With May designated National Beef Month, let’s discuss why farmers sell beef as custom cut bulk animals directly to customers. This is a great option for farms that raise multiple species.

Farms that are raising beef animals to supplement other income streams often focus on faster turnaround with animals. Since all beef is frozen after processing and sold frozen, creating a system of keeping them frozen is one of the biggest challenges of raising and selling meat. Selling in bulk takes much of the pressure off of predicting which cuts will sell, reducing storage needs and eliminating the need to cart more coolers from market to market.

My husband and I have been purchasing a side of beef from a neighbor and having it custom cut by a nearby butcher for 20 years. We have tried every combination of cuts, including prime rib, brisket and flank steak. Now we order as many steaks and as much stew beef as we can get, with about 30 packages of ground beef.

I asked some farmer market friends for their take on why they raise and sell beef by the quarter or half. These sales create a special relationship with their customers and many return each year to keep their freezers full of meat. For the farmer, it means moving more animals with less work and commitment.

Kate Worden of Woolmont Woolies in Cassville, NY, butchers two to three beef animals a year for cuts in the store; additional bulk animals are a low-impact addition. Beeves are long-term investments for farms, with a turnaround of 18 to 24 months for grass-fed animals. The Worden family raises Holstein x Angus x Simmental crosses. They feed a high forage total mix ration to provide a consistent and balanced diet throughout the year, supplementing during pasture grazing.

They sell directly to the customer through their farm store in their converted milkhouse. Each year they butcher two to three animals for individual cut sales. They also have a group of customers who buy by the half or quarter. These additional animals allow them to utilize more frequent butchering, offering fresher meat with less sold-out time on popular items.

“I hope people venture out to try a flat iron steak,” Worden said. “They are a tender cut from the top of the shoulder.”

Jen Rankin from Slate Creek Farm in Remsen, NY, sells primarily pork and sells quite a bit of it in bulk. Customers who buy in bulk save 30% off her retail prices. She said most of her custom customers come to her.

She directs customers who buy different cuts to the bulk option. “Don’t worry about what you won’t use,” Rankin tells them. “Work through the options. But this is also an opportunity to try a new cut.”

A bonus to this method, Rankin added, is that the farmer isn’t forced to speculate what cuts might sell.

Selling some of her animals in this wholesale way relieves pressure to store a lot of meat and market it cut by cut. Most of her bulk sales take place in autumn so she doesn’t have to feed the animals through winter.

New York State has two distinctive meat processing options. To sell cuts retail, animals must be processed at a USDA-certified facility. This means an inspector on site, resulting in additional costs.

The other option is for a customer to buy an animal and have it dropped off at a facility to be slaughtered and butchered, but then packaged with a stamp that says “Not for Resale.” Those who sell at farmers markets or through a farm store must have the meat processed at a sanctioned facility.

Empire Custom Processing is located in Bridgewater, NY. Employee Annalea Bucenec said she’s seen a huge increase in the number of custom animals processed since the pandemic. Last year, they custom processed more than 1,000 beef animals. They are expanding into pork also, and waiting on clearance to smoke the meat.

The customer pays the farmer by hanging weight for halves and wholes, then adds on the processing fee. As part of the true convenience of custom work, the farmer drops off the animals or the customer arranges for delivery – whichever makes the process smoother.

Empire Custom Processing shares their cut sheet online but also offers a simplified “cheat sheet” for those just learning what they like in cuts. The advantage for the market farmer is that one trip can deliver animals for both purposes.

Tony Bradbury, the head butcher at Empire Custom Processing, loves working with customers to understand how they cook, ensuring they get the cuts they want. He especially enjoys the challenge of researching cuts from other regions or countries. Cooking shows and social media influencers have changed how people order their meat.

One thing is clear: the process of selecting cuts helps to build a stronger relationship with customers. As with any larger purchase, trust is needed, in both the growing practices of the farm and in the processing. Many customers return annually for an animal (like we do).

That trust is reciprocal too. When Jen Rankin lost her barn due to the insane snow load experienced in Remsen this past winter, her customers – mainly restaurants – willingly bought more so she was able to send more in for processing, thus lightening the workload of caring for and feeding her animals.