Buy a Half Cow, Quarter Cow, or Whole Cow in Princeton, TX
Princeton is one of the fastest-growing towns in Collin County, a place that has pulled in family after family looking for good schools, room to breathe, and a price tag that still makes sense next to the older DFW suburbs. With all that growth has come a sharper set of questions about food, and where the beef on the table actually comes from is near the top of the list. Princeton families can reserve a whole, half, or quarter share of 100% grass-fed, grass-finished Texas beef and pick it up in McKinney, a short drive from most of Princeton.
Where to Buy Grass-Fed Beef Near Princeton
Walmart Supercenter at 701 W Princeton Drive is the main grocery stop in town, and its meat case carries ground beef, standard cuts, and the occasional grass-fed option. When you shop for grass fed beef at Walmart or anywhere else, turn the package over and look for "Product of USA." The grass-fed label describes how the animal was fed, not the country it came from, and a good share of the grass-fed beef on US shelves is imported from Australia, New Zealand, or South America. For Texas-raised grass-fed beef by the share, Texas Grass Fed Farms offers pickup in McKinney.
Buy Grass-Fed Beef by the Share
Rather than picking up one package at a time, you reserve a share of the animal: a whole cow, a half cow, or a quarter cow. With a half or a whole you fill out a cut sheet and choose how everything comes back. A quarter arrives as a balanced split quarter, a standard mix of steaks, roasts, and ground beef. It is the same clean, local, grass-finished beef whichever size you pick; the share just fills your freezer in one trip. Reserve online through our bulk grass-fed beef page, then pick up in McKinney on a scheduled Saturday once the animal is processed.
Why Princeton Families Choose Texas Grass-Fed
Princeton ISD households that start paying attention to food quality usually begin at the label, and they walk away with more questions than answers. The grass-fed sticker at the store says nothing about whether the beef came from Texas, from somewhere else in the US, or from another continent. Plenty of it is imported from Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, or Brazil. Families here who want to eat American and back Texas ranchers have to look past the packaging.
Reserving a share is how you skip that guesswork. Every cut is born, raised, and processed in Texas by ranchers we have worked alongside for years. And when Princeton families reserve a share, they are directly supporting the Texas ranchers who manage their land regeneratively, building soil, rotating herds, and doing the slow work that makes beef like this possible.
How Texas Ranchers Raise Grass-Fed Cattle
Our partner ranchers run rotational grazing across Texas pastures, moving the herd on a managed schedule so the grass recovers and the soil keeps building. The cattle are never grain-finished, which is the line that separates grass-finished beef from the grain-finished conventional product that most "natural" labels still permit. The ranchers we work with use no antibiotics, no added growth hormones, and no mRNA vaccines, and they have never put glyphosate on the land they manage. Every animal is born, raised, and USDA-inspected in Texas. That is the grassfed standard done right.
Half Cow, Quarter Cow, or Whole Cow: What You Get
Every share is cut to order and packaged frozen, ready for the freezer the day you pick it up in McKinney. Here is roughly what each size gives you:
- Quarter cow: a balanced split quarter, roughly 75 to 90 lbs of packaged beef. A standard mix, no cut sheet needed.
- Half cow (a side of beef): your choice of cuts on a cut sheet, roughly 150 to 180 lbs of packaged beef.
- Whole cow: the full animal, two halves, roughly 300 to 360 lbs of packaged beef, your cut choices throughout.
Across those shares you get steaks, roasts, ground beef, brisket, short ribs, and soup bones. Your price is based on the hanging weight (the hot carcass weight) once the animal is processed, and a fixed deposit set by share size reserves your spot.
How Much Does a Half Cow Cost in Princeton?
A half cow does not price out like a package at the store. You reserve your share with a fixed, non-refundable deposit set by size, and the quarter, half, and whole each carry their own deposit amount. Once the animal is processed and the hanging weight is confirmed, we work out the final total from that weight, and the balance (the final total minus your deposit) is due then. Spread across every cut, from ground beef to ribeyes, the per-pound price on a half cow lands well under what boutique grass-fed cuts run at retail. You are buying in bulk, so you pay a bulk price for beef you would otherwise pay a premium for one steak at a time.
Is Buying a Quarter Cow Worth It?
For a lot of Princeton families, it is. A quarter cow runs roughly 75 to 90 lbs of packaged beef, enough to keep a couple or a small family in grass-finished beef for months, and the per-pound cost beats buying the same cuts one by one. A quarter is the right starting point if you have never bought freezer beef before or your freezer space is tight. If you cook beef most nights, or you have a chest freezer and a bigger household, a half cow usually pencils out better per pound. Either way you are getting local, grass-finished beef and supporting the Texas ranchers who raise it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy grass-fed beef near Princeton, TX?
Walmart Supercenter at 701 W Princeton Drive is the closest in-store option and sometimes carries grass-fed cuts; check for "Product of USA" on the label. For Texas-raised grass-fed and grass-finished beef, you can reserve a whole, half, or quarter cow from Texas Grass Fed Farms and pick it up in McKinney.
What cuts do you get from a half cow?
A half cow comes with steaks, roasts, ground beef, brisket, short ribs, and soup bones, cut to your preferences on a cut sheet.
How much meat is in a quarter cow?
Roughly 75 to 90 lbs of packaged, frozen beef. A quarter comes as a balanced split quarter, a standard mix of steaks, roasts, and ground beef rather than a custom cut sheet.
How much freezer space does a half cow need?
Plan on roughly 10 to 15 cubic feet of freezer for a half cow, and about 7 to 10 for a quarter. Real-world packing wastes space, so size the freezer up rather than down.
What is the difference between grass-fed and grass-finished beef?
These days, none. Grass-fed cattle can't be fed grain, so grass-fed and grass-finished describe the same thing: an animal that ate grass and forage its whole life. Our beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. And the label says nothing about country of origin, so always check for "Product of USA" when you shop in-store.
Where does most grass-fed beef in US grocery stores come from?
Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Brazil are the primary sources of grass-fed beef sold in the US. "Grass-fed" describes the feeding protocol, not the origin. Effective January 1, 2026, the USDA requires beef labeled "Product of USA" to be born, raised, and processed in the United States. Every share we sell meets that standard.
Where and when is pickup?
Pickup is in McKinney, TX, on a scheduled Saturday. We announce the date once the animal is processed and the hanging weight is confirmed, then we meet you in McKinney to hand off your beef. Pickup only: you collect your share, nothing gets mailed out.
Ready to reserve? Browse sizes on our bulk grass-fed beef page, or see our Texas grass-fed beef page for the towns we serve.
New to buying a share? Our grass-fed beef planning guide covers freezer space, transport, and choosing a size.
Other North Texas Towns
McKinney | Melissa | Anna | Farmersville | Lavon | Nevada | Wylie | Lucas | Fairview | Allen | Prosper | Celina | Sachse | Murphy | Plano | Weston