What's the Difference? Beef Boxes vs. Half Cow

Yesterday I posted on our social media page asking others which they would prefer - beef boxes or quarter, half, whole bulk meat. Surprisingly the majority wanted box bundles with a few asking for the bulk meat instead.  Yet I had a person message me saying they didn't understand the difference, so I figured that may be a question more people had. 

Bulk Meat - Quarter, Half, Whole

This might be the system more people have at least heard of.  Although I once had a student say loudly in class, "Mrs. G! Did you know you can buy half a cow?!" The entire class goes, "You didn't?" So just in case you didn't know that, yes, most farmers who sell beef direct to customers will sell quarter beef, half beef, or the whole steer.  

What happens on the back-end is the farmer will bring their steer in to the processor.  There is first a "dry-age" wait time when the customer fills out their "cut sheet" of which cuts they want for their sections.  When the beef is put into cuts of steak and ready for the customer, the processor will call the farmer.  The farmer will let the customer know and the customer will go pick it up.  They will give two checks to the processor, one for the farmer for feed costs and daily care and the other to the butcher for completing the labor.  Some processors will have you only fill out one check and the farmer and butcher will work out the pricing structure separately.  

The customer takes home their bulk meat with the cuts they asked for.  However, when purchased this way they may be stuck with cuts they don't want, like roasts, or not enough of what they would like, like porterhouse steaks. Positively though, it is a great way of getting pastured meat for a discount more similar to what you would see in the store.  

Beef Box Bundles

Another option that many customers might not have as much familiarity with is the bulk box bundles.  Put a different way, these are what you would see as more of a subscription box. These boxes are put together by the farmer with the meat that works the best for the event, normally with recipes to cook that meal. 

For example, take our Valentine's Day Box.  In that box are three different options.  A beef option with two pounds of ground beef and two packages of T-Bones, a chicken option with four pounds of wings and two whole chickens, and a beef/chicken option with four pounds of wings and two packages of Porterhouse steaks.   All three of those options would be more expensive sold separately but sold as a bundle and we can provide more value with the meat, free delivery, and recipes.  

So Which is Better?

Honestly this question is hard to answer because everyone's lifestyle is different.  Right now, at the time of writing this, all we have available are bulk boxes.  Yet if you are interested in quarter, half, or whole cows we will have one available in a few short months.  Make sure you are on our email list if you want to be the first for that!