Buy a Half Cow, Quarter Cow, or Whole Cow in The Colony, TX
The Colony sits along the eastern shore of Lake Lewisville in Denton County, a lake town that grew into a real suburb without losing its easygoing feel. Families here split their time between the water, the trails, and the shops at Grandscape, and a lot of them care as much about what's on the grill as they do about the view. The Colony 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 The Colony.
Where to Buy Grass-Fed Beef Near The Colony
The Colony doesn't have a dedicated grass-fed butcher of its own, so most shoppers end up checking the meat case at the big grocery chains or driving over to Frisco and Lewisville for more selection. If you do shop the shelves, read each package for "Product of USA." A good share of the grass-fed beef sold in US stores is imported from Australia, New Zealand, or South America; the grass-fed label tells you how the animal was fed, not what country it came from. 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 grabbing one cut 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. Either way it's the same clean, local, grass-finished beef; 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 The Colony Families Choose Texas Grass-Fed
The Colony draws a mix of young families, lake lovers, and folks who moved north for a little more room. Households here are Lewisville ISD, and The Colony High School anchors the community. These are people who read labels, ask where things come from, and don't mind paying a fair price for food raised the right way. The question was never whether grass-finished beef is better. It's whether you can trust the chain of hands between the pasture and your plate.
Buying a share settles that. Every cut is born, raised, and processed in Texas by ranchers we've worked with for years. And when a Colony family reserves a share, they're putting their money straight behind the Texas ranchers who graze their herds regeneratively, building soil and keeping their land healthy for the long haul.
How Texas Ranchers Raise Grass-Fed Cattle
Our partner ranchers run rotational grazing across Texas pasture, moving their herds onto fresh grass on a set schedule so the animals eat well and the land recovers between passes. The cattle are never grain-finished; that single fact is what separates true grass-finished beef from the grain-finished conventional product that hides behind a lot of "natural" labels. The ranchers we partner with use no antibiotics, no added growth hormones, and no mRNA vaccines, and they've never sprayed glyphosate on the ground their cattle graze. Every animal is born, raised, and USDA-inspected right here in Texas. That's what the grassfed standard looks like when it's done honestly.
Half Cow, Quarter Cow, or Whole Cow: What You Get
Every share is cut to order and packaged frozen, ready for your freezer the day you pick it up in McKinney. Here's 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 The Colony?
A half cow doesn't price out like a single package at the store. You reserve your share with a fixed, non-refundable deposit set by size; quarter, half, and whole each carry their own deposit amount. After the animal is processed and the hanging weight is confirmed, we figure the final total from that weight, and the balance (final total minus your deposit) comes due then. Spread across every cut, from the ground beef to the ribeyes, the per-pound price on a half cow lands well under what boutique grass-fed cuts fetch at retail. You're buying in volume, so you pay a bulk rate for beef that would cost a premium one steak at a time.
Is Buying a Quarter Cow Worth It?
For plenty of Colony households, 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 still beats buying those same cuts one by one. A quarter is the smart first step if you've never stocked a freezer with beef or your freezer space is tight. If you cook beef most nights or you've got a chest freezer and a hungry household, a half cow usually pencils out better per pound. Either way you're eating local, grass-finished beef and backing the Texas ranchers who raise it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy grass-fed beef near The Colony, TX?
The Colony has no dedicated grass-fed butcher, so your closest in-store options are the meat cases at the major grocery chains, with more selection over in Frisco and Lewisville; 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
Frisco | Little Elm | Lewisville | Carrollton | Coppell | Flower Mound | Highland Village | Lake Dallas | Corinth | Denton | Plano | McKinney | Allen | Prosper | Celina | Aubrey