You can skip the grocery store and buy a local grass-fed cow right from the ranch.
Jeremy and Jill Barton run Barton Beef in Bunnell. The couple says getting your beef from their Flagler County ranch means fewer antibiotics in your beef and could mean big savings too.
The duo joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden to talk more about it on Florida’s Fourth Estate.
Jill says they used to sell their beef commercially but realized there was a demand from individual families after Jeremy started bringing steaks to work.
“Jeremy is also a firefighter paramedic for the city of Palm Coast,” Jill said. “He would always take the steaks from our house to the firehouse to grill for the guys whenever he was on shift, and he did it so often that they began requesting Barton Beef. They wanted Barton Beef for dinner. They would ask if they could buy part of a cow, and then we had more friends do that and more friends do that, and we realized ‘man maybe we should like turn this into a little side hustle.’”
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Jill says they did some research and decided to give the people what they wanted.
“You can purchase a quarter, half or whole cow. We take it to our processor, and they can custom cut it for you however you would like whenever you purchase a half or a whole,” said Jill.
Jill says a whole cow will cost you about $3,500 each, “so if you consider the fact that whenever you purchase a quarter or a half you are getting T-bones, ribeyes, chuck roast, sirloin tip roast, you are getting some great cuts of beef.”
She says it will last about a year in your freezer and most families purchase beef from them every nine months.
But you may need to invest in a new appliance. Jill says a quarter cow will fill a traditional freezer, “so if you want to be able to store other things in your freezer besides just beef you will need another freezer.”
The cows are free-range and have thousands of acres at their disposal.
Jeremy also says they aren’t pumped with chemicals. “There are hormonal implants you can give them, there’s different stuff you can give them that helps them to grow faster, we don’t do that. They are all-natural.”
Jill says they are not constricted to a pen and that “they are roaming all day every day.”
“I hate the thought of them eventually going to the processor, but you know they live a great life, they really do, they have a great happy life and we’re blessed that they can provide food for families,” Jill said.
For more on Barton Beef and how to purchase a cow, go to the Barton Beef website.
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