Half Share Deposit

Each year, we sell a portion of our beef in half  shares, which is by far the highest value and most efficient way to fill your freezer.  Beef is available in the Spring (grass finished) and the fall (grain finished).  All of this beef is processed at Browns Valley Market in Napa, or Lepe's Meats in Santa Rosa.  Customers pick up their beef at the market. Check out the details below and reach out with any additional questions.  

1) Choose Grass Or Grain Finished
We raise both grass and grain finished beef, both of which are available seasonally.  

What is the difference?

Grass Finished
All of our grass finished beef is sold in the early summer.  The steers are harvested shortly after the grains in the grasses dry and mature, giving the meat a desirable finish.  The grass finished beef is usually ready around the 4th of July.

Grain Finished
Our grain finished steers are fed a mix of locally milled grain and local hay for a minimum of 60 days.  We prefer to grain finish steers in the late summer and early fall, we find the process to be more efficient for the cattle as the weather cools and before it starts to rain.  The grain finished beef is usually ready right before Thanksgiving.

2) Share Size

Half Share
A half share yields about 200lbs of beef.  Customers who order a half share can work directly with the butcher to have the beef cut and packaged to their preference.  You can choose steak thickness, amount of ground beef, roast sizes, the options are yours!

3) Aging, Cutting, Wrapping and Pick Up

All of our beef is harvested at a local USDA facility and delivered to the market where it is weighed and then stored for aging.  The beef is dry aged for a minimum of 14 days and then cut and wrapped by the market.  Customers pick up their beef at the market about three weeks after harvest. 

4) Pricing
The purchase of beef is split between Muelrath Ranch and the market.  Muelrath Ranch charges $5 to $5.50/lb, hanging weight, for the beef.   Customers place a deposit to secure their share and pay the balance before picking up the beef at the market.  When picking up the packaged beef, customers pay the market about $1.70/lb, hanging weight, for aging, cutting and wrapping services.  

For customers that are new to this purchasing process, hanging weight is the weight of the carcass minus the organs, head and hide.  A quarter share will be about 400lbs, hanging weight. During the aging, cutting and wrapping process, there is a nearly 50% loss, so you will have 200lbs of beef to take home.

A sample cost calculation for a quarter share is shown below, half shares would double the quantities (price per pound is the same).

Sample Costs for a Quarter Share

Beef Cost:
$2,000 ($5/lb x 400 lbs hanging weight) - paid to Muelrath Ranch

Market Cost:
$680 ($1.70/lb x 400 lbs hanging weight) - paid to the market

Total Cost:
$2,680 for 200 lbs of packaged beef  
$13.40/lb = Finished cost per pound of beef

5) Reserve Your Share
Deposits of approximately 50% of the final beef cost are required to reserve your share, the balance is due after harvest, prior to customers picking up the packaged beef at the market.