Eighth, quarter, half and whole beef raised on our own pastures between Morton and Mackinaw, dry-aged 10 to 14 days at a USDA-inspected locker, and double-wrapped for your freezer. Beef is $6.99 per hanging pound plus $1.90 per pound for processing. No added hormones. No steroids. No daily antibiotics. We've been doing it the same way since 2012.
$13.07 to $13.68 per packaged pound — every size, every time. That average includes the ribeyes, T-bones, porterhouse and sirloins, not just the ground beef.
Not sure which size? Call the farm: (309) 613-0563
Quick Summary
Little Blue's Farm in Morton, Illinois sells bulk beef by hanging weight at $6.99 per pound plus $1.90 per pound for processing, which works out to $13.07 to $13.68 per packaged pound at every size. Standard-cut orders are priced all-in and ship in fixed hanging weights: eighths from $665.75, quarters from $1,511.30, halves from $2,667.00, and whole beef from $5,234.00. Custom-cut quarters, halves and whole beef are reserved at $6.99 per hanging pound, and you work your own cut sheet directly with theUSDA-inspected locker. We also sell half and whole hogs at $4.49 per hanging pound plus processing, freezer bundles, and bulk ground beef and sausage by the pound. Call (309) 613-0563 or order online.
Two numbers, and neither one moves with the size of your order. The beef is $6.99 per hanging pound. Processing is $1.90 per hanging pound. Together that's $8.89 per hanging pound on every standard-cut order we sell, from the smallest eighth to a whole beef.
Hanging weight is the carcass weight before cutting. You take home about 65 to 68 percent of it once the beef has been trimmed, deboned, dry-aged and packaged. Run those two numbers together and you get the only figure that really matters: what you actually pay per pound of meat that ends up in your freezer.
Most farms won't publish this. We will, because it holds up at every size.
| Order | Price per hanging lb | Take-home rate | Price per packaged lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eighth beef | $8.89 | 65–68% | $13.07 – $13.68 |
| Quarter beef | $8.89 | 65–68% | $13.07 – $13.68 |
| Half beef | $8.89 | 65–68% | $13.07 – $13.68 |
| Whole beef (after the $100 credit) | $8.89 | 65–68% | $12.83 – $13.50 |
Buying bigger doesn't lower your price per pound — it lowers how often you have to think about it. What changes with size is your freezer space, how long the order lasts, and whether you get your own cut sheet.
Same cattle, same pastures, same price per pound. The difference is who does the cut sheet and how you pay for the processing.
Standard Cut
Custom Cut
The eighth beef is standard cut only — it's a mixed quarter split in half, so the cut sheet is already set. If you want your own instructions, start at the quarter.
Standard cut means we handle the cut sheet based on what most families around here actually ask for, and the price you see is the price you pay. Beef and processing are already in the total. You place one order, you make one payment, and you skip the locker coordination entirely. Every size below is a real listing you can reserve today.
The smallest way in, and the fastest to fit in a freezer you already own. An eighth is a mixed quarter split in half, so you still get the range: chuck, arm, rump and sirloin tip roasts, T-bone, porterhouse, ribeye and sirloin steaks, 5 lbs of patties, and the rest as one-pound packages of ground beef. It fits in about 2 cubic feet.
The one tradeoff: an eighth comes standard cut and cannot be customized. That's the price of the smaller size.
The most popular size on the farm. A quarter gives you the full range of cuts — dry-aged steaks, roasts, ground beef, brisket, beef ribs, stew meat, and patties — portioned the way most families actually cook. You can have it cut standard or custom, grass-fed or grain-finished.
Fits in about 4 to 5 cubic feet of freezer space. For a family that eats beef most weeks, this is a once-a-year order that replaces the weekly trip to the meat counter.
| Hanging weight | Total | Packaged lbs | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| 170 lb | $1,511.30 | 110–116 | Reserve |
| 200 lb | $1,778.00 | 130–136 | Reserve |
| 220 lb | $1,955.80 | 143–150 | Reserve |
The sweet spot for bigger families, deep freezers, and serious meal planning. A half gives you double the cuts of a quarter — dry-aged steaks and roasts, ground beef, brisket, ribs, stew meat, and patties — and the lowest price per pound on the farm before you reach a whole.
Needs about 8 to 10 cubic feet of freezer space. Standard or custom cut, grass-fed or grain-finished.
| Hanging weight | Total | Packaged lbs | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 lb | $2,667.00 | 195–204 | Reserve |
| 350 lb | $3,111.50 | 228–238 | Reserve |
| 400 lb | $3,556.00 | 260–272 | Reserve |
| 440 lb | $3,911.60 | 286–299 | Reserve |
What's not in it
A whole animal is the biggest commitment and the best value per pound you can get. It's how families who split between households, or smaller farms and homesteads, fill a freezer for a full year. You get every cut twice over — plus organs if you want them.
Needs roughly 18 to 24 cubic feet of freezer space, or the space a couple of chest freezers give you. Standard or custom cut, grass-fed or grain-finished.
| Hanging weight | Total | Packaged lbs | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 lb | $5,234.00 | 390–408 | Reserve |
| 700 lb | $6,123.00 | 455–476 | Reserve |
| 800 lb | $7,012.00 | 520–544 | Reserve |
| 880 lb | $7,723.20 | 572–598 | Reserve |
Custom cut means you tell the locker exactly how thick to cut your steaks, what size roasts you want, and how the ground beef gets packaged. You pay us $6.99 per hanging pound for the beef, and the locker bills its processing separately. Custom cut takes longer than standard cut and is available on quarter, half, and whole beef.
170–220 lb hanging weight
110–150 lb packaged
$6.99 per hanging pound, billed to us. Processing billed to you by the locker at the time of pickup.
300–440 lb hanging weight
195–299 lb packaged
$6.99 per hanging pound, billed to us. Processing billed to you by the locker at the time of pickup.
600–880 lb hanging weight
390–598 lb packaged
$6.99 per hanging pound, billed to us. Processing billed to you by the locker at the time of pickup.
Crate-free hogs raised on our pasture, cut and packaged at the same USDA-inspected locker. You get bacon, breakfast sausage, pork chops and ribs, shoulder and ham — the full range a freezer needs.
The smaller way to stock a freezer with pork. A half hog gives you bacon, sausage, chops, ribs, shoulder and ham — roughly 70 to 100 lb of packaged meat depending on the animal and how it's processed.
The full animal, cut your way. A whole hog is the best value for families or groups that use a lot of bacon and sausage. Roughly 140 to 200 lb of packaged meat.
Not ready for a quarter or half? Stock the freezer a lighter way — pre-built bundles of naturally raised meat, portioned for real dinners, plus the cuts people ask for most.
A freezer's worth of naturally raised beef, pork, and chicken. Picked, packed, and ready for winter.
$779.99
A steady supply of 90/10 ground beef — the everyday staple. Perfect for a freezer that already has steaks and roasts.
$439.99 / 40 lbs
The quick-grill favorite, in a pack you can pull out whenever the craving hits.
$149.99 / 10 lbs
Skip the per-pack pricing and buy the everyday cuts in larger quantities. Same naturally raised beef and same pasture-raised pork — just more of it per order.
Our 90/10 ground beef in larger quantities, portioned for the freezer. The backbone of weeknight cooking.
$12.99 / lb · $11.99 at 50+ · $10.99 at 100+
Our classic breakfast sausage, made from pasture-raised pork with no shortcuts.
$8.99 / lb
A seasoned Italian sausage for grilling and slow cooking, from the same pasture-raised hogs.
$8.99 / lb
Start with your freezer, not your budget. Plan on about 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every 35 to 40 lbs of packaged meat. An eighth needs roughly 2 cubic feet, a quarter needs 4 to 5, a half needs 8 to 10, and a whole beef needs 15 to 20. Then match it to how you cook: a quarter feeds most households about six months, and a half runs about a year. Because the price per packaged pound is identical at every size, there's no penalty for starting small and moving up next time.
The Bulk Beef Buyer's Guide works through hanging weight vs take-home weight, real cost per pound including processing, and exactly how much freezer space you'll need based on your household size.
Every cut the animal has, in proportion. A quarter or half beef isn't a box of ground beef with a couple of steaks thrown in — it's a real cross-section of the carcass, which is why the average price per pound holds up. You get the premium steaks, the roasts, the everyday staples, and the specialty cuts most people never buy at a grocery store because they've never seen them on a shelf.
Steaks. T-bone, porterhouse, ribeye, sirloin, cube, skirt, flank and hanger, dry-aged 10 to 14 days.
Roasts. Chuck, arm, rump and sirloin tip.
Everyday staples. 90/10 ground beef in one-pound packages, quarter- or third-pound patties, stew meat.
Specialty cuts. Brisket, beef ribs, oxtail, shank, and organ meats if you want them.
Double-wrapped and flash-frozen, not vacuum-sealed. We've watched vacuum seals work loose as packages get shuffled around a freezer. A good double wrap doesn't.
If you can find friends or family who want beef too, we'll take $100 off your portion. Place your orders within 90 days of each other, and once they add up to a whole beef, the discount is yours.
Nobody splits a package with anyone. Everyone still gets their own order and their own cut sheet. You just brought the group.
| Orders totaling | Off your personal order |
|---|---|
| 1 whole beef | $100 |
| 2 whole beef | $200 |
| 3 whole beef | $300 |
And it keeps going from there. Call (309) 613-0563 to set one up.
Pick a standard-cut size and pay the locked price, or reserve a custom cut at $6.99 per hanging pound. Reserving holds your spot on an upcoming butcher date.
Once your beef comes back from the USDA-inspected locker, we call with the weights available from that group of cattle and you pick yours. You pay us for the beef, and at that point the meat is yours.
You go over your cut instructions directly with the butcher — steak thickness, roast sizes, ground beef packaging, anything you want cured or made into sausage — and you pay them for processing. The locker takes credit cards, so the two payments can sit up to four weeks apart.
We personally deliver throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, and we carry the boxes in to your freezer. There's no charge for the delivery itself, just a fuel fee based on your route. You can also meet us at the Peoria Riverfront Farmers Market May through September, or at our monthly Creve Coeur pickup.
From butcher date to pickup is about two to three weeks on beef while it ages, and 3 to 4 weeks on pork if it goes through the smokehouse. We don't offer farm visits or on-farm pickup at this time.
Butcher dates are open for September, October and November 2026. Call (309) 613-0563 to get on one.
At Little Blue's Farm, a standard-cut quarter beef runs $1,511.30 for a 170 lb hanging weight, $1,778.00 at 200 lbs, and $1,955.80 at 220 lbs, with processing already included in the price. That's $13.07 to $13.68 per packaged pound once the beef is trimmed, dry-aged and wrapped — and that average includes the ribeyes, T-bones, porterhouse and sirloins, not just the ground beef.
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after slaughter, before cutting. On our beef you take home about 65 to 68 percent of that hanging weight once it's been trimmed, deboned, dry-aged and packaged. A 170 lb hanging-weight quarter puts roughly 110 to 116 lbs of packaged meat in your freezer. A 300 lb half puts in roughly 195 to 204 lbs.
Standard cut means we pick the cuts and packaging sizes based on what most families ask for, and the price you see includes processing. One payment, no locker call. Custom cut means you reserve at $6.99 per hanging pound and tell the butcher exactly how thick you want your steaks, what size roasts, and how the ground beef is packaged — and you pay the locker separately for processing. The eighth beef is standard cut only and cannot be customized.
On a standard-cut order, one payment to Little Blue's Farm covers the beef and the processing. On a custom cut there are two payments and you know both before you commit: you pay us $6.99 per hanging pound for the beef once official weights come back, and you pay the locker directly for processing and anything extra like curing or sausage-making. The locker takes credit cards, so the two payments can sit up to four weeks apart.
Plan on about 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every 35 to 40 lbs of packaged meat. An eighth fits in roughly 2 cubic feet, a quarter in 4 to 5, a half in 8 to 10, and a whole beef in 15 to 20. A standard chest freezer handles a quarter without a problem. For a half, you want a full chest freezer or a deep upright with nothing else in it.
Both are available — you pick. Grass-fed cattle eat pasture and forage their whole lives. Corn-finished cattle eat grass, then grain for the last several months, which adds marbling and a milder flavor. Either way the beef is raised on our own pastures without added hormones, without steroids, and without daily antibiotics, and dry-aged 10 to 14 days.
Pork is $4.49 per hanging pound. A typical half hog reserves at about $471.45 for the pork portion, with locker processing and cut-and-wrap running roughly $248 to $300 on top, paid directly to the processor. Final packaged weight comes out around 90 to 120 lbs. A whole hog reserves at about $965.35 with $475 to $595 in processing. Curing and sausage-making are billed by the locker at their rates.
Our beef is double-wrapped and flash-frozen rather than vacuum-sealed, and handled that way it holds its quality for 12 to 18 months at 0°F. We've watched vacuum seals work loose over time as packages get shuffled around a freezer. A good double wrap doesn't. Ground beef is best inside 12 months; whole-muscle cuts like steaks and roasts hold longer. Label-side up, oldest in front.
Three ways. We deliver direct to your door across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, and we carry the boxes in to your freezer — there's no charge for the delivery itself, just a fuel fee based on your route. You can meet us at the Peoria Riverfront Farmers Market from May through September; look for the 1953 blue Chevy pickup. And we run a monthly pickup at the Tractor Supply in Creve Coeur. We don't offer farm visits or on-farm pickup at this time.
Yes, and we'll pay you for it. Place your orders within 90 days of each other, and once they add up to a whole beef, you get $100 off your personal order. Two whole beef gets you $200 off, three gets you $300, and it keeps going from there. Nobody has to split a package with anybody — everyone keeps their own order and their own cut sheet.
