Buying guide
Freezer beef shares — fullblood Wagyu for your household
A beef share is freezer beef: you buy a share of the live animal of a registered fullblood Japanese Wagyu animal, and the packaged cuts come back to your freezer for household use, not resale. Same idea as a half or quarter of a steer anywhere else — we sell eighths through wholes, with the eighth as the entry rung and larger shares at lower hanging rates.
Quarter vs eighth
Start with an eighth if you are new to freezer beef or short on space. Step up to a quarter when you know the household will use it.
Eighth share
~57 lbs packaged take-home. Estimated all-in $1,310 (about $23.00/lb packaged). Deposit $150. Needs roughly ~1.6 cu ft of freezer space. Against buying the same cuts individually, you save about 21%.
Quarter share
~114 lbs packaged take-home. Estimated all-in $2,408 (about $21.00/lb packaged). Deposit $250. Needs roughly ~3.3 cu ft of freezer space. Against buying the same cuts individually, you save about 26%.
Measured yield, not a guess
Live weight is the animal on the hoof. Hanging weight is the carcass after slaughter and before cutting — that is what your beef invoice uses. Packaged take-home on our first harvest was 456 lbs from 843 lbs hanging — 54.1% of hanging, measured at the plant, not the 60–70% figure some sellers quote.
Introductory program rates: $10/lb hanging for a quarter, $9.75 for a half, $9.50 for the whole animal, $11 for an eighth. Standard rate on later animals: $14/lb. Dividing estimated all-in by estimated take-home is how we get the packaged $/lb headlines — estimates built on a measured carcass, still not a meat price.
AWA registration is the guarantee
Our cattle are fullblood, AWA-registered — 100% Japanese genetics you can check against the American Wagyu Association. That number is the differentiator against grocery “Wagyu,” which is usually a cross with no minimum percentage on the label. Registries grade Wagyu by how much of the pedigree traces to Japan, and fullblood is the top of that ladder — purebred, the rung below, is not the same thing. The breed percentage ladder lays out all five tiers.
Buying a share is also bulk versus retail: the same cuts bought one at a time at a fullblood retailer cost substantially more per pound. Side-by-side figures live on the pricing table.
What you pay, and when
There are two payments. First the deposit, taken here when you reserve, which holds your share and is credited against the final invoice — not an extra fee.
Second the balance, which cannot be quoted as a fixed dollar amount up front because it depends on what the carcass actually weighs. Once the animal is harvested and hung, we multiply the hanging weight of your share by the per-pound rate, add processing at cost, and send one invoice. Nothing is billed afterward, and you do not pay the processor separately.
Pay that balance by cash, certified check, or money order before we release the beef. Pickup is at the ranch by appointment after aging (typically 10–21 days). The sequence is under how it works.
Ranch Standard Cut
One carcass with several owners is cut to one spec — the honest consequence of co-ownership. Estimated take-home poundage below; final weight depends on the carcass.
| Cut | Quarter (est. lbs) | Eighth (est. lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef, 1 lb packages | ~51 | ~25 |
| Steaks — ribeye, NY strip, sirloin, filet, flank, skirt | ~21 | ~11 |
| Roasts — chuck, rump, brisket, round | ~33 | ~16 |
| Short ribs, stew meat, soup and marrow bones | ~9 | ~5 |
| Total | ~114 | ~57 |
Ready to reserve?
Your deposit applies to the final balance. It becomes non-refundable once the harvest date for your animal is scheduled. If the ranch cancels, you are refunded in full. If harvest has not happened within two months of your deposit, you are refunded in full — that guarantee overrides forfeiture.