Buying Meat Directly from a Farm (and how a whole hog compares to half a cow)
- Prairie Grove Farm
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
If the constantly increasing price of beef is starting to give you sticker shock, you're probably looking for ways cut costs without losing quality. Many families are looking to purchase meat directly from farmers. They want to know exactly where their meat is from, how it was raised, and that they are supporting the families actually putting in the work to raise the animals.
Buying meat in bulk, whether it's half a cow or a whole hog, is one of the best ways to get high-quality meat, support local agriculture, and know exactly where your food comes from.
Why People Buy Half a Cow Directly From a Farmer
When you purchase half a cow from a local farmer, you’re typically buying a portion of an animal that is then custom processed by a local butcher. This gives you a freezer full of different cuts like:
Steaks
Ground beef
Roasts
Brisket
Short ribs
Families choose this option because it often provides:
1. Better quality meat: Local farms often raise animals on pasture with more natural diets than large industrial operations.
2. Bulk savings: Buying meat by the half or whole animal usually lowers the cost per pound compared to retail cuts.
3. Transparency: You know exactly which farm your meat comes from and how the animals were raised.
4. Freezer convenience: Many families only need to buy meat once or twice per year.
What about Pork?
Here in North Texas, there are so many local farms selling beef. Pasture raised pork is much harder to find. Adding bulk pork to your freezer is a great way to give variety to your meals, while sticking with food you're excited to feed your family.
Custom Processed Whole Hogs typically include:
Pork Chops
Bacon
Sausage
Ham
Shoulder Roasts
Ribs
What you Actually Get from a Whole Hog
See what other families have received with their custom processed whole hog orders.
Most families receive 140-160lb of pork from a whole hog, which is a little less than half a cow. It will easily fit in a 7cu-ft deep freezer.
Why Pasture-Raised Pork Is Different
Our pasture raised pigs live their entire lives outside, on our family farm in North Texas. They are able to run, graze, root, and wallow. They grow slower than conventionally raised pigs, producing dark red, well marbled pork. The fresh air and natural environment allow us to raise our feeder pigs without vaccines or antibiotics.
Many customers say pasture-raised pork has better flavor and better texture than conventional pork.
Buying Meat Directly From Our Farm
Just like purchasing half a cow, we offer custom processed whole and half hogs from pigs raised on pasture.
When you buy a hog directly from our farm, you can:
Reserve a whole or half hog
Choose your custom butcher cuts
Pick up professionally packaged pork from our farm (delivery through our processor may be available to Dallas area addresses)
Fill your freezer with locally raised meat
Ready to Fill Your Freezer?
If you're interested in buying meat directly from a farmer, reserving a whole or half hog, or learning more about pasture-raised pork, we’d love to help.
Contact us to get on the list for our next processing dates and start enjoying locally raised pork straight from the farm to your freezer.
Reserving a Custom Processed Whole or Half Hog
We typically have one custom processed whole hog available each month. If you would like to reserve yours, head over to our shop and place your deposit. You may select your processing date from the drop down menu. Once you place a deposit, we'll be in contact with more information!
If you would like to try some of our pork before making the investment in a whole or half hog, check out our value sampler pack! It includes some of our most popular cuts at a great price.
We'd love to hear from you!
If you have any questions for us, please feel free to reach out through our contact page! Thank you for shopping local, and supporting our little family farm!
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