How Much Beef Is in a Half Cow? Weights, Cuts and Space

A half beef share from Shipley Farms runs about 175 pounds of packaged beef across 26 cuts. If you only wanted the number, that is it. Everything below is the part people wish they had known before ordering: how much freezer it needs, how the sizes compare, and which ones we can actually ship to you.

What is in a half, and what "packaged weight" means

We sell shares as a published list of cuts for one price, so you know what is coming before you order rather than after. A half carries 26 cuts, and the single biggest line in it is ground beef — 50 one-pound packs. Everything arrives vacuum sealed, labelled and frozen.

Packaged weight is what you put in your freezer. It is not the live weight of the animal and it is not the hanging weight, both of which are larger. Pack counts and weights are typical rather than exact, because beef is cut from a real animal and not to a spec sheet.

How the sizes compare

Shipley Farms share sizes, typical packaged weight

Size	Packaged weight	Cuts	How you get it
1/8 share	40–42 lbs	19	Ships frozen, or collect
Quarter share	about 85 lbs	23	Pickup only
Half share	about 175 lbs	26	Pickup only
Side or whole	By hanging weight	Your own cut list	Pickup only

Current pricing for every size lives on the freezer beef and beef shares page, which is the one place we keep it up to date.

Which sizes we ship, and which are pickup only

This is the part worth reading before you get attached to a size. Only the 1/8 share ships. The quarter, the half, and a side or whole animal are pickup only, collected from the butchery.

So if you are searching for a half cow and you are not within driving distance of Watauga County, the honest answer is that the half is not available to you — but the 1/8 is, and it ships frozen to your door. We would rather tell you that now than at checkout.

How much freezer space you need

A useful planning rule is roughly one cubic foot of freezer for every 35 pounds of packaged beef. That is an estimate for planning, not a measurement of our packs, but it gets you close:

• 1/8 share, about 42 lbs — roughly 1.2 cubic feet. Fits in the freezer compartment of a normal fridge if you clear it out.
• Quarter share, about 85 lbs — roughly 2.4 cubic feet.
• Half share, about 175 lbs — roughly 5 cubic feet, which is most of a small chest freezer.

Buy the freezer before the beef, not after. If you are weighing how long it keeps well, see how long beef lasts in the freezer — those windows are about quality, not safety.

How to choose a size

Work backwards from how much beef your household actually eats rather than from the price per pound. Our guide to how much beef per person is the number to plan from.

• Start with the 1/8 if you have never bought in bulk, if your freezer is shared with anything else, or if you need it shipped.
• Step up to a quarter or half once you know which cuts your household actually finishes, and once you have dedicated freezer space.
• Take a side or whole only if you want to write your own cut list. It is the lowest cost per pound we offer, and it asks the most of you: you reserve with a deposit and we invoice the balance on your animal's actual hanging weight after processing.

Where it comes from, and where you collect it

Shipley Farms is a fifth-generation farm in Vilas, North Carolina. We raise what we can on our own ground in Watauga County and partner with sister farms that raise to the same standards. The beef is pasture-raised with no added growth stimulants, no steroids and no antibiotics, and it is dry-aged on the bone in-house.

You can see the operation on the farm itself, collect orders at one of our three pick-up points in Vilas, Boone and Blowing Rock, or buy individual cuts by the pound if a share is more than you need. Our standards are written out in full on our promise.

Ready to compare sizes and current pricing? See freezer beef and beef shares.