Buy a Half Cow, Quarter Cow, or Whole Cow in University Park, TX
University Park anchors the Park Cities, a pocket of Dallas County built around tree-lined streets, SMU, and families who expect the best of everything they bring home. The people here read labels closely and care where their food actually comes from. University Park 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 University Park.
Where to Buy Grass-Fed Beef Near University Park
University Park doesn't have a dedicated local grass-fed butcher, so most families end up scanning the meat case at the larger Dallas-area grocery stores for a grass-fed selection. When you do, keep one thing in mind: "grass-fed" on a store label describes how the animal was raised, not where it came from. A lot of the grass-fed beef on US shelves is imported from Australia, New Zealand, or South America, so check individual packages for "Product of USA" before you buy. For Texas-raised grass-fed beef by the share, Texas Grass Fed Farms offers pickup in McKinney.
Buy Grass-Fed Beef by the Share
Instead of buying cuts one package at a time, you reserve a share of the animal: a whole cow, a half cow, or a quarter cow. A half or a whole lets you pick your cuts on a cut sheet. A quarter comes as a balanced split quarter, a standard mix of steaks, roasts, and ground beef. It's the same clean, local, grass-finished beef either way; the share just fills your freezer in a single 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 University Park Families Choose Texas Grass-Fed
University Park households don't settle for the ordinary version of anything. The same standard that shapes the homes and the schools here carries straight through to the food on the table. Many of our customers are parents who have done the reading, talked it through with their doctors, and concluded that commodity beef isn't the right choice for their family. Grass-fed, grass-finished beef carries a better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio and more CLA than the grain-finished alternative, and the people paying attention already know the difference.
Highland Park ISD serves University Park, and families here apply the same scrutiny to dinner that they apply to everything else. When University Park families reserve a share, they're buying beef that was born, raised, and processed in Texas, and they're directly supporting the Texas ranchers who manage their land regeneratively, building soil and rotating herds for the long haul.
How Texas Ranchers Raise Grass-Fed Cattle
Our partner ranchers run rotational grazing across Texas pastures. Cattle move through fresh grass on a managed schedule and are never grain-finished, which is exactly what sets grass-finished beef apart from the grain-finished conventional product that most "natural" labels still allow. The ranchers we work with use no antibiotics, no added growth hormones, and no mRNA vaccines, and they've never treated their land with glyphosate. Every animal is born, raised, and USDA-inspected in Texas. That's the grassfed standard applied the way it should be.
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 University Park?
Buying a half cow doesn't work like a per-package price at the store. You reserve your share with a fixed, non-refundable deposit set by size; a quarter, a half, and a whole each carry their own deposit amount. Once the animal is processed and the hanging weight is confirmed, we calculate the final total from that weight, and the balance (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 below what boutique grass-fed cuts run at retail. You're buying in bulk, so you pay a bulk price for beef you'd otherwise pay a premium for one steak at a time.
Is Buying a Quarter Cow Worth It?
For a lot of University Park families, yes. 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 those same cuts one at a time. A quarter is the right starting point if you've never bought freezer beef before or your freezer space is limited. If you cook beef most nights, or you've got a chest freezer and a big household, a half cow usually makes more sense per pound. Either way you're getting local, grass-finished beef and supporting the Texas ranchers who raise it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy grass-fed beef near University Park, TX?
University Park has no dedicated local grass-fed butcher, so the larger Dallas-area grocery stores are your closest in-store option; 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
Highland Park | Dallas | Addison | Farmers Branch | Richardson | Plano | Garland | Mesquite | Irving | Coppell | Carrollton | The Colony | Frisco | Allen | Sunnyvale | McKinney