Our supply of grass-fed, grass-finished beef is in limited supply! We are selling out faster than we can re-stock the freezer. See our current price list on the Cattle page.

What we have are (as of today):

• About 50 lbs of ground beef;
• Some filet steaks;
  
• A few ribeye steaks;
• Brisket;
• Soup bones, which are very meaty, almost a small roast for one person;
• Lots of summer sausage (1-1.5 lbs avg) and beef sticks (4 sticks average 0.25 lb - 0.35 lb); and
• Other cuts, like tongue, heart, oxtail, and liver.

What we are out of (as of today):

• Strip steaks;
• Sirloin steaks; and
• All roasts.

We are taking two steers to the butcher on May 29, 2020. Six quarters have been sold to individuals, while we will put one half into our freezer. We should have a little more supply about 21-24 days after butcher.

We have a butcher date for August 7, 2020. Three quarters are available as of today. We are taking reservations for these quarters.

We have a butcher date for October 8, 2020. Four quarters are still available as of today and we are taking reservations. This is our last steer for 2020.

Our farm (like other livestock producers) has been dramatically affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. We have had a significant increase in customers seeking quality meat from a reputable source. At the same time, local butchers have been overwhelmed by farmers who can't sell their cattle to meat processing facilities and are trying to sell them through the local butchers. And in our area, two local butchers have gone out of business in the past six months!

We are very glad to meet new customers and hope they stay with us a long time. We are also grateful for all of our existing customers who have been with us since the beginning. Thank you for supporting local food and our family farm!

The last 48 hours have been disruptive for small family farmers like us! The COVID-19 global pandemic is now causing difficulties for local beef producers. We have been overwhelmed by interest in purchasing beef, both by our regular customers and new customers. 

Here are the ways we are being affected. First, we have a limited number of animals available each year to harvest for sale. Some of our animals are used for custom processing. This is how you buy a quarter or half of a live animal. We also reserve some of our animals to supply our retail beef sales. Our retail beef is USDA-inspected and privately labeled, so we can sell individual cuts and packages directly to the customer. Demand for custom processing this year is rapidly depleting our supply of beeves.

Second, the local butcher shops have been overwhelmed by farmers looking for an alternative way to sell their beef animals. Meat processing plants have been shut down due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, which is the way most beef is produced for market in the United States. This has led to reduced supplies of beef in the store, along with rising prices. Unstable supplies and prices also lead consumers to alternative choices, such as purchasing direct from farmers like us! The lead time for scheduling a butcher date has mushroomed in the past week! 

Last week, we scheduled 2 steers for butcher on May 29, 2020. Yesterday, we inquired about a butcher date with our regular processor. We were given a date of August 7, 2020. We grabbed that date, but we were surprised how far out the scheduled date has leaped! We have talked to other local butchers and their next-available dates are in September 2020. In addition, processing costs are beginning to rise as well.

Third, because of the lead time now required for scheduling a butcher date, we can't refill our freezers as often. In addition, new customers seeking high-quality alternatives to grocery store supplies are increasing our sales. We are concerned that we may not be able to continue to supply all of our retail customers.

What are we doing based on these disruptions in the local beef markets? We have discontinued sale prices for most of our beef products, reverting to our regular prices. (We still have a good supply of beef sticks and summer sausage, so this sale continues!) Our prices on retail sales are still comparable to grocery store prices, but we believe our beef products are a higher quality.

We have also discontinued the sale price on custom processed quarters and halves. Our supply of steers for 2020 is limited to those who were born two years ago! The time between supply (the birth of bull calves) and demand (24-30 months of natural growth on healthy grass) makes it difficult for small producers like us to predict the market realities.

We will continue to supply our customers with high quality local beef as long as possible. Please contact us to identify the current availability. And remember, we also sell honey, blackberry jam, and apple butter grown and produced on our farm!

Now is a good time to think about how you purchase your beef. Beef supplies in the grocery store are uncertain, and you can't know how many different cows are in your pound of ground beef. Were they raised in an sustainable manner? Did they get to graze in a natural manner? Did they eat fresh grass every day? Or cows are able to do all of these things, as well as drink clean well water daily!

We offer ground beef and specific cuts of beef from Belted Galloway cattle who rotate daily through 14 paddocks. This ensures fresh grass every day, along with access to strategically located waterers to minimize how far the cattle have to walk. These animals live good cattle lives!

Our May 2020 specials are posted on the Cattle page of our website. We are highlighting the following specials for May 2020:

• Ground beef for $5.50/lb, marked down from $7/lb. Ground beef is packaged in 1 lb plastic tubes. This special is no longer available. See post on May 8 above.
• Beef sticks for $7.50/lb, marked down from $9/lb. Beef sticks are packaged 4 sticks to a package; most packages are between 1/4 lb to 1/3 lb in size. So you get 3-4 packages to the pound.
• Summer sausage for $7.50/lb, marked down from $9/lb. Summer sausage is vacuum-sealed, with each package containing 1.25 lbs to 1.5 lbs. Both beef sticks and summer sausage are made from the same recipe using Belted Galloway beef from Blackwater Bend Farm!
• A package of ten 1 lb tubes of ground beef for $50! Our ground beef is very lean and comes from only one animal at a time! This special is no longer available. See post on May 8 above.

Individual cuts of beef are also available. We also sell honey, apple butter, and blackberry jam produced and made on our farm. Please see the order form on the Cattle page for more details.

As always, we can deliver in the Warrensburg/Knob Noster area with a $50 minimum order!