A whole cow share from Carter Country Meats costs $5,600 for roughly 425 pounds of finished beef - about $13.18 per pound across every cut, from ribeyes and tenderloin to roasts, ground beef, and bones for broth. That single per-pound price is the honest way to compare a cow share with retail, where the same mix of cuts is priced piece by piece.

What each share size costs

All of our shares come from the same animals: 100% grass-fed and grass-finished cattle raised on regenerative pasture in the Big Horn Mountains near Ten Sleep, Wyoming, then dry-aged and shipped frozen to your door. Shipping is calculated at checkout.

• Whole cow - $5,600 (~425 lbs finished beef, about $13.18/lb)
• Half cow - $3,130 (~225 lbs, about $13.91/lb)
• Quarter cow - $1,700 (~115 lbs, about $14.78/lb)
• Eighth cow - $1,000 - the most popular first share
• Sixteenth cow - $590 - fits a standard fridge-freezer

The pattern is simple: the bigger the share, the lower the per-pound price, because you are buying the animal the way ranch families always have - whole, nothing wasted.

Is a cow share worth it compared to buying retail?

With a share, premium steaks, roasts, ground beef, and soup bones all arrive at one blended per-pound price. Buy the same animal piece by piece at retail and the steaks alone can cost more per pound than the entire share averages. The trade-off is upfront: you pay once and need freezer space, instead of paying more, forever, by the cut.

A share is a good fit if your household eats beef weekly, you have (or will get) freezer space, and you care about knowing exactly which ranch - and which animal - your beef came from. It is a poor fit if you only eat beef occasionally or cannot store frozen food.

How much freezer space do I need?

A rule of thumb is about 1 cubic foot of freezer space per 35-40 pounds of beef. A sixteenth or eighth share fits in most standard fridge-freezers. A quarter share works with a small chest freezer, and a half or whole cow calls for a dedicated chest freezer.

What actually arrives in the box

Every share is a balanced cross-section of the animal: steaks (ribeye, NY strip, tenderloin, sirloin), roasts, ground beef, and specialty cuts, dry-aged for flavor and shipped frozen with dry ice. Because we practice whole-animal butchery, shares also include the cuts most grocery stores never carry.

FAQ

How long does a cow share last?

Properly stored at 0°F, frozen beef keeps its quality for 12 months or more. Most families pace a quarter share over 6-12 months.

Do I pick my cuts?

Shares are balanced cross-sections of the animal, so every share gets its fair portion of premium steaks - not just the cuts left over after someone else picked first.

Is grass-fed share beef different from grocery beef?

Ours is. Carter Country beef is Eversoil Certified - land health and nutrient density are independently verified. Third-party testing of our July 2026 ground beef measured an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1.82:1, versus 8.28:1 for grain-finished beef in a 2026 Journal of Animal Science study.

Is shipping included?

No - shipping is added at checkout based on your share's weight and the speed you choose. By ground it runs about $1 to $1.35 per pound, and 2nd Day Air runs roughly $2.50 per pound or more. See every share's price and estimated shipping.

See current cow share availability →

Ready to taste the difference? Shop our grass-fed beef - raised, tested, and shipped straight from the ranch.