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What is a CowShare?

A CowShare is a package of beef that includes cuts from the front and hind sections of the cow. Each package includes steaks, roasts, cubed beef, chipsteak, ground beef, beef patties and soup bones. The beef from each cow we buy gets divided into equal shares by weight and type of cut. When you buy a CowShare, you are sharing the bounty from the cow with others.

Why should I buy a CowShare?

There are a lot of reasons why people buy CowShares.

First, it's convenient for you AND the farmer. You get to buy beef directly from our area farmers without the hassle of going to the farm, navigating the butchering process or picking up the beef. We visit the farms. We handle the butchering process. We deliver the beef to you.

Likewise, the farmer gets to farm. If farmers had to spend an hour with every customer who wanted to buy an eighth of a cow, it would take them 40 hours a week for 5 months to sell 100 cows, the size of many of our farms. This leaves little time for the work of actually farming.

Second, it is a more sustainable method of buying and eating meat. In starting this business, we spent time understanding how consumers buy meat and how the meat gets to us. There are a lot of nuances and variations from company to company, but there are three major issues they all have in common: (1) Farmers are paid based on commodity prices and not on the cost of raising the animals. (2) There are a lot of hands and steps involved in turning live animals into food and moving the food to us that dilute the retail dollar. (3) Customers want to buy any cut of meat at any time and in any store for a low price.

The result is that farmers get on average 15% of your food dollar and they shoulder most of the risk. Consumers eat a LOT of tasteless and unhealthy meat (85.5 lbs. per person per year in 2010) and don't understand the true cost. For every steak purchased, someone has to find a home for the rest of the beef from that cow. Sometimes, this job is left to the farmer, making it even more difficult to be profitable. The method commonly used to raise live animals is optimized for economical efficiency to the detriment of the animal, the meat, and the environment.

Philadelphia CowShare challenges the consumer to eat meat more mindfully. Eat healthy meat. Eat less meat. Eat all the cuts from the animals and not just the high-end steaks. We make sure the farmer and butcher get paid fairly and the animals are raised in accordance with their nature and in harmony with the land.

Third, it's healthy for you and the animal. We sell only grass-fed beef from cows that have been raised on pasture.

Although the research is still new, studies show the nutritional composition of grass-fed beef is much healthier than beef from conventional grain-fed cows. There's less fat and a better balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. There's also CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is believed to have cancer fighting properties. Eat Wild, a widely recognized website on all things grass-fed, is a good place to keep up with the research on grass-fed beef.

Did you know a cow's rumen is PH neutral? When you keep a cow in confinement and feed it nothing but acidic food like corn, it will eventually get sick. It's like tying you to your bed with a steady diet of chocolate cake. It might be enjoyable for a while, but eventually you'll get a tummy ache, too. Cows like grain and a little grain isn't harmful to the animal. What's harmful is forcing a diet that is not aligned with the nature of the animal and that takes away the animal's ability to manage its own body. This is why we buy our cows from farmers that not only raise their animals on grass but also keep them on pasture. A cow raised on a healthy pasture with great grass growth will maintain the neutrality of its own rumen.

How big is a share of a cow and how much does it cost?

We have several packages to choose from. You can purchase an eighth, quarter, half or whole CowShare. The cuts of beef are shared evenly across the shares made from the cow. All the beef in the package comes from the same cow. If you eat 2 lbs. per week, an Eighth CowShare will last approximately 6 months. All shares include steaks, roasts, ground beef, beef patties, chipsteak, cubed beef, and soup bones. Each cut is individually packaged, vacuum sealed, and labeled with the cut name and a cow identification number.

Eighth Share (1/8 of beef yield)	Quarter Share (1/4 of beef yield)	Half Share (1/2 of beef yield)	Whole Cow
Best for smaller families with 1-2 adults and 0-2 younger children.	Best for larger families with 1-2 adults and 1–3 older children.	Best for large families with 2 adults and 2–5 older children or small restaurants or catering businesses.	Best for restaurants and catering businesses.
		Custom cutting available.	Custom cutting available.
43 lbs for $410	86 lbs for $779 (5% discount)	172 lbs for $1476 (10% discount)	344 lbs for $2788 (15% discount)

What cuts are included an the Eighth CowShare?

A share of a cow includes all your favorite steaks, roasts, ground beef, beef patties, chipsteak (beef used to make Philly Cheesesteaks), cubed beef for stews and kabobs, and osso bucco-style soup bones. All meat is USDA-certified, individually packaged, vacuum-sealed and frozen. If you're interested in having your beef cut a specific way (for example, whole tenderloin instead of steaks), you need to purchase a half or whole CowShare.

An Eighth CowShare includes 43 lbs. of dry-aged, grass-fed beef. Roasts are between 2–3 lbs. and steaks are 1-inch thick.

• 3 Delmonico Steaks
• 2 T-Bone Steaks
• 1 Porterhouse Steaks
• 2 Ranch Steaks
• 1 Sirloin Steak
• 1 Flat Iron Steak
• 1 London Broil
• 1 Rump Roast
• 1 of the following cuts (Mock Tender, Petite Tender, Tri Tip, or Flank Steak)
• 1 Chuck Roast
• 2 packages Chipsteak
• 2 packages of Cubed Beef
• 1 Osso Bucco-style Soup Bone

The package also includes ground beef and 4 oz. beef patties to make a 43 lb. package.

What cuts are included in a Quarter CowShare?

A share of a cow includes all your favorite steaks, roasts, ground beef, beef patties, chipsteak (beef used to make Philly Cheesesteaks), cubed beef for stews and kabobs, and osso bucco-style soup bones. All meat is USDA-certified, individually packaged, vacuum-sealed and frozen. If you're interested in having your beef cut a specific way (e.g. whole tenderloin instead of steaks), you need to purchase a half share or whole cow.

A Quarter CowShare includes 86 lbs. of dry-aged, grass-fed beef. Roasts are between 3–4 lbs. and steaks are 1.25" thick.

• 6 Delmonico Steaks
• 4 Filet Mignon Steaks
• 4 NY Strip Steaks
• 3 Sirloin Steaks
• 2 Flat Iron Steaks
• 1 Arm Roast
• 2 Chuck Roasts
• 2 London Broil Roasts
• 2 Rump Roasts
• 2 of the following cuts (Mock Tender, Petite Tender, Tri Tip, or Flank Steak)
• 1 Brisket
• 1 Short Rib
• 10 1lb packages Chipsteak
• 5 packages of Cubed Beef
• 2 Osso Bucco-style Soup Bones

The package also includes ground beef and 6 oz. beef patties to make a 86 lb. package.

How does custom cutting work?

For customers who buy a whole or half CowShare, we can customize the package for you. We have a questionnaire to fill out that helps us understand your preferences and cooking styles. We create a butcher order for you and deliver the beef to your door. Some questions to think about include:

• Do you prefer to cook roasts or steaks?
  • More Roasts
  • About 50/50
  • More Steaks
• Do you like the bone included in your steaks?
  • Yes
  • No
• Do you like the bone included in your roasts?
  • Yes
  • No
• Would you like us to make hamburger patties for you?
  • 4 oz.
  • 6 oz.
  • No Thank You

You may also want to see the selection of cuts available for custom orders. We can also do primal cuts if desired.

What size share should I order?

The answer depends on how many beef eaters are in your family and how often you like to eat beef. A good rule of thumb is if you eat 2 lbs. per week, an Eighth will last you about 6 months. The Eighth CowShare is designed for smaller families with 1-2 adults and 0–2 younger children. The Quarter CowShare is better for larger families with 1-2 adults and 1–3 older children. The half CowShare is best for multi-generational families or families with 2–5 children. We also offer half and whole shares to restaurants and catering companies. Custom cutting is available for Half and Whole CowShares.

How is the beef packaged?

The beef is delivered to your home packed in cardboard boxes. Each cut is individually sealed and frozen. Each package is USDA-certified by the butcher and labeled with the name of the cut and an identification number for the cow.

How do I store the beef?

The beef should be stored in a freezer until you are ready to use it. You can store beef for up to 12 months in a deep freezer. An Eighth CowShare will take up about 75% of the space in a standard freezer. For larger shares, we recommended using a small deep freezer. A Half CowShare takes up approximately 5 cu. ft. of freezer space.

Where do we get our cows?

Philadelphia CowShare selects cows from farms within a reasonable drive from Lancaster County, where our butcher is located. Although we prefer farms closer to Philadelphia because it keeps the cost down for the farmer to transport the cow to the butcher and it supports a local economy, we care most about how the cows are raised and how the farm is managed. We personally visit each farm and talk with the farmer to guarantee the cows are grass-fed on pasture and free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Most of our farms are within 150 miles of Philadelphia's City Hall. All are within 350 miles.

What standards do you use for selecting the farms?

Philadelphia CowShare picks farmers who are both stewards of the land and shepherds of the animals. We view our farmers as our business partners and are engaged in regular conversation about the local meat business. They tell us about what's going on with the farm and their animals. We tell them about our customers' reaction to their meat and our marketing plans. This business isn't going to work unless we collaborate. So the first thing we look for is farmers who believe in local food distribution and are willing to engage and collaborate with Philadelphia CowShare to bring you tasty, healthy, local meat.

Once we all agree on the goal of doing business together, we have a checklist we run through that includes:

Cattle practices:

• Cattle have been raised on pasture with minimal confinement as needed to care for the land (i.e. snowy months) and animals (i.e. weight checks, vaccinations, sorting, transport, etc.).
• Cattle's diet consists of natural grasses, legumes, alfalfa and/or range farm/forage. No supplemental grains or grain-based manufactured ration, reprocessed animal tissue, animal by-products, fecal material, food waste or by-products are allowed at any time. Minimal supplements are allowed.
• Cattle are fed hay made from the same plants found naturally on pasture, preferably from the same pasture the animals graze during the growing season.
• Cattle have access to fresh water at all times.
• Cattle have access to shelter during inclement weather.
• Calves should be kept with their mothers after birth and weaned when they are capable of growing on a grass-fed diet without their mother's milk.
• No synthetic hormones, growth promotants, or steroids are given to the animals at any time in their life.
• No preventative antibiotics or other medications are allowed with the exception of those required by the USDA (e.g. 5-way virus vaccine).
• The farm must be managed to promote healthy animals including rotational grazing, vaccination, and low stress handling.
• Cattle should be medicated to treat illness or injury in order to minimize suffering or death. If an animal is visibly ill, it should be separated from the herd to minimize the spread of the ailment and should be treated immediately. If antibiotics or other medications are used as part of the treatment of a Philadelphia CowShare animal, the farmer must notify Philadelphia CowShare immediately. Philadelphia CowShare will not purchase animals that have had antibiotics or other medication administered into or passed through the blood stream that may result in medication residue in the meat.

Land practices:

• The land should be managed to promote continual forage growth without the assistance of chemical herbicides or pesticides.
• Fertilization techniques should reuse organic by-products from the farm such as cow and poultry manure.
• Increasing the nitrogen levels in the land is the most difficult aspect of cattle farming. Nitrogen fertilizers are allowed as needed provided they are closely monitored and administered to increase the organic matter in the soil and do not impose health risks to the animals.
• Farmers should test the nutrients of the soil and supplement with minerals where needed to promote healthy top soil and forage.

How do I order a share of a cow?

You can order your CowShare online. We have two ways of ordering: individually or as a group.

Individual Orders. The fastest and most convenient way to order is individually. Simply pick the best share size for your family and order online. We find the cow, have the beef packaged, and deliver it to your door.

Organize a Group Purchase. Want to get a group of people together to share a whole cow? We package the beef into our usual shares (so you don't have to bicker and argue about who gets what cut of meat). We'll deliver all the shares to one place where everyone can pick them up. Plus, we'll give you the whole share pricing.

Why is it cheaper when I organize a group? Really, there are two reasons. First, by delivering a whole cow to one place as opposed to delivering Eighths to eight different places, the cost of delivery is less. Second, we have a fixed marketing budget for each cow, so when you organize a group, you are making it easier for us to find a home (literally) for all the beef from that cow. Since you're contributing to the sustainability of the overall system by lowering costs, we pass those savings on to you.

How do I get started? To make it easier for you to organize a group, we've created a flyer you can put up in, say, a gym or a common area at work. Once you've gotten your group of folks together, or if you have questions about group buying, get in touch with us at orders@phillycowshare.com and we'll walk you through the rest of the process.

How long does it take to get my CowShare after I order?

Philadelphia CowShare sends cows to the butcher every month. It takes approximately 4–5 weeks to process a cow and deliver it to you. This time includes the 14 days the beef is dry-aged to intensify the flavor and tenderize the meat. If we happen to have inventory in stock, we can process your order faster.

Although we'd like to be able to deliver your internet order in 2 business days like many online retailers, we are a young company and are dealing with live animals. When you place your order, we find a cow that is ready for market, have it processed, and deliver it to you. Some things, like growing cows on grass in the pasture, just take time.

What is dry-aged beef?

Dry-aged beef is beef that has been hung in a cool, clean, climate-controlled environment for a period of time. Dry-aging beef intensifies the flavor and tenderizes the beef. Enzymes break down the muscle and connective tissue in the beef and make it more tender and flavorful. All our beef is dry-aged for at least 14 days.

Why is dry-aged beef more expensive?

Dry-aged beef is more expensive than wet-aged or non-aged beef for three reasons. First, a meat processor must have an environment suitable for dry aging. Second, the process simply takes longer. Finally, the meat loses moisture or weight during the process. Our beef can lose 10% of the weight over 2 weeks.

Beef that is wet-aged is vacuum-sealed in plastic and typically aged during transit. Because it is aged in its own juices, more moisture is absorbed by the beef resulting in less weight loss. When you buy beef by the pound, you are paying for the moisture that was retained in the beef during the wet-aging process. With dry-aged beef, you are paying for a more intense flavor of beef and less liquid. Most beef sold in supermarkets is wet-aged or not aged at all.

How do I ask a question?

For more information, send email to info@phillycowshare.com.

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