Cow Share – Utilize the Power of the Group

By Summer D. Sherrod

Local, naturally raised meats and veggies often command a higher price than the typical grocery store fare – with good reason, because they’re typically superior products. Locally produced food is fresher, more nutrient dense, and usually more environmentally friendly than industrially-produced fare. However, the higher price tag can deter some people from buying in, despite the superiority of local products. This is where cow shares come in. Cow shares (or pig shares) are a buying program that uses the powers of direct-sourcing and bulk-purchasing to make awesome local meats totally affordable for everyone. Through this program, you can take home non-GMO grain-finished, locally raised beef for $5.25/lb or grass-finished locally-raised beef for $5.35/lb (dry-aging is also available at a small premium).

Our cow share program purchases grass-fed whole animals, raised without hormones or antibiotics directly from small local farmers with a heart for the land. From tongue to tail, every bit of the animal is harvested to take home. Bones and trotters can be saved for making stock and broth, fat is rendered into lard, organs (which are a fantastic thing to include in an omnivorous diet) can be saved and more.

In our program, one “share” is equal to ⅛ of a cow. One half of the cow is called a “side” and four people split a side, thus each share is ⅛ of the animal. Each shareholder fills out a custom processing sheet, telling us what parts they would like and how they are to be packaged. As long as it’s specified on the sheet, shareholders will get a cut from each section (chuck roasts, steaks, brisket, sirloin, short ribs, etc.). There are some slight difference because there’s only one flank steak and one skirt steak on each side of the animal but overall each shareholder walks away with the exact same poundage of meat and almost the exact same contents. The cuts are delivered to you frozen, vacuum-sealed, and labeled in retail packages, ready to store in your freezer.

When a whole cow (or pig) is harvested, there can be as much as 600 lbs of meat and bones to take home. This is WAY too much food for most people to fit in their freezers – even those with a chest freezer would be hard-pressed to store a whole cow. By splitting the animal with other shareholders, this program provides the price benefit of bulk-purchasing while not overloading your freezer. Each shareholder typically takes home 45-70 lbs of meat (depending on the hanging weight of the animal). This typically comes out to about $400 – $500 per share (processing costs included).

Typically we arrange the groups for our customers but we also welcome whole groups too. Do you want to be a group leader? If so, receive our Group Leader Discount! This works well for groups of at the gym, large families, church groups, co-workers etc. The “group leader” of these groups then receives a share discount for organizing the group. Bring us the group, we give you the discount! For groups buying into a half a cow (four shares) $50 is taken off the group leader’s share price. For groups buying into a whole cow (eight shares) $100 is taken off the group leader’s share price. We welcome folks to buy multiple shares or split shares if that is what works best for you. The best way to envision this is to think about the amount of shares sold vs the need for a certain amount of people in a group.

Purchasing a cow (or pig) share can provide you and your family & friends with enough naturally- and locally-raised meat for months. They’re a fantastic and simple way to support your local farmers and ranchers. Sign-ups are ongoing – once enough people have notified us they’d like a share, we go through with the order. If you have any questions or would like to sign up, email macslocalbuys@gmail.com.