How buying our beef works

Buying beef directly from a ranch may be new for some families, but it’s actually pretty simple.

If this is your first time buying 1/4, ½ or whole beef share, you may be new to how this process works. We’ve got you covered.

When you purchase a beef share from Gill Meat Co., you are buying a portion of a locally raised animal directly from our ranch. The beef is then professionally processed, packaged, and ready for your freezer.

Buying beef this way gives your family:

• Locally raised beef you can trust
• A full freezer of high-quality cuts from a single cow
• Better value compared to buying cuts individually

Beef Share Options

We typically offer several purchasing options depending on the time of year:

Whole Beef – Best value and ideal for large families or those who want to split with friends. This is approximately 425 pounds of packaged beef.

Half Beef – A popular option that provides a wide variety of cuts while still fitting in a standard freezer. This is approximately 210 pounds of packaged beef.

Quarter Beef – Perfect for families wanting a freezer full of beef without committing to a full half. This is approximately 105 pounds of packaged beef.

We also offer smaller beef bundles and individual cuts through our online store. More on this coming soon!

Click here to get a breakdown of approximate weight and cuts in an example beef share.

How Much Freezer Space Do I Need?

Approximate freezer space needed:

Quarter Beef → 4–5 cubic feet
Half Beef → 8–10 cubic feet
Whole Beef → 16–20 cubic feet

How Pricing Works

Beef shares are priced based on hanging weight, which is the weight of the animal after harvest but before final cutting and packaging. Currently our beef prices are $6/per pound hanging weight for 1/4, ½ or whole beef share..

Here’s a quick example of how this works: If you buy a whole beef and it’s hanging weight is 800 pounds, you would pay $4,800 ($6×800) for an entire cow’s worth of high quality beef. If you bought a half cow, you’d pay $2,400 and a ¼ cow would be $1,200. When the cow is cut and packaged, excess fat, connective tissue and bones for the boneless cuts such as tenderloin, ribeyes etc… are all removed. The carcass also has about a 2% moisture loss from hanging and drying as it dry ages. All beef is dry aged a minimum of 14 days. If you weigh all your packaged beef, it would weight less than 800 pounds, because of the fat, bones and connected tissue + moisture loss that happens as beef is packaged.

Buying beef shares means you’re buying in bulk, which saves you money. So instead of paying $13-30 per pound for a sirloin steak, T-bone, beef NY strip steak, beef tenderloin roast etc.., you’re receiving a substantial discount since you’re buying a portion of the cow all at once.

With ¼ beef, ½ beef and whole beef shares, you receive a wide variety of beef cuts including ground beef,ribs, roasts and of course steaks including tri-tip steak, flank steak, T-bone steak, NY strip steak, sirloin steak, round steak, Ossobucco and beef bones. We also have high quality beef tallow available, great for cooking, skincare, candles and a variety of other uses.

Customers pay:

• A deposit to reserve their share

• Final payment is due at delivery. We’ll let you know your total ahead of time.

• Deliveries outside of Oregon will also have sales tax. On farm pick-ups in Ontario, Oregon are exempt from sales tax.

• Idaho customers can turn in their sales receipt at tax time for a grocery tax credit.

We’ll guide you through the process so there are no surprises.

Picking Up Your Beef

Once processing is complete, your beef will be:

• Vacuum sealed
• Clearly labeled
• Frozen and boxed for easy transport

Your beef can be picked up on the Ranch in Ontario (no sales tax this way) and we also offer local delivery through the Treasure Valley and beyond including Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.

Payment methods accepted are Zelle, (preferred), cash, ACH, card and Venmo. Paying cash or by Zelle? We offer a cash discount for these methods.