Half Beef
What’s a half beef, really?
The honest answer — what you’re buying, how we raise it, how the process works.
A half beef is exactly what it sounds like — one entire side of one of our cattle, custom-processed to your specifications. You get the full variety of cuts a single animal produces (steaks, roasts, ground, ribs, brisket), without the freezer footprint of a whole.
Every animal is raised on our family farm in Sullivan, Missouri — corn fed from our own pastures, never given mRNA vaccines, and finished slowly so the marbling develops the way good beef should. We process at Mary’s Valley Meat Processing in Steelville, MO, where each carcass is dry-aged 14 days before cutting.
You’ll fill out a cut sheet two weeks before harvest. We’ll walk you through it on the phone if it’s your first time — that’s part of the deal.
Every cut you take home.
Approximate weights for a typical half. Your final packout depends on the animal and your cut sheet.
Ribeye, NY strip, sirloin, T-bone or porterhouse, filet (limited)
Chuck roast, rump roast, sirloin tip — your choice of count + size
1 lb vacuum-sealed packs · standard 85/15 or fattier on request
Bone-in english cut · perfect for braising
One full packer brisket · point + flat
Cubed in 2 lb packs · from the chuck and round
Back ribs · meaty rack cuts
Marrow + knuckle · packed in 2 lb bundles
Returned by default — request at cut sheet
You decide every cut.
The most common decisions, with our defaults to the right.
A cut sheet is your decision-making form: how thick you want steaks, how big you want roasts, how many burgers per pack. We send a worksheet a few weeks before pickup. See the full cut sheet guide →
Raised here. By us. The whole way through.
Every animal we sell was born or raised on our farm in Sullivan, Missouri — corn fed from our own pastures, never given mRNA vaccines, finished slowly so the marbling develops the way it should.
We process at Mary’s Valley in Steelville — USDA-inspected, dry-aged 14 days. If you have a hard question about how any of this works, we’ll give you a straight answer.
Treat it well, eat it better.
The handful of things that make the difference between great beef and a wasted freezer.
Vacuum-sealed cuts hold 12+ months at 0°F. Ground beef best inside 6 months. Label rotation matters — we ship a freezer-map sticker with every order.
24–48 hours in the fridge on a tray. Never on the counter. For steaks, we like an overnight thaw plus a 30-min counter rest before cooking.
Our beef is leaner than commodity feedlot beef — cook 5–10°F lower than you think. Pull steaks at 125°F for medium-rare and let them rest 8 minutes.
What families are saying.
“The ribeyes are unreal. The hardest part is rationing them. Mikayla walked me through the cut sheet over the phone like I was a neighbor — turns out we kind of are.”
“Third year as customers. The brisket alone is worth the price. Ground beef has been the unexpected hero — clean flavor, not greasy, our kids actually ask for it.”
“Worth every penny and I’m picky. Asked them three honest questions about how the cattle are raised and got three honest answers. That sealed it.”
Common questions.
Most years we open shares 8–10 weeks before harvest. Half beef typically sells out fastest — a $400 deposit locks your spot.
We’ll walk you through the cut sheet step-by-step on the phone. Most first-time customers default to our standard sheet (see above) and tweak from there.
Free delivery within 25 miles of Sullivan, MO. Outside that we’ll meet you halfway or you pick up at the processor in Steelville.
Plenty of customers do. You’ll need to agree on the cut sheet ahead of time, and we package everything separately if you ask. We don’t bill split parties — work that out between yourselves.
Yield depends on the animal — typically 60–65% of hanging weight. We guarantee a minimum of 200 lbs on a half. If we come in light, you pay less.
Vacuum-sealed cuts: 12+ months at 0°F. Ground beef: best within 6 months. We include a freezer-map sticker so you can track rotation.