We Say No More Than Yes
The imperfect heirloom tomato tastes better every time.
Good farms don’t fail because they say no too often.
They fail because they say yes when they shouldn’t.
Yes to speed.
Yes to scale.
Yes to convenience that quietly breaks living systems.
At Eremos Farm, we’ve learned that stewardship almost always begins with restraint.
No, We Don’t Deliver—and Here’s Why
Modern food systems pride themselves on distance.
The average steak travels 1,500 miles from where the animal was born to where it’s eaten. That includes transport to feedlots, then to processors, then to distributors, then to stores.
The average tomato travels around 1,300 miles, harvested green so it can survive the journey.
These tomatoes may be red, but they weren’t ripened on the vine
Distance isn’t neutral. It hides cost.
It hides soil depletion, fuel dependency, animal stress, and communities hollowed out of food sovereignty.
When we say no to delivery, we’re saying yes to something bigger:
Yes to local resilience
Yes to neighbors knowing their farmers
Yes to food systems that don’t collapse the moment fuel prices spike
Local food only works when communities commit to it.
No to Grain-Fed Cattle
We don’t feed grain to our cows—not because grain is evil, and not because we don’t care about them.
We say no because cows are ruminants.
They were designed to harvest sunlight through grass, build soil as they graze, and convert forage humans can’t eat into nourishment humans can.
Grain-feeding speeds growth, but it creates dependency—on monocrops, on synthetic inputs, and on systems that crumble under stress.
We’re breeding animals that can survive—and thrive—on grass alone.
Resilience beats efficiency every time.
No to Rushing Living Systems
Grass doesn’t grow on deadlines.
Animals don’t mature on spreadsheets.
Soil doesn’t heal on quarterly reports.
Rushing food production creates problems that don’t show up immediately—but they always show up eventually.
So we slow down.
Even when it costs us.
No to Bad Fits
Not every customer is the right customer.
Not every animal belongs in every home.
Saying no here protects everyone involved—from disappointment today and regret tomorrow.
No to Cutting Corners
We refuse:
Short finishing timelines
Cheap inputs that degrade soil
Marketing language that hides reality
Shortcuts don’t disappear. They just move the bill down the road.
Stewardship Is Not Soft
Stewardship isn’t sentimental.
It’s disciplined.
It means choosing the long road when the short one is louder.
It means accepting fewer yeses so the yeses you give can be trusted.
And more often than not—it means saying no.
Is a Whole or Half Cow Right for You? Let’s Pull the Curtain Back.
Learn the real cost of buying a whole or half cow, how hanging weight works, and when wholesale grass-fed beef makes sense for your family.
As we head into a new year, one question keeps coming up around here:
“How Much Does a Whole or Half Cow Cost?”
And honestly? That’s a great question.
For some families, buying a whole or half cow makes a lot of sense. Maybe you cook at home constantly. Maybe you have a big family. Maybe you’re tired of running to the store three times a week and want your freezer working for you instead of against you.
But here’s the truth most farms won’t say out loud:
Wholesale beef isn’t for everyone—and that’s okay.
What “Wholesale Beef” Actually Means
When you buy a whole or half cow, you’re not buying packages of meat—you’re buying the animal itself.
That’s why wholesale beef is priced by hanging weight, which is about 65% of the live animal’s weight after harvest. It’s also why wholesale beef is non-taxed: legally, the customer owns the animal and pays the butcher directly to process it.
We deliver the animal at no charge.
You choose how it’s cut, packaged, and labeled.
Why We Charge $6.50 per Pound Hanging Weight
That $6.50/lb hanging weight is a true wholesale price, not something we made up. It aligns with what the broader cattle market pays farmers. A farmer simply can’t sell an animal for less than what the stockyards would pay—or they wouldn’t stay in business.
To put numbers to it:
A 700-lb steer would bring ~$2,975 at market today (Current pricing is $4.25/pound live weight)
Hanging weight ≈ 455 lbs- (if paying us)- $2,975 @$6.50/pound
That’s where the wholesale price comes from
You pay only for what you get, not inflated retail markups.
Processing & Packaging (The Part We Don’t Control)
Processing fees are set by the butcher, not the farm. Depending on the processor, customers usually pay $1.00–$1.55 per lb hanging weight for cutting and packaging.
With a whole or half cow, you also get:
All bones
All organs (or split if buying a half)
Bulk fat for making tallow
Full control over cuts and grind ratios
You can even choose 80/20 ground, 90/10, or leaner—though we’ll gently remind you:
fat is where the flavor lives.
Where the Savings Actually Are
Wholesale beef makes sense when you:
Want premium steaks, roasts, and specialty cuts
Use a wide variety of beef
Have freezer space and a plan
We don’t recommend turning everything into ground beef—you won’t see the same value there. The real savings come from the cuts that are expensive in the store.
When Wholesale Beef Isn’t the Best Fit
Sometimes a whole or half cow is just too much—too much freezer space, too much upfront cost, too much to manage.
That’s why we also sell by the cut.
When we process USDA-inspected beef, the costs are higher (about $1.75–$1.95 per lb hanging weight) because of inspection, labeling, and regulations. Those costs get passed on—but the benefit is flexibility.
You buy what you want, when you want it.
The Big Win (No Matter What You Choose)
Here’s the bottom line:
Whether you buy a whole cow, a half cow, or a few cuts at a time, you win when you:
Know where your food comes from
Support ethical, local farming
Feed your family real, honest beef
Wholesale beef is a powerful tool—but it’s not a badge of honor. The right choice is the one that fits your life, your freezer, and your budget.
We raise and sell 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef in South Carolina, serving families who want to know their farmer, see their food, and buy beef with confidence. Farm pickup is available, and we work directly with local processors to ensure transparency from pasture to freezer.
If you have questions, we’re happy to walk you through it—no pressure, no sales pitch.
Just clarity.
To check out current Grass fed beef prices- see the USDA quarterly report here:
To check out current wholesale barn prices in SC, check out report here:
To start the process of reserving 1/2 or a whole cow, fill out the information here: