Grassfed Beef
We offer a limited number of seasonally available 100% grass-fed grass-finished “Beef Shares." Buying bulk beef from Keystone cuts out the middleman at the grocery store, saving you money, while directly supporting our work.
Beef Shares
We sell live animals by the whole, half or quarter share. Shares will be packaged into an assortment of roasts & slow cooking cuts, steaks, ground beef and a small percentage of organ meats and stew bones.
1/4 Share
Cost of share: $1000
(Deposit: $250)
Cut & wrap fee: $200-$250
1/2 Share
Cost of share: $1800
(Deposit: $450)
Cut & wrap fee: $400-$500
Whole Share
Cost of share: $3400
(Deposit: $850)
Cut & wrap fee: $800-$1000
How do I reserve my beef share?
In order to reserve your share, email us at info@keystonelandlivestock.com with your order use the subject line Beef Share. You will be invoiced to make a deposit upon reserving a share. If you choose, you may pay the entire price of the share at that time.
You will pay the “cut & wrap fees” directly to the local butcher upon pickup.
Downtown 627 when you pick up the meat in Colusa, CA
Address: 627 Market Street, Colusa CA 95932
Phone: (530) 393-2853
Cut & wrap fees: $1.25 per pound hanging weight
Pickup dates: 6/12/2025 - 6/18/2025
OR....
Roundmans Smokehouse and Butcher Shop when you pick up the meat in Fort Bragg, CA
Address: 412 N Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Phone: (707) 694-5954
Email: roundmans@gmail.com
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9am-5:30pm Sundays 9am-3pm
Cut & wrap fees: TBD
Pickup in late July (dates TBD)
Interested in a smaller share?
A quarter share is the smallest size available from the butcher. If you are interested in splitting a quarter share with someone, let us know and we may be able to connect you with someone else willing to do the same.
How does the process work?
Our small scale allows us to harvest animals on site. Harvest will be performed on-farm by a skilled mobile butcher, which reduces stress on the animal and eliminates the need to remove cattle from the herd and haul them to a slaughter facility in another county.
Post harvest, beef will be delivered to the local butcher to be cut & wrapped. Customers will pick up their shares from the butcher within 1-2 weeks after harvest upon notification.
How much meat can I expect?
An average steer of 1,100-1,300 lbs live weight will yield about the following beef after processing:
-
Whole: 360-440 lbs take-home weight
-
Half: 180-220 lbs take-home weight
-
Quarter: 90-110 lbs take-home weight
The final take-home weight of your packaged meat will vary by the size of the live animal at slaughter.
What is the cost?
Due to USDA regulations, when slaughtering on the ranch we cannot charge a price per pound for cut & wrapped beef and must instead charge a set price per head before slaughter. Additionally, customers must pay the butcher directly for their cut & wrap services.
The cost of the finished meat ( wrapped and frozen in individual cuts) is based upon the following costs:
-
The cost of the animal and harvest of the animal: We based our prices off an average of the expected final live weight of any given animal.
-
The cost of processing and packaging the meat: About $1.25 per pound (depending on the butcher), based on the hanging weight of the steer, which is typically about 60% of the live weight.
You will pay the cost of the animal & harvest to us. (A deposit is due to us before the harvest.) You pay the costs for processing directly to the local butcher.
For example, you buy a whole share from Keystone for $3400 for the animal and harvest. The live weight of the animal at slaughter is 1,200 lbs. The hanging weight of the animal in this case is 60% of the live weight, which is 720 lbs. You will then pay the butcher their specific per pound price for cutting, wrapping, and freezing the meat. In Colusa for instance, this is $1.25/lb for 720 lbs which comes to $900. (Our partners’ prices may change. Please confirm before ordering.) In this case you will have paid a total of $3400 to Keystone and $900 directly to the butcher.
What do the different weights (live, hanging, take-home) mean?
Live weight is the weight of the animal when it is alive; likely between 1,100 & 1,300 lbs.
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass before it is aged or processed. Typically, the hanging weight is about 60% of the live weight. The weight loss is due to the blood, head, hooves, and viscera being removed. So your 1,200 lb steer will probably have a hanging weight of 720 lbs.
Cut & wrap or Take-home weight is the weight of your final meat packages. This is usually about 55-65% of the hanging weight. So your 1,200 lbs steer will probably have a take-home weight of about 396-468 lbs of packaged meat. The loss of weight happens due to water loss during the three weeks of hanging as well as loss during the cutting process, as bones and fat are removed.
How long will it take?
We harvest & process our animals in May-July each year. Specific dates for payment and pickup will be announced closer to slaughter. You may reserve your share at any time of year. If shares for the current year are unavailable you can be placed on the waitlist, in which case you may be contacted with an available share if another customer cancels their order or be given the option to reserve a share for the following year.
Why Grass-finished?
97% of the US beef supply comes from cattle finished in a feedlot, where they are kept in cramped unnatural conditions, fed industrially-produced grain that they struggle to digest, and are kept alive with widespread use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics. The result is poor animal welfare and a bland, uniform, and often unhealthy meat product.
By contrast the Keystone herd spend their entire life on pasture, eating only grass throughout their life cycle. They are never given grain, steroids, hormones or sub therapeutic antibiotics. The vitality, abundance, and diversity of the pastures they graze is distilled into the exceptional flavor and health benefits of Keystone grass finished beef. Recent studies have shown that grass-fed and finished beef is high in beta-carotene, vitamin E, essential Omega 3 fatty acids, Trans Vaccenic Acid (TVA), Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA),) and many other essential nutrients.
*Due to the small size of our herd we have not yet sought organic certification for our beef. However our cattle are managed in close alignment with the principles of organic agriculture and raised year-round on pasture that hasn't been treated with chemicals or fertilizer.
The Herd
Our herd consists of a mix of Murray Grey and Bonsmara cattle. Murray Grey’s hail from Australia and are famous for producing exceptionally well marbled and tender meat entirely on grass. Bonsmara are a South African breed which are highly resistant to disease and heat, allowing them to thrive on pasture through California's long dry summers. Combining these breeds gives us a herd that can turn grass into beef 365 days a year and produce a steak that is tender, well marbled, delicious, and healthy.