McCario Beef

06/02/2026

Update: SOLD!! Thank you to our buyer!

We’ve got a 1/4 split side available going in June 17 to Trenton Processing. Please message or text me for more information. 6189773116. Thank you!

05/19/2026

There is so much truth in this!

People say they want cheap food.
•Cheap burgers
•Cheap steak
•Cheap milk
•Cheap eggs

Cheap always comes with a cost, and that cost has been the drastic loss of the American farmer.

For decades, farmers have been squeezed from every direction.
•Fuel costs rise.
•Feed costs rise.
•Fertilizer costs rise.
•Equipment costs rise.
•Land prices rise.
•Insurance rises.
•Taxes rise.

Meanwhile, in most cases, the farmer is expected to sell everything at wholesale while buying almost everything at retail.

Think about that last sentence for a second. Don’t skip over it, let that sink in.

A new cattle farmer may spend years building infrastructure:
•Building fences
•Buying feed
•Building handling facilities
• Improving pasture
• And countless other improvements

…….all before even seeing a paycheck for all the work put in. This here is why the farms we have lost will not be replaced. It’s simply too expensive to start for young farmers.

Meanwhile a large part of other farmers are aging out.

I personally don’t see how the cattle industry can improve itself. We are at the smallest herd size since the 50’s in the US. We have extremely high beef demand but not the cattle to meet that demand.

People see the final beef price and think the farmer is getting rich. Most small farms are simply trying to survive and try to grow a little in the process. Surviving and growth both take extremely high input costs. As well as countless man hours.

Industrial food systems trained Americans to expect food to be cheap at any price. Right now we are paying that price for undervaluing the American farmer.

Each year, more small farms disappear because
the math no longer works.

You cannot demand:
•Local food
•American-raised beef
•Higher animal welfare
• Healthier food
•Sustainable farming

…….while also demanding the absolute cheapest price possible.

Cheap food has never really been cheap. The true costs was just pushed onto the people producing it.

I will end with this. I was watching an interview a couple days ago. The person being interviewed was predicting $10 pound ground beef by the 3rd quarter of 2026. He believed this price would not level out till sometime in 2027.

This is a problem that has been decades in the making. It’s not going to fix itself quickly….if a fix is even possible.

Elvin Bradford
Homestead Hollow Farm

03/06/2026

We’ve got frozen fresh ground beef for sale! 1 lb. Packages!

Can meet in Hillsboro, or farm pickup! $6.85/lb.

12/16/2025

2026 processing dates
March 25 (updated)
June 17
September 9
November 11

Please let me know if you want penciled in!

12/16/2025

Update: sold! Thanks everyone! We will hav beef going in in February If you’d like to get on the list!

We’ve got a 1/2 beef or two split 1/4 available. Going to the locker tomorrow. Please message me if you are interested!

12/16/2025

“You want HOW much for a ¼ cow?!”

Let’s break it down.

A beef calf right now, at 400 lbs, is running about $4.00/lb.
That’s $1,600 right out of the gate.

Now we feed that calf for roughly a year.
Even at a cheap all-stock feed — $12 per 50-lb bag — and averaging 3 lbs/day, you’re looking at around $300 in feed. But when you’re feeding more, or higher quality feed - keep packing on the cost.

So now we’re at $1,900, assuming:
• it grows on schedule
• doesn’t need extra time
• doesn’t get sick
• nothing goes wrong

But wait… you forgot hay.

Hay math (because cows don’t live on air):
• Avg weight during grow-out: ~800 lbs
• Intake: 2.5% of body weight
• That’s ~20 lbs of dry matter/day
• With hay at ~90% dry matter → ~22 lbs as-fed
• About half the diet as hay → ~11 lbs/day
• Over 365 days = ~4,000 lbs of hay

That’s roughly 3–5 round bales, depending on size and waste.
At $40 per bale, add another $120–$200.

So now we’re well over $2,000 — and we haven’t even talked about the butcher.

Processing isn’t cheap either:
• $1.75 per hanging pound
• Plus a dispatch/kill fee

And finally — let’s be real —
Farmers aren’t doing this for fun or boredom.
This is labor, land, feed, time, equipment, and risk.
We have families to feed too.

So when you see the price for a ¼, ½, or whole cow, maybe skip the snide remarks.

👉 You’re getting:
• A freezer full of beef
• Raised with care
• No mystery meat
• No supply chain games
• And you know exactly where it came from

That peace of mind?
It has value.