How much money do you REALLY save when you purchase a half beef versus retail pricing? Here’s a snapshot study based on our retail pricing as of April 2023. We took full inventory of a half beef with a 590-pound hanging weight. The customized half beef pricing was based on $5.35 per pound on the hanging weight, which included the beef, processing fee, taxes, USDA inspection, and customization. The take home weight was 196.50 pounds. Click the link below to see the full inventory of the half beef used for this pricing study, the pricing for each cut, and the pricing results.
Three pricing options were considered. 1. Full retail price, 2. Customized Half Beef Price, and 3. $7.50 per pound sale.
- Full Retail Price: Using our current price sheet that we use at local farmers markets; we tallied up the total price one would pay if they bought every cut in this half beef at full retail price.
- Customized Half Beef Price: Based on a price of $5.35 per pound on the hanging weight, this is the price Beef Snobs pay when they order a customized half beef (or quarter, or whole). This is the most common way to price bulk beef.
- $7.50 Per Pound Sale: Occasionally, Barham’s Ozark Beef out processes customer demand, so we have to run a sale to move inventory. $7.50 per pound is as low as we can go on pricing and not have to shut the doors! As a price comparison, we charge $8.00 per pound for ground beef at farmers markets.
Summary
Do you save money buying a half beef? Of course. In this example, a buyer saves $351 with a customized half beef and nearly $500 with the $7.50/LB sale price. The savings are substantial and would nearly pay for the 10+ cubic foot deep freezer you would need to store the beef.
| Price | % Savings | $ Savings | Price Per Pound | |
| Retail | $1,973.06 | – | – | $10.02 |
| Customized Half Beef | $1,621.65 | 18% | $351.41 | $8.24 |
| $7.50 Per Pound Sale | $1,476.75 | 25% | $496.31 | $7.50 |
Is buying beef in bulk for you? Let’s find out… answer the following questions:
Do you care about where your beef comes from? Y/N
Does it matter to you what your food eats? Y/N
Do you prefer supporting local ranchers over large corporations? Y/N
Are you uncomfortable with random price increases at grocery stores? Y/N
Are you tired of grocery store beef? Y/N
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are invited to shop with us! Barham’s Ozark Beef would love to be your preferred beef source. Click Here to place your deposit for a half beef.