most likely. If you don’t want as many roasts or stew, those items cannot be made into tender steaks (some can be edible though, depending on your butcher) and will likely be put into more ground beef. “Do” - ask the farmer or the butcher for advice when putting together your cut instructions if you’re not familiar with the process.
“Do” – consider the overall price per pound accounts for a variety of cuts. Although the total price per pound may seem high for ground beef, compared to what’s available at your local grocery store, remember that price per pound is also much cheaper for the steak cuts, and specialty cuts. For example, $13/lb. for ground beef seems high, but for Ribeye steak, Filet Mignon, and Flat Iron Filet this is a great price!
“Do” – take your time and be patient with the farmer and butcher. Growing cattle is not an easy job, and each animal takes at least 16 months to be ready for harvest. Many farmers allow their cattle to grow longer, closer to 20-24 months. Well raised, high-quality beef is a more arduous process than the commercial feedlot system that creates cookie cutter calves. Factors such as seasonality, weather, drought, availability and cost of feed, genetics, pressure from predators, and other influences all play a role in when cattle will be ready for harvest. Unless they’re using a feed-lot system, farmers may not be able to pinpoint a date when cattle will be ready, but they can give an estimate. I encourage you to be patient with your farmer if they do not have your order ready by the estimated deadline.
Similarly, a butcher can be dealing with late arrivals of livestock, employees not showing up to work, equipment breaking down and needing repairs, and trouble with food safety inspectors. All of these factors can create delays in the butchering process beyond the standard aging times and processing schedule.
When you are spending thousands of dollars on a bulk beef order, please be patient. Patience is the best way to ensure you get the best tasting, most tender, and most nutritious beef in your freezer for the upcoming year.
Buying beef in bulk can be a very rewarding experience for you and your family. Not only is it often cheaper than buying individual cuts of inferior beef at the grocery store, but by purchasing directly from a farmer will help pass more of your food dollar directly to the people growing, transport, butcher, and deliver your beef. Also, the beef itself will often be more nutritious, taste better, and be more enjoyable to eat. If after shopping with some farms you find yourself having sticker shock at the price to purchase in bulk, don’t be surprised! Many people find it difficult to put thousands of dollars down on purchasing bulk beef, and it may not be feasible for your family if you don’t have that amount available up front. Talk to the farmer and find out if payment installments, or splitting up payments is an option.
Access to bulk beef
Before we get started, we should discuss access to these products. Although in most cases the purchasing bulk beef is a much better value than buying beef at the store in single units not everyone can afford to place thousands of dollars into their freezer by paying up-front for a half or whole beef. This can create a conflict that prevents certain people in lower economic groups from accessing this product that is often more nutritious and healthier to eat. Although the issue of food access related to community type is discussed often and well documented, the fact remains it is difficult to get this valuable product into the hands of people that may not be able to afford it. Sometimes farmers are willing to donate product or sell some items at a discounted rate to their local school system to help feed children in their community with a nutritious product. Local food banks can take overstock or “expired” product that is still healthy to eat as a write off for the farm. But these are small solutions to a very big problem. Until we can find a way to add the real cost of cheap meat to the per pound price of factory farmed steaks and burger it’s not likely that our food industry will see any changes in access to nutritious, locally raised and processed meats by those who cannot afford to pay what it truly costs to raise these animals into the high-quality food we all deserve to eat. Any more dialogue on this topic is for another post, but I felt it is important to talk about access when discussing the below information.