Custom Beef Drought Sale

We’re offering a one-time special prior to September 10 on custom-processed bulk beef to lighten the burden on our pastures during this increasing drought situation in East Texas.

Our beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, and is fat, marbled, and excellent quality. No tubs, no cubes, no grains, no licks–just rotational grazing, good breeding, good minerals, and plenty of finishing time!

Grass-fed Beef by the Half

Halves are expected to hang at 250-275 pounds. Take-home poundage (excluding fat/organs) expected to be about 160-185 pounds.

Price is $4.50/lb hanging for a half (does not include processing).

Processing typically runs about $1/lb before extra charges (for sausage, etc).

Payments are to be made in 3 parts:

Deposit to reserve is $300, paid online prior to September 10. Space is limited–first come, first served!
Balance to be paid via mailed check after hanging weight is determined. (To pay online, add 3% convenience fee.)
Processing to be paid upon pickup—ready in early October.

Pickup can be either at the butcher in Carthage, at the ranch in Jefferson, or via our next drop point of your choice in Tyler, Longview, Marshall, or Shreveport after beef is picked up from butcher. We will work with you on this once an exact pickup date is known.

Save 10% if you want the whole animal! Only $4.05/lb (plus processing) for a whole. Get with friends to reserve a whole cow!

What to Expect

This batch of steers is young and fat and will make excellent beef. Your price is based on the carcass or “hanging” weight of the animal after the entrails, hide, and hooves/head are removed. The carcass is then aged to improve flavor and tenderness, and will shrink a bit during this time due to moisture loss. Then, when surplus fat and edges are cut away and various muscles are deboned, the yield is reduced to an approximate 66% of the hanging weight, depending on your cutting preferences. So if your side hung at 250 pounds, you can expect to get approximately 66% of that back as “cuts,” or a final take-home yield of 165 pounds.

We’ll walk you through the cutting process if you are not familiar with how it works, and we can make recommendations specific to our animals that will ensure your satisfaction!

Here’s a very rough breakdown of what you will receive with typical cutting:

Steaks (Strip, Filet, Ribeye, Sirloin, Fajita): 15% of cuts yield
Roasts (Chuck, Arm, Shank, Round, Rump): 30% of cuts yield (but highly customizable)
Burger, Round Steak, Stew Meat: 40% of cuts yield (highly customizable)
Other cuts (Ribs, Brisket): 10% of cuts yield
Liver, Organs, Bones: 5% of cuts yield

**These numbers are estimates only and will vary based on the anatomy of your animal and on your cutting requests.

How Much Freezer Space Will It Take?

We find that planning for 1 cubic foot per 25 pounds of meat works well to be able to navigate your freezer inventory reasonably easily. According to this estimate, you will need at least 7 cubic feet to store a typical half beef, or 1 mid-size home chest freezer. But in case the animals run a little larger, it never hurts to plan for extra freezer space!

How to Get Started

Ready to sign up for your half of beef for the winter? Hop over to our online reservation site: https://squareup.com/store/shady-grove-ranch/

After you place your deposit, we’ll get in touch to complete your cutting orders. Thanks for supporting our work!

We are grateful to the energetic and hardworking youth of Faith Baptist Church in Longview that gave up one of their last summer Fridays off from school to come help us finish our summer project–a new walk-in freezer!

The job was to use a bucket brigade to carry concrete into the double-insulated shell of a refrigeration truck-trailer that Matt and our farm hands had modified to meet our needs. On the coldest August day in many years, many hands made light work. Well… lighter work, anyway.

The first step is to gather your crew and show everyone what they’ll be doing.

After all, it’s a big job. Here’s a view from the inside.

The helpers set rocks up to hold down reinforcement rebar.

The helpers set rocks up to hold up the reinforcement rebar. After they busted block up with hammers, of course. Which involved only a few minor injuries…

The interns made sure all the cracks were sealed.

Micah made sure all the siding was thoroughly attached.

Micah made sure all siding was thoroughly attached.

Now you start mixing up the concrete. Let someone strong lift the bags….

…because there are a bunch of them.

Add a little water… just the right amount! It’s an art, you know! Hannah was in charge of this job.

Oh, and use a Bowie knife to cut the bags open. Courtesy of Zack.

Then mix ‘er up and pour ‘er out!

Then the next crew scoops the mixture up with shovels…

…and puts it into buckets.

The buckets are then carried along support boards into the back section of the freezer.

And a helper carries the empty bucket back out to be refilled. Rinse, repeat.

And a helper carries the empty bucket back out to be refilled. Here’s Rachel, who also provided deliciously flat chocolate chip cookies. Rinse, repeat.