Black Angus cattle grazing on green pasture beneath moss-draped apple trees, with a fir treeline behind, on the SJ Cattle Co farm outside Bandon, Oregon.
Bandon, Oregon · Since 2023

Beef you can trace to a single pasture.

Black Angus raised on our family's 100-acre farm on the southern Oregon coast — grass, hay from across the highway, and windfall pears in late summer. We sell a handful of quarter, half, and whole shares each year to people who'd rather know their rancher than read a label.

100-acre family farm Black Angus Pasture-raised, grain-finished Dry-aged 14 days 3 steers a year
The short version

You're not buying meat. You're buying an animal.

A beef share means exactly what it sounds like: you take ownership of a quarter, a half, or the whole of one of our steers. Everything that animal yields in your share comes to you — steaks, roasts, ground beef, soup bones if you want them.

You pay us for the share. You work directly with our butcher on how you want it cut, and you pay them for processing. Two transactions, no middlemen, no grocery-store markup, and a chest freezer full of beef you can account for from birth to burger.

It's a small operation. Three steers a year, sold mostly to friends, family, and people they send our way. When they're spoken for, they're spoken for.

Compare Share Sizes
Summer view across the SJ Cattle Co pasture in Bandon, Oregon — cattle grazing in the distance, old orchard trees in the field, and a fir ridge behind.
The home pasture in summer. The old orchard in the middle of the field is where they wait out the late-summer windfall.
100Acres in Bandon
718Lb avg hanging weight
14Days dry-aged
3Steers per year
Our cattle

A year and a half on the same ground.

No feedlot, no anonymous supply chain. Here's the actual calendar our steers live.

Spring

Born on pasture

The calves are born in the spring on the southern Oregon coast.

Fall

They come to us

We take delivery in the fall. They graze the pasture and eat hay cut from the field across the highway — feed grown within sight of where they stand.

Winter

Over-wintered

They're carried through the wet season on hay and pasture. We treat only with essential preventative medicines — nothing routine, nothing for growth.

Spring – Summer

Free reign on the all-you-can-eat pasture buffet

A hundred acres of coastal grass. This is the part that builds the animal.

Late summer

Waiting under the fruit trees

They stand under the pear and apple trees waiting for windfall. We didn't teach them this. They figured it out.

Final ~3 months

A small amount of grain

About three months before harvest we supplement a modest amount of good grain into the diet — which they love. It's what puts marbling and flavor into the finished beef, and it's a world away from a feedlot finish.

Choose your share

Quarter, half, or whole.

Estimates below use our 718 lb average hanging weight and this year's price of $4.75/lb, plus the butcher's fees. Your actual cost depends on the animal.

Quarter Share

¼

Roughly 100–120 lbs of packaged beef. A good first year, or a good fit for two people with a normal freezer.

~$1,058 estimated all-in
  • ~180 lbs hanging weight
  • Fits a standard freezer drawer plus a small chest
  • Cut instructions shared with the other quarter
  • Steaks, roasts, and ground from front & rear
Reserve a Quarter

Whole Beef

1

Roughly 400–480 lbs packaged. The whole animal, and the lowest cost per pound you'll find.

~$4,232 estimated all-in
  • ~718 lbs hanging weight
  • Total control — every primal, your call
  • Best per-pound value
  • Plan on a dedicated chest freezer
Reserve a Whole
One honest note about quarters

The butcher splits the front and rear quarter evenly, so each quarter gets cuts from both ends — but larger primals like brisket get split, and the cutting instructions (ground beef pack size, steak thickness, steaks per package) have to be the same for both quarters. If you're buying a quarter, it's better to know the person you're splitting the half with. If you don't, I'm happy to introduce you so you can sort it out together.

Pricing

Here's exactly how the cost works.

No packages, no per-pound-of-steak sleight of hand. Two payments: one to us for the animal, one to the butcher for processing.

Paid to SJ Cattle Co

$4.75 / lb hanging weight

Hanging weight is the pre-processing weight of the carcass — not the weight of packaged meat you take home. Expect to bring home roughly 60–65% of hanging weight once it's boned and trimmed. We won't know the exact number until harvest day, which is why we quote a rate rather than a price.

Paid to Oakland Lockers

$0.90 / lb + $175 kill & disposal per head

Processing, cutting, wrapping, and freezing. The $175 kill & disposal fee is split across the shares in that animal. You pay the butcher directly — cash, check, or card (they add 4%, which is what their processor charges them). Last year's rates; subject to the butcher's adjustment.

Worked example — a real one from last year.
A 728 lb steer, quarter share:
728 ÷ 4 = 182 lbs × $4.75 = $864.50 to us
182 × $0.90 = $163.80, plus $175 ÷ 4 = $43.75 → $207.55 to the butcher
Total: $1,072.05

Estimate your cost

Slide to a hanging weight and pick a share size.

718 lbs
600 lbsOur average: 718900 lbs
Your share179.5 lbs hanging × $4.75 $853
Processing179.5 lbs × $0.90 $162
Kill & disposal$175 × ¼ $44
Estimated total $1,058
Expect roughly 111 lbs of packaged beef — about $9.51 per pound, across every cut from ground to tenderloin.

Estimate only. Final cost depends on the actual hanging weight at harvest, your cutting instructions, and the butcher's current rates. Take-home yield assumed at 62% of hanging weight.

How it works

From "I'm in" to a full freezer.

Seven steps. The only one with a deadline is step four — call the butcher promptly.

Any time before harvest

Tell us you want in

Send the form at the bottom of this page with the share size you want. We'll confirm you have a spot and which animal you're on. No deposit — your word is the reservation.

December 14

Harvest day

The animals are harvested and processed into halves at Oakland Lockers in Oakland, Oregon (just north of Roseburg). We get the hanging weights that day.

Within a day or two

We text you your number

You'll get the hanging weight of your animal and exactly what you owe us. Venmo, Google Pay, check, or cash. That completes our side of the sale.

Right away — don't sit on this

You call the butcher with your cut sheet

We give Oakland Lockers your name, number, and which animal you're on, and they'll be expecting your call. They walk you through every option and tell you what you owe them. Call as soon as you hear from us — they need your instructions in hand before they cut.

14 days

The beef hangs

Industry standard dry-aging in their locker. This is where tenderness and flavor develop. Nothing for you to do but wait.

After aging

Cut, wrapped, and deep frozen

Processed exactly to your sheet, packaged, and frozen solid.

Late December / January

Pickup

Collect it yourself at Oakland Lockers, or I'll bring it up on a run — see below.

Getting it home

Pick it up, or I'll haul it.

Very few Oregon butchers still offer mobile slaughter, and the ones that do are in high demand and won't travel far. Our cattle are in Bandon; our butcher is Oakland Lockers in Oakland, Oregon, north of Roseburg. You're welcome to collect your beef there yourself any time after it's processed.

That's a long drive from the Portland metro, so I make a run and can bring yours up pending space in my truck. If I'm hauling for you, I'll need to get coolers or sturdy totes from you beforehand. The meat comes out frozen rock solid and it's January in Oregon — a plastic tote does the job fine.

Oakland Lockers
Oakland, Oregon — (541) 459-2722
Call them for cut instructions after we send you your hanging weight, not before.
Questions

Things people ask.

What is "hanging weight" and why do you price on it?

Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after harvest but before it's boned, trimmed, and cut — what's actually hanging in the butcher's locker. It's the standard unit in this business because it's the only weight that exists before you make your cutting decisions.

It is not the weight of packaged meat you'll take home. Plan on roughly 60–65% of hanging weight in your freezer, depending on how much you have boned out and how lean you want your ground.

Why can't you just tell me the price?

Because we don't know what the animal weighs until it's harvested. We charge $4.75 per pound of hanging weight, and the hanging weight is what it is.

Last year our two steers came in close together at 708 and 728 lbs, which averages 718. But they don't always land that near each other — we've had an animal come in at 598 in a previous year, and on a half share that's roughly a $310 swing against last year's heavier steer. Use the calculator above to bracket your own range rather than banking on a single number.

Is this grass-fed beef?

Pasture-raised, grain-finished. They spend their whole lives on grass, pasture, and hay cut across the highway, plus whatever fruit falls in late summer. In the last three months or so we supplement a small amount of good grain, which is what develops marbling and flavor.

We'd rather describe it accurately than reach for a label. The small amount of finishing grain bears no resemblance to a commercial feedlot ration, and we only treat with essential preventative medicines.

How much freezer space do I need?

Rough rule: about one cubic foot of freezer space per 35–40 lbs of packaged beef.

A quarter (~105 lbs) fits in a 5 cu ft chest freezer with room to spare. A half (~210 lbs) wants a 7–10 cu ft chest. A whole beef (~420 lbs) needs a dedicated 15–20 cu ft freezer. Sort this out before harvest day — every year someone doesn't.

I've never given a butcher cutting instructions. Is that a problem?

Not at all, and you should say so when you call. Oakland Lockers walks first-timers through the whole sheet — steak thickness, how many per package, roast sizes, ground beef pack size, whether you want soup bones and organ meat, and which cuts you'd rather have ground.

If you want a starting point: ¾" steaks, two per pack, 3–4 lb roasts, and 1 lb ground chubs is a sensible default that a lot of our customers land on.

Can I split a half with a friend?

Yes, and it's the most common way people buy a quarter. Just know that the two quarters off one half share a single cut sheet — the same steak thickness, the same package sizes — and larger primals get divided. It goes much more smoothly if you know your partner. If you're buying a quarter solo, I'm happy to put you in touch with whoever's on the other half so you can agree on the sheet.

How do I pay, and when?

Two separate payments. You pay us after harvest, once we send you the hanging weight — Venmo, Google Pay, check, or cash. You pay Oakland Lockers directly for processing when you give them your cutting instructions; they take cash, check, or card (card adds 4%, which is their processor's fee passed through).

Nothing is due at reservation.

When's the next harvest?

December 14. Reserve before then — we run about three steers a year and shares tend to go to returning customers and their referrals first.

Where exactly are you?

The farm is 100 acres just outside Bandon on the southern Oregon coast. Processing happens at Oakland Lockers in Oakland, Oregon. Most of our customers are in the Portland metro area, which is why I make the pickup run.

Reserve a share

Let's get you on a steer.

No deposit and no obligation — tell us what you're after and we'll confirm your spot and answer anything the site didn't cover.

Freezer still full, or not ready this year? Get on the list anyway. Most people buy a share every second or third year, and we contact the list first each season before shares go anywhere else. Pick “Not this year” below — name and email is all we need.

Got it — thank you. We'll be in touch within a day or two to confirm your share.

No payment is due now. We'll confirm your spot by email, and you'll pay after harvest once we have the hanging weight.