Commonly asked questions:

How much does it cost to buy your beef?
Prices depend on when you decided to purchase beef from Spencer Meats and how much, half or whole beef. As you may or may not know, the beef market has been up and down over the past few months. We do require a $200.00 non-refundable deposit at time of reservation of your beef. This allows us to get a solid count on what we have sold and what is still available.

Does it include processing?
No, our price does not include processing the processor offers many different options that change the cost. On average you will need to add $.80 cents per pound hanging weight for processing. You will pay us in full once a hanging weight is determined and then the processor at time of pickup.

Who's your processor?
Kiko Meats in Minerva, Ohio is our processor. They are a state inspected facility. They work with us and are also a great friend.

What do you feed your animals?
Our beef are raised on all the hay and grass they want anytime of the day, rain, snow or sunshine. We also offer grain to them. Our grain is mixed at a local feed mill which consists of minerals, bean meal, oats and corn. Clean water is available at all times.

Why do you feed them grain?
Cattle are ruminant animals and naturally fill up on fiber first then eat the grain. Our feed mixture is not straight corn. It has a balanced diet that keeps the animal healthy. Same as we eat a balanced diet, our cattle need to also. Our parents and grandparents raised animals this way and we want to keep the tradition alive. All of our meat is frozen and FREE of hormones, antibiotics, implants and additives.

Isn’t grass fed beef better?
Our cattle are raised on grass and the hay is grass that we mow and bale up for winter usage. Grass doesn’t grow in Ohio in the winter time so we save it for them when it snows. We feed grain just as you may eat candy, except our cattle candy is healthy for them. It’s our personal preference we feel that our cattle are better raised with a little grain. Grain also helps with the marbling, that’s why we feel our beef tastes better. Grass makes the meat tender and grain gives it the marbling for the taste that we all love!

Interesting Facts:
"Hanging weight" is the weight of a side of beef as it hangs on the rail in a meat cooler.

Yield from an average 400lb side (half) is 200lb-225lb of take home meat. This varies per animal.

The advantage of purchasing beef by the hanging weight is that you can provide specific cutting instructions.

How much freezer space do you need for your beef? A half (1/2) will typically take up eight - ten cubic feet of freezer space.