[jason]

Anyone ever bought half a cow at a market and had it cut up? How did it go? I hear the meat tends to be better that way. The only problem is that would be a lot of beef for me.

[greenqueen]

Most butchers can provide you with a quarter instead of a whole side. The price per pound will usually be a bit higher than buying a side but still way cheaper than buying meat in the supermarket. Or see if a friend wants to split a side with you.

Yes, I would say the meat is far better. For one, when you do things this way you are getting local beef so it hasn't had to travel all over the place. Usually the place can tell you if the animal was given any synthetic hormones or antibiotics, as well.

[stav]

much better if you can do it...

If a whole half a cow is too much for you, do what i do and share with a neighbour (or relative) Meat is fresher, and you can have it cut up the way you want it... thicker steaks for instance...

[Taggart]

I grew up on a farm and we butchered our own beef. Sometimes people would buy from us like that. I think they were interested in knowing how the beef was raised, as mentioned above.

Obviously the critical thing with storing a large portion of meat like that is to keep it frozen, which can be a problem if there's a power outage.

[alygirl]

My husband and I have been looking at a farm here who allows you to buy a cow like that. All organic corn fed cow and then they age the meat. They are asking $625 for half a cow does that sound about right or is this too much?

[Kathleen]

We did it once in cooperation with a neighbor, and split the meat between us. We both had big deep freezers so we had enough room to store it all. We were both happy with the quality and the price.