Essays,
buying guides,
and field notes.
Long-form writing on the directory. What the labels actually mean. How to buy a beef share. Grass-fed vs. grass-finished. The questions worth asking the rancher when you call.
Grass-fed vs grass-finished: what the difference actually is
Nearly every cow in America eats grass for most of its life. The label question is what it ate in the last few months, and since 2016 the government has largely left that question to the farms.
Read the essayHow much does a half cow cost from a local farmer?
About $2,500 to $3,000 in 2026, for roughly 220 to 250 pounds of beef in your freezer. Here is where every dollar goes, using USDA's own survey of grass-fed producers.
How to buy a beef share: a complete guide
From the deposit in spring to the freezer in fall. What happens at each step, what the farm needs from you, and the one phone call most first-time buyers get wrong.
Pasture-raised vs grass-fed vs organic: the labels explained
Each of these words answers a different question. One is about where the animal lived, one is about what it ate, one is about what it was given. None of them implies the others.
What we mean when we say pasture-raised
The USDA does not define the phrase for beef. We do, because a directory is only as useful as the line it draws. Here is ours, and why it lands where it does.