Fall is the best time of year to buy a half cow. Not because the beef changes in October, but because everything around the order gets harder the longer you leave it. Butcher schedules tighten ahead of the holidays, a half beef has to be paired with a second buyer before we can harvest, and sorting out freezer space in September is easier than doing it the week before Thanksgiving.
Why fall works best
Butcher capacity is the real constraint. Our beef is cut and wrapped by small family-run shops, not a processing plant, and those shops are handling everyone else’s fall in the same weeks they are handling yours. Every week you wait in autumn, the calendar gets tighter.
Then there is the pairing. We only harvest against a complete whole beef order, so if you want a half beef we keep a first come, first served list and match you with whoever is taking the other side. More people are buying in fall, so that list moves faster than it does in February.
And a full freezer going into winter is the whole point. Roasts, stew meat and ground beef earn their keep more in December than they do in June.
The beef itself does not change with the season
We harvest animals when they are ready, between 24 and 30 months, not on a calendar date. A steer that is not finished properly does not go just because it is October, and one that is ready does not wait because it is July.
Our cattle are on grass their entire lives, never grain finished, no hormones and no antibiotics. They go when the grass has done its work. So the season affects your side of the deal, not the animal’s.
What to sort before you reserve
Freezer space. Plan on 8 to 12 cubic feet for a half and 16 to 22 for a whole, and size up rather than down. A half beef is roughly 200 to 250 lbs of take-home meat. Our freezer space guide runs through the sizes.
Someone to split with. If family or a neighbor wants the other half, tell us when you reserve and we will pair you directly. If not, we match you ourselves.
The drive. We are pickup only. Roughly 45 minutes from Redding, two hours from Sacramento, two and a half from Medford, three from the Bay Area. Bring coolers. Where we serve has directions.
A rough idea of your cuts. The butcher calls you to go through the cut list. Steak thickness, how much ground beef, whether you want the bones and the fat back for tallow. What cuts do I get covers the options.
Half or whole
A half suits most families of four for a year. A whole beef gives the best value per pound and schedules faster, because there is nobody to wait on. Plenty of people split a whole between two households and settle up between themselves, which in a busy fall is often the quickest route to a harvest date.
After you reserve
Your deposit holds a spot on a harvest date. We confirm the date and which butcher shop your animal is headed to. The shop calls you to go through the cut list, and if it is your first time they will walk you through every option. Then you collect in person and pay the butcher for the cutting and wrapping at pickup. Longer walkthrough on how it works.
Ready for this fall?
If the freezer is empty and you want it full before winter, now is the week. Call or text 530-949-4241 and we will tell you where the harvest schedule stands and get you booked in.
