How much for a Whole Cow // Is it worth it // Local Farm Raised Beef  

That’s a wonderful price. I’m about to process my black angus steer. He weighs 1200 pounds. We are a large family 15 children, 47 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. So we process 3 times a year. We raise our own livestock. It saved us this year alone 7, 000 dollars. We grow 90% of what we eat

Back when people were getting their free money and going and buying big screen TVs I decided to use my money a different way. I purchased a small freezer and got a quarter of a beef. I checked the money I had left and decided I would purchase a small hog and a second small freezer.I have shared it with family and still have plenty left. Some I have canned for future use and making quick meals I rendered the tallow and lard for cooking and soap making. Blessings all around

I regret never finding a woman this nurturing and cooperative, and family centered..cherish your precious unicorn, my friend. She's a gem!!!!

Before you buy the freezers or beef, consider buying a generator and fuel. Over the last couple of decades, I have several times seen neighbors filling their dumpsters with food after an extended power outage.

I was raising a family of 6, 4 kids to feed daily, we did whole cow,( my family got half ) once a year and split it w/my husband's family, We had the most kids so we went through it, and also did 1/3 of a hog. My husband passed 10 yrs ago and my kids are now grown. I miss getting our meat like this.

In Mexico cow tongue is a delicacy. It’s also referred to as the poor man’s filet mignon. I recommend you boil it with garlic, onion, and a couple of bay leaves. Peal the skin instead of trimming it off. It’s way easier and you save meat. Cube it up and pan sear the cubes with your favorite beef seasoning till it’s browned to your liking. Super good cut of beef.

This is like those great traditions our forefathers used to do when they were still living in villages and tribes. Helping one another. Feed the village and everyone is happy.

My Mom back in the 600’s and 70’s always went in once a year with another family for beef. They each pain half for half cow. It was wonderful addition to the Deer and small game my Dad and Brothers got us yearly. Mom fed 8 people and our friends and family. My Mom was a wonderful women who make a penny scream.

We bought a 1/2 cow this year in the spring. Got 440 lbs of take home for $1600.00. Averaged out to $3.63 per pound. I live in Michigan

Non GMO, grass fed and finished organic beef at half the price of grocery store chains seems to fit perfectly with your family's needs and a great investment in you food budget. Well done on the video, thank you.

last year we bought half a cow ($1500) for the first time. They shrink wrapped and labelled everything into parts/portions. We are a family of 8 and It lasted us a whole 13 months. Even though we asked for mostly ground beef it has been awesome. We bought a standing freezer. We will definitely do it again.

The smile on your faces let's me know how much you and your family will enjoy it. Buen provecho!

I'm a chef that recently moved from Dallas back to my small oil town of Port Arthur, TX. I know that food costs everywhere are super expensive and appreciate what you guys are doing to support the local farm community in your area. I had been considering going in half with a buddy of mine on a whole beef purchase and you guys have just given me more motivation to do it. Thanks for the great content.

Here in Oklahoma we get 1/2 a cow and split it with our friends twice a year. It’s just enough for our family. Yesterday we paid $4.50 a pound from a great farm family close by. It’s wonderful meat and we feel rich having our freezer full. I would rather have the good healthy beef than money in the bank.

My dad used to go in together with a few others to purchase a whole year worth of beef, pork, and chicken. Let me tell you, that was the absolute best food ever. I learned such valuable lessons from them. And as you mentioned, my dad had personal communication with his butcher, and he was the absolute best guy to cut, grind, and package exactly as requested, even the stuff that most would throw away!

We have a bulk store that has the lowest prices on meat and most of their beef is under $6 a pound. Their ground beef is often under $4 a pound and as low as $2.50 a pound in 10lb rolls. Their pork is almost all under $2lb with much under $1.50lb. That place was a game changer for us and we bulk buy now and save so much money.

I had a discussion with a well meaning vegan recently. I love beef! She was convinced I killed hundreds of animals a year, this video showed just how much food is on a cow, humanely raised. Thank you!

It was $3000 for approximately 420 lbs of take home beef. You’re welcome

Thank you! I get tired of people not understanding the difference between hanging weight and what you bring home. I appreciate this video.

Hot Tip-cow tongue is delicious sliced thin, marinated and cooked over coals. We order it all the time at the Korean BBQ houses here in Canada. I personally love the flavour. Dealing with skinning and cleaning it may be a chore but worth it in my opinion. Look to other cuisines when looking for recipe ideas for using "off cuts". Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, German, etc, use much more of the animal than we do.

As you probably saw on our video we got a whole hog but, we also got 1/4 of a cow. Our daughter was offered half a cow and because of the price she knew she couldn’t do the half so I asked if we wanted to share it with them. Buying grass fed grain finished beef has been a game changer! The meat is so good! I cannot stress enough the difference in the taste. You are so blessed to have a half! We might have to investigate doing a half next year. My husband compared the prices from the beef we bought with beef at Costco and ours was all cheaper and so much better! Thanks for sharing all the info in this video!

We were a family of seven, we hung a whole black angus & hog every fall. Mom & dad love to fish. So between the rabbits & chickens & turkeys we raise never ran out of meat. Our garden was 100 × 200, think my intire summer in that garden. But we never went hungry and always had good food to eat.

My Father raises Black Angus Cattle and every year he butchers at least 2 calf's that are about a year and a half old and he has a walk in freezer for all the beef and we just go to him and tell him what we need.

Great video. I learned a lot. Seeing all the beef laid out was astounding. This has really helped me to realize what’s involved. Thank you!!!!

When we were raising our three children and the older two were in their early teens we bought a whole cow on the hoof. We had it butchered and packaged to the size of packaging we needed. We shopped all over and found that.Sears was the only place we found that had a 31 cu. ft. upright freezer. It held one cow with no space left over. As the meat was used I'd buy some chicken and pork to give the family a break from beef. It lasted one year and we usually bought another cow in January.. That was back in the mid 70s.

@18:53 her husband is thinking about how good they are going to taste on the grill!!❤ Thank you for the great video! Excellent guys!❤

I love y’all. I heard you wanted us to share our prices. I promise I’m not bragging, supporting your community is amazing but here in Oklahoma we’re getting half cows at 400lbs hanging weight for $4.25/lb processing included. Economies of scale differ from area to area. Always support your local farmers

Thank you for sharing your experience!

just found this channel. Don't underestimate the cheeks. Cheeks are AWESOME braised! Good hearty Winter food

Dang, it's wild to see an entire cow packaged and layed out like this lol awesome! Glad your family will be well fed through the year!

We bartered a fishing boat for 2 steer. We got one last year and will get the 2nd one next summer. From the first we got 632lbs of beef. I didn’t get all the extras b/c so didn’t know what I know now. Next time it is game on! Give it ALL to me!

You do what it takes for your family. I love that you are supporting you local farmers.

I am really grateful that you shared this video it was wonderful to enjoy it and of course to see the smile on your husband's face every time you mentioned a T-bone or a filet mignon and I'm very proud of you I hope you're proud of yourself because at least you take on the ability to use every single part of it that you can use and that's a really good thing you should be proud of that

Just picked up a half of beef yesterday, here in west central Pa. Split it with our son. Paid $3.50 lb hanging, for 263 lbs. (Small grass fed angus raised by a family friend) We got 84 lbs of approximately 80/20 ground beef. The rest in steaks/roasts. We canned some of the roasts (8 quart), vacuum packed and froze the rest of them and all of the steaks. Took bones, liver, heart, and tongue. First time trying the latter 2. Cost $157.00 for processing. Used to do this when the kids were small, but this is the first in a few years. Cut some of the flank steaks into thin strips and frying up with eggs for breakfast this morning before our son and his family head back to WV. Unsure why this video just showed up in my YT offerings, but thanks for the information.

love the smile and excitement he gets when she mentions the NY Strip 18:51

There is always going to be someone who knows better but this is an awesome vid. Thanks for this.

This is definitely the way to go at refund season. It's so much cheaper, your meat hasn't traded a lot of hands and you're supporting your local farms! Buying local may cost more up front, but it's way better in terms of value, flavor and nutrition.

Thank you so much for the breakdown. We are in north east Texas and found a farm that sells whole grass feed cows. We will hopefully be buying the whole cow and freezing most of it and canning the rest.

Thanks so very much for sharing with us. It was so nice of y’all. And very helpful.

Thank you for the intro. That was very helpful to me as a single retired individual. I have my favorite local farmer and I go to their store only and they’ll do anything for me so thinking about all that meat is very interesting because it’s too much for me

I like the way you support the local farm. More people need to do this. Keep America great! Thanks for the video! God Bless!

For those who are able to harvest beef or any other livestock will definitely be beneficial in terms of prices we pay at supermarkets. Thank you for sharing and encouraging us that we can live off the land and not be held captive by companies who charge ridiculous prices for meat or food we can actually harvest ourselves. Great Video Grain Feed Homestead.

My family and my friends are also supporting our local meat farmer in Melbourne, Australia, Thank you for sharing .God bless you and your precious family.

When I was young, we raised our own cows and had our meat butchered and we shared with it with family. Back then, I really thought that’s how everyone got their meat. I remember going to pick up the meats and bringing it home and sorting all the different kinds of meat. Brought back such fond memories.

I love this video. Thank you for being so detailed. I'm really interested in doing this for my family.

What a fantastic way to feed your family good quality meat! The cost is so good, sharing with another family is a great idea! So glad I’ve found your channel! 😊

Good job walking us through what you bought, got and paid. One of the best that I have seen on the subject.

The tallow is an excellent fat to use for cooking instead of oil. I feel like it’s getting more popular

I'm an advocate for local farms. Encouraging others to buy local. Thank you also.

Just bought a 1/2 from a local rancher 6.50 a pound. Packaged how we want. Arrives Monday I’m so excited

Wow that was one of the most informative videos I've seen - very helpful too.

Thank you for sharing,I will be looking for a place in nyc to get a whole cow .After seeing this I am sold on the idea of supporting local farms.

Thank you, this is the way forward for everyone.

Great video. Remind3d me of my childhood. We lived on 1 acre and raised a single beef cow at a time. We fed them grain the first 3 months... they were the best meat ever. The chuck steak was as good as store bought ribeye. The closest thing i have had as an adult is when I harvested a pig in central California.

I really appreciated your messages at the end!

Thanks for sharing such good information. We haven’t purchase beef in bulk yet but I’m sure we will in the future! Keeping notes for then!

Thank you, it's a great idea

NOTHING at all wrong with paying others for their talents and efforts! As a matter of fact, I am always VERY happy to pay for such things as quality, customer service and relationships.

Awesome video guys, thanks so much and definitely support your local farmers and ranchers!

Thanks for being real good people its appreciated. God bless you 🙏.

we did this and spread the meat with family its definitely got a fresher taste you can tell the difference like night and day compared to store bought like sam's or dillion's. More people need to support your local farmer's . very very important .

I just took my Jersey steer to be processed last week. His hanging weight was 400lbs, $50 fee for killing and eviscerating, and $0.67/lb. That puts my processing cost at this point at about $318. He cost me $85 to buy as a bottle calf that I put on my dairy goat who had lost her kid, and it cost me $5 for the vet to disbud him. Not sure what my feed costs were because I just fed him the same thing as I fed my goats, mostly alfalfa and hay near the end.

Thanks, Great show and effort!

I appreciate all your thoughts the energy and the information you've offered us😊

I really appreciate this. I'm trying to figure out ways to be financially free and this is an option that I haven't considered. We don't really keep a lot of meat due to price, but this is something that I think we could work towards. Thanks again.

My Mother used to get tongues every Christmas, it was corned like corned beef. She would boil it and pot it. It sliced up like lunch meat. I loved it. Heart is the best tasting steak.

This was great! Thank you for sharing this info.!

We get a 1/4 black Angus every year. The butcher does a great job n the meat is always top quality. If we tried getting it at a store. We wouldn't be able to get any where near that amount. The quality would not be as good either. So I agree with you on supporting local farmers n businesses. I grew up farming. Health reasons changed that but it's a great life. That was an impressive amount of beef.

I can tell Derek is salivating as you are reading the steak list! 😂 We butcher our own to save on costs. Obviously, equipment start up was a lot but since we do one a year, it’s really nice for us now! I love this video and how you did the break down of everything! 💜

Great video! Thanks for doing this!!

Absolutely awesome y'all!! Great job!

My sister and I split a whole cow every year. Her neighbor raised a few head of cattle. She has acres that she doesn't use, so he hays it a couple times a year and gives her a discount on the cow in exchange for that. We end up with about 700 lbs of beef, plus the tallow, bones, and organ meat. Last year, it ran $3.35 a pound. We expect it will be closer to $4 or maybe even $5 this year. Our cut date isn't until December. We have a 21cuft upright freezer for beef and a 13 cuft upright for pork. Each of our households are small enough to only use half of what we get, so we cook up and freeze dry the rest. Preparing for tougher times, y'all.

Happy you do this. We do too! Home grown and a year of beef for less the cost.

Thanks for the update.

Thank you, great video. I need to look for a local farm to get my meat. Thanks for the reminder that that can be an option.

Thanks guys, I live in Alaska and for the first time I’m buying 1/2 a cow this year. I’m a single guy wanting to support anything non woke. Thanks for your video

THIS IS THE MOST ECONOMICAL WAY TO BUY BEEF, PORK AND CHICKEN. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO. I GREW UP IN THE CITY AND MY DAD USED TO BUY MEAT FOR THE FAMILY LIKE THIS. MY DAD ALSO TAUGHT US THAT FARMERS DESERVE THE UTMOST RESPECT BECAUSE THEY WORK VERY HARD TO PROVIDE FOR ALL OF US. I NE VER FORGOT WHAT HE TAUGHT US; I SALUTE ALL FARMERS FOR EVERTHING THEY DO. A FARM FAMILY'S LIFE CAN BE CHALLENGING. FARMERS ARE THE BACKBONE OF THIS COUNTRY.

Thank you so much for such good information. Just recently I was inquiring about a whole beef but yet had no idea how much meat and you have answered all my questions. Thank you again. God bless you and your family.

Thank you. So much important information in this video.

Great American Family I SALUTE YOU!

Love this. For those with not so much freezer space, lots of people pressure can meat and it will last a year or 2, maybe more. Or smoke/salt/pickle/freeze dry/make jerky. Here in Europe folks even water bath can meat, so recipes / videos for that can be found too, especially on channels from Eastern Europe or Turkey. I love organ meat too - I'd actually far rather liver than a steak!

Thank u so much for posting this I have been wanting to know this for years

Thanks for sharing. The great thing is you know where your meat is coming from. In the stores, not so much. Blessings, 🙏

Hello from our farm in New Hampshire. Great job! We are a working farm- grass fed Hereford- haying- logging. We raise our cattle for breeding stock, but put a half in the freezer for the three of us. We know that our animal was raised with respect, free range and healthy. Since we are not big beef eaters, it lasts us quite a while. I prefer more hamburger and stew meat and only keep the prime steak cuts. This has been a godsend to get us through these challenging times. Our farming neighbors raise organic chicken, etc and we buy from them. It is a supportive network. ~ Diane

We are cattle farmers and fatten out our cattle and sell mainly to individuals. Ours is sold by the hang weight, so the amount would depend on the weight of the animal. So on average a whole cow would cost you between $1800 & $2000 We also sell 1/4 & 1/2, and sell beef singly also.

Nice, that meat is gonna taste so good. Grass fed taste so much better and you helped local, can't beat that. Great job ya'll thx!

Thanks! Very informative

Nothing but healthy food

When I lived in the countryside my wife and I raised a calf each year. That way we knew what it's diet would be. Yes. It was worth the work. I don't ever remember thinking about money so much. It was more about being less dependent on "the system" for our sustenance. It was interesting especially at slaughter time. Most folks hired pros for this. We did too at first but then learned how to do it ourselves but we had to buy a large freezer. The last couple of years we hosted an annual pit barbque for our extended family. Then gave away much of the meat as gifts. The great advantage is in knowing what the beef is raised on. For those who are worried about chemicals/hormones in diet this is a big advantage. The best part was the benefits gained by doing for ourselves as a family. Our kids will never forget what they learned. If one chooses this lifestyle one had better have some ranch hands or one can forget ever going on a vacation or even on an overnighter to the city. Such a life ties one to the land.

Thank you so much for all this information.

This is so helpful. Thank you for sharing.

I also got the liver,heart and beef tongue. Remember to boil the tongue good and remove the skin then roast. It is delicious. Cooked the pork neck bones yesterday. Some I barbecued. Who knew how satisfying it is to eat neck bones? Now I do!

Great job everyone. My family and my sisters family purchased an entire beef just a few weeks ago. I also raised 50 chickens this year, sharing the cost with my sister and another friend. That friend raised a pig for us and the cost of the chicken for her share offset most of the cost of the pig. We have 21 cubic foot upright, 18 cubic foot and 14 cubic foot chest freezers to hold our meat and home raised veggies. We purchased the freezers over time and have slowly acquired what we need for our small farm. Remember the barter system is alive and well. The taste of home raised meat is so much better and more nourishing than that purchased in a store. It’s interesting that you do tallow soap. I do the same thing and I plan to spend a day rendering all of the beef tallow by Thanksgiving.

Thank your for sharing. Much appreciated.

New Friend here. Great video. My husband and I have been wanting to get a whole cow. I love the no waste approach. Have a BLESSED weekend. ❤❤❤

I do the carnivore diet and I feed my dogs raw. So between the three of us. We go through a decent amount of meat. It's Going into November now, 2023, been looking into this, looking at $4-5k now for a whole cow. $3k is an amazing price. Inflation sucks... FJB Great video :)

Excellent job! If you can afford a whole entire cow, I would highly recommend a chamber vacuum sealer unless you already have one. Not talking about a seal-a-meal or other similar type as they only vacuum outside the unit. Instead get one that pumps out all oxygen within the storage bag and meat at the same time. They are awesome for packaging meats and liquids for long time storage (1 -2 year or more) the same as the product that is shown in your video. Not promoting any particular brand but VacMasters are pretty awesome and could be used for leftovers if you have any. Just a suggestion so to don't give me a thumbs down on this comment.

Great experience and education. My favorite part of this video was when she read the list and the excitement on his face….😊

I moved from Los Angelos CA to Texas at 66 years solo. I bought 2 acres. I have my chickens and I am establishing an orchard and gardens. I am so happy to be part of a small comunity . I know 2 ranches within 5-10 mins of my home. I spoke with both about how and what they feed their animals. one place offers, beef, lamb, pork... it is so nice to support FRIENDS. and to KNOW what is in your food. yes I have the freezer but I have never fired it up. im thinking of canning the meat like my mother and grandmother did. so I am not dependent on power. though I have small scale solar. enough to run one fridge. thank you for this video, well executed. great perspective on $$$$$$s for I had loosely discussed splitting a cow with my neighbors.

Beef heart can be ground up and used just like hamburger when making soup just a piece of cow tail adds so much flavor. My butcher gave me soup bones there was so much meat attached that it made a super tasty soup.