I must admit I first heard of buying a cow on TLC's Jon & Kate Plus Eight. You might not be a big fan of them, and Kate might say she's more organic than she is in reality. However, she's got some pretty good ideas when it comes to buying organic in bulk, and buying a cow is one of them.

Buying organic meat in bulk

I've been looking into buying a share of a cow locally. If I purchase a quarter of a cow I'll receive 80 to120 pounds of organic, grass-fed, hormone-free, all natural, raised-not-just-in-the-good-ole-USA-but-less-than-50-miles-away beef. The price is approximately $4 per pound for a quarter of a cow, and the price goes down from there. This is much less than whait I pay at the grocery store for name-brand “natural” beef and it's greener because it takes much less to package and deliver the meat.

Will my family really eat 120 pounds of meat?

The vegans out there will cringe but yes, I'm sure we will. When I think about how many pounds of ground beef we eat it's about a pound a week which is 52 pounds right there. Then I think about the roasts and stews I love to make in my crock pot each winter that's at least another 40 to 50 pounds. About steaks, well I'm not a big steak gal but if it's organic and already in my freezer, I'd be more apt to make it and slice it over a summer salad (organic lettuce, tomato and cucumber harvested from my very own garden of course!)

Want to buy your own cow?

Search for local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) - Often times CSAs sell more than veggies or you'll find one who can direct you to an organic farmer who sells beef in addition to poultry and eggs either by the pound or during weekly pick-ups.

Ask a local butcher - For some shares you pick up your order at a butcher shop. There aren't too many old-fashioned butchers around my area so chances are if I find one, they have butchered some organic beef and can tell me where to go for some of my own.

Janine Nickel (@Twincident on Twitter) documents her neuroses raising twin girls and offers product reviews and giveaways at TwoferMom.com.

Image via coincoyote on Flickr

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