How much do I save purchasing a quarter of beef straight from the farm?
March 13, 2022
We have all been watching the prices at the pump and prices in the grocery store go up. If you are like me, and like to eat, there isn’t a whole lot you can do to get that grocery bill to go down…or is there? Well, we have an idea that might just help…
Here is a break down on how a quarter of beef can positively affect your grocery budget. This is an example of a quarter we picked up from the butcher last week.
Quarter of Beef**
223 lbs. hanging weight x $2.60/lb. = $579.80
Processing = $195.70
Total for a quarter of beef = $775.50
Total pounds of meat in the freezer = 140 lbs.
You are paying $5.54/lb. for a mix of steaks, roasts, and ground beef. Right now, 85/15 ground beef is $5.79/lb. at our local chain grocery store. And that price doesn’t seem to be going down any time soon. With rising fuel and feed prices the cost of food will continue to rise. By purchasing a quarter, you essentially lock in your price for about 6 months (or however long it takes you to eat through 100+ lbs. of beef). Did you know that Americans eat about 57 pounds of beef per person in a year?
We have found that a typical family of 5 will use a quarter of beef in about 6 months. This may vary from family to family, but that gives you a rough idea to go off of. Once you have purchased a quarter you will have a better idea of how long that amount of meat will last in your house.
So, what cuts do you typically get with a quarter of beef? The benefit to purchase custom beef is you get to make some choices to make it work best for you. Here is a breakdown of the 140 lbs. of beef from our last quarter:
30 lbs. roasts
25 lbs. steaks
60 lbs. ground beef
10 lbs. stew meat
5 lbs. cube steak
5 lbs. brisket
5 lbs. short ribs
What kind of freezer space do you need to store 100+ pounds of meat? A rule of thumb is one cubic foot of freezer space for each 35-40 pounds of cut and wrapped meat. To be on the safe side we typically plan for about 4.5 cubic feet for a quarter of beef. If you have a standard upright freezer (approx. 12 cubic feet) you would need about half of the freezer for beef. There are a variety of chest freezer sizes from the 5 cubic foot range to 25 cubic feet that you can get depending on your freezer needs. If you have a freezer but are unsure how many cubic feet it is you can measure the inside and then use this equation to find the cubic feet:
Height x Depth x Width = Cubic Feet
Ideal frozen storage time for beef is 9 to 12 months. Don’t worry though, if you have a roast that got stuck at the bottom of the freezer that is older than that you can still eat it. Meat can be frozen forever and still be safe to eat, the palatability might not be the same after that length of time.
So, to answer the original question of how much you can save purchasing a quarter of beef directly from the farm…you are looking at an approximate savings of 35% off of current chain grocery store retail prices (based on pricing as of 3/13/22).
If you think you would like to explore the option of purchasing a quarter directly from the farm, please reach out and let us know what additional questions you have. We currently have beef available every month this year starting in May. Besides offering quarters, halves, and whole beef we also offer individual cuts which you can purchase through our website at mayhillfarmwi.com.
We appreciate your support of your small family farm and look forward to providing quality food for you and the community.
**Please note every steer will have a different hanging weight and the processing may be different depending on that hanging weight, the butcher, and the cuts you select. This example is meant to give an approximate idea of what a quarter will cost.
