Is buying from us actually cheaper?
Short answer: yes, on every share size, vs every major grocery chain we checked — for the same tier of beef (grass-fed, pasture-raised). This page shows the math, live from our database. When we change a price, this page changes with it.
The verdict, share by share
The grocery numbers above are the average per-pound cost if you bought the same cut mix at the grass-fed tier (Kroger Simple Truth Organic, Publix Strauss / Verde Farms, Whole Foods Panorama, USDA Southeast regional grass-fed averages). That's the right comparison — our beef is grass-fed, pasture-raised, dry-aged 14–21 days. Comparing us to conventional Kroger Choice ($11–$18/lb feedlot beef with hormones and grain-finishing) is apples to oranges.
Across the cut mix, that grocery grass-fed average works out to ~$11.55/lb. Our shares run $8.00–$9.00/lb depending on size. Pick the dropdown on the price comparison page to see the real receipt for any specific store.
How we got that number
A 500 lb whole-cow share doesn't come as 500 lb of ribeye — one steer yields a fixed mix of cuts. The breakdown below is what actually ends up in your freezer (rounded UT/Penn State Extension yields). For each cut we show what you'd pay us, what you'd pay grocery grass-fed for the same cut, and how many pounds of that cut you get in a whole share.
| Cut | % of share | lb in whole | Our $/lb | Grocery grass-fed $/lb | Δ $/lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground 80/20 (1-lb pack) | 50.0% | 250.0 | $7.00 | $8.99 | save $1.99 |
| Chuck roast | 4.0% | 20.0 | $9.00 | $8.74 | +$0.26 |
| Top round roast | 4.0% | 20.0 | $9.00 | $11.65 | save $2.65 |
| Ribeye steak | 3.0% | 15.0 | $18.00 | $24.00 | save $6.00 |
| Top sirloin steak | 3.0% | 15.0 | $12.00 | $17.50 | save $5.50 |
| Bottom round roast | 3.0% | 15.0 | $9.00 | $11.65 | save $2.65 |
| Round steak | 3.0% | 15.0 | $11.00 | $11.65 | save $0.65 |
| Stew meat (1-lb packs) | 3.0% | 15.0 | $9.00 | $10.30 | save $1.30 |
| NY Strip (top loin) steak | 2.5% | 12.5 | $16.00 | $22.50 | save $6.50 |
| Chuck steak | 2.0% | 10.0 | $10.00 | — | — |
| Short ribs | 2.0% | 10.0 | $12.00 | $9.28 | +$2.72 |
| Sirloin tip roast | 2.0% | 10.0 | $11.00 | $10.52 | +$0.48 |
| Eye of round roast | 2.0% | 10.0 | $9.00 | $11.99 | save $2.99 |
| Rump roast | 2.0% | 10.0 | $10.00 | $10.57 | save $0.57 |
| Whole packer brisket | 2.0% | 10.0 | $10.00 | $11.04 | save $1.04 |
| Rib roast / prime rib | 1.5% | 7.5 | $18.00 | — | — |
| T-bone steak | 1.0% | 5.0 | $16.00 | $22.29 | save $6.29 |
| Porterhouse steak | 1.0% | 5.0 | $17.00 | $32.00 | save $15.00 |
| Filet mignon steaks | 1.0% | 5.0 | $28.00 | $43.40 | save $15.40 |
| Flank steak | 1.0% | 5.0 | $14.00 | $14.70 | save $0.70 |
| Plate short ribs | 1.0% | 5.0 | $12.00 | — | — |
| Osso buco (cross-cut shank) | 1.0% | 5.0 | $10.00 | $9.49 | +$0.51 |
| Liver | 1.0% | 5.0 | $4.00 | — | — |
| Tallow / suet (raw fat) | 1.0% | 5.0 | $2.00 | — | — |
| Back ribs | 0.5% | 2.5 | $10.00 | — | — |
| Strip roast (whole top loin) | 0.5% | 2.5 | $15.00 | — | — |
| Tri-tip | 0.5% | 2.5 | $14.00 | $18.38 | save $4.38 |
| Skirt steak | 0.5% | 2.5 | $14.00 | $13.95 | +$0.05 |
| Oxtail | 0.5% | 2.5 | $12.00 | $9.46 | +$2.54 |
| Heart | 0.5% | 2.5 | $4.00 | — | — |
| Soup bones | 0.5% | 2.5 | $5.00 | — | — |
| Marrow bones | 0.5% | 2.5 | $8.00 | — | — |
| Tongue | 0.5% | 2.5 | $5.00 | — | — |
| Total (whole share) | ~100% | 508 lb | See verdict above | ||
Want the receipts? Every grocery price links to the actual product page on the price comparison page. Toggle the dropdown to compare against your specific local store (Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, Costco). All prices are sourced from cited references.
What it costs us — the part most farms don't tell you
Cheap, expensive, "competitive" — those words only mean something next to a real cost. So here's our cost of producing one finished animal, line by line. Same numbers we use to plan the herd and price our shares. No fine print.
| Cost item | Per cow | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weaned calf purchase | $2,000 | Spring 2025 Unionville Livestock Market. Today's price (Apr 2026) is closer to $2,675 — see our 'What does a cow actually cost?' post. |
| Hay (one winter, 8–10 round bales) | $700 | Middle TN round-bale orchard grass at $60–$90/bale. |
| Pasture upkeep (allocated per head) | $225 | Fertilizer, overseeding, fence maintenance, bush-hogging. |
| Water (well electric + tank heater) | $115 | Year-round well power + winter tank-heater electric. |
| Minerals + routine vet | $200 | Free-choice minerals, worming, fly control, occasional booster. |
| Equipment + fuel (allocated per head) | $225 | Tractor, truck, trailer, stock chute, fuel — spread across the herd. |
| USDA processing (cut, wrap, dry-age) | $650 | USDA-inspected processor including 14–21 day dry-age. |
| TOTAL cost per finished animal | $4,115 | Before any labor. Our hours are not in this number. |
What we actually make at current prices
Now run those costs against what you pay us, sold three different ways. "Margin" here is everything left over before we pay ourselves a wage.
| If we sell the whole cow as… | Total revenue | Margin per cow | % margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sold as 1 Whole Beef | $4,000 | −$115 (loss) | -2.9% |
| Sold as 2 Half Beefs | $4,250 | +$135 | 3.2% |
| Sold as 4 Quarter Beefs | $4,500 | +$385 | 8.6% |
| Full a-la-carte sell-through | $4,613 | +$498 | 10.8% |
At current pricing, selling a whole cow to a single customer at our retail Whole price is roughly break-even with a thin loss, before our labor. We make our small margin on quarters, halves, and full a-la-carte sell-through. None of those numbers cover the hours we put in feeding, fencing, hauling, and customer-handling.
We're showing you this on purpose. Local food cannot sustain a small family farm if the customer doesn't see what it actually costs to produce. Our prices are not high — conventional grocery beef is just artificially cheap because it externalizes labor cost, environmental cost, and animal-welfare cost to places you don't see.
If you want this farm to still be raising beef next year, this is the math you helped close.
What we should charge — vs what we actually charge
To pay ourselves a modest hourly wage and a small margin to reinvest in fence, hay, and the next calf, the "fair" retail on a whole cow runs roughly (cost + $2000 labor) × 110%. Here's that number next to what we're charging today.
| Share | Suggested fair retail | What we charge | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Beef | $6,730 | $4,000 | $2,727 (41% off fair) |
| Half Beef | $3,360 | $2,125 | $1,238 (37% off fair) |
| Quarter Beef | $1,680 | $1,125 | $557 (33% off fair) |
"Fair retail" assumes ~100 hours of our labor at $20/hr per cow plus a 10% margin to reinvest. We're charging well below that today. Nobody is getting rich on this farm. Our goal is to keep raising the best beef in Middle TN and have it actually move — not to maximize profit per pound.
Cheaper and better. Here's the quality difference.
If we were cheaper but worse, that wouldn't be much of a deal. We're not. Pound for pound you get more than what grocery grass-fed offers:
- One animal, one farm. Your beef comes from one specific cow you can meet in our pasture — not blended from dozens of animals across multiple countries (which is legal under "Product of USA" rules).
- Dry-aged 14–21 days at a USDA-inspected processor. Most grocery grass-fed is wet-aged or not aged.
- BQA Certified — meeting national Beef Quality Assurance standards for animal handling, herd health, and traceability.
- Frozen once, vacuum-sealed. Industrial beef is typically frozen, thawed at distribution, refrozen at the store, and frozen again at home — each cycle damages protein structure and flavor. Read why that matters.
- No hormones, no growth promotants, never. Conventional grocery beef can use up to six FDA-approved hormones; even most grass-fed at the grocery is grain-finished at the end.
- Your dollar stays local. A Middle TN family farm, not a multinational beef conglomerate or an importer trucking from Australia.
Most farms sell beef on a story. We sell on the receipt. Every number on this page is computed live from our database — when we adjust a cut price or refresh grocery comparisons, the verdict updates automatically. We will continually prove we are a better deal and better quality.
⏳ We raise 1–2 cows a year. That's it.
Once this season's shares are spoken for, the next opportunity is spring. Last year's customers got first pick. If you want a freezer full of grass-fed beef from a Middle TN family farm without standing in line, get on the notify list now.
📣 Reserve a share or get on the notify list
No commitment to join the list. We'll email you when the next cow is ready.