Bear In The Valley Farms

To our customers:

From the beginning, our goal at Bear in the Valley has been to provide what we as a family have always enjoyed: the assurance of high quality food in our homes. The raising of specialty beef to be stored in the freezer is something we have and continue to rely on to put food on our tables and security in our lives. In good times and bad, it allows us to enjoy greater ease and value. Our hope is to continue that with as many families as we can serve.

Everyone’s costs have gone up, ours included, during times of volatility. Most times we bite the bullet and wait for things to even out. Sometimes, we’ve had to adjust prices. Occasionally, we’ve needed to reevaluate our methods. Recent shifts in the market have given us a chance to look over our business and see what’s working out and what isn’t.

When we started, we only offered halves and wholes. Obviously that’s a big investment for an individual or family. Some were hesitant. So, we tried a way to minimize an initial investment with boxed meat. Even at the elevated per pound cost for the meat provided in the boxes, it was a smaller overall leap for many. However, the boxed meat portion of our business has never broke even, let alone made a profit. Put bluntly, we lose money on boxes.

We appreciate that many find the amount convenient. Some may have limited space, few mouths to feed, or concerns about the amount of meat they eat verses the cost of a half. And, some who bought halves found themselves running out of certain cuts (ground beef, steak, specialty cuts, etc.) more quickly than of their total beef as a whole. Boxes were an easy answer. However, attempting to reconcile those understandable and legitimate concerns has put a rising pressure on our company that we can’t brush aside anymore.

And so, effective immediately, we are no longer offering boxed meat as a regular part of our business. Any orders made, but not received, before this announcement will of course be honored in full. However, these boxes will be the last we regularly offer. From now on, we will be focusing on our original goal of craft beef, sold wholesale, to individuals and families. We will also be purchasing the majority of our animals for customers who have already verified in advance they will buy a half or whole beef. Our whole process takes just over a year, so it may mean anyone not on the list will probably have to wait at least that long to receive their meat. Customers will be asked to pay $100.00 to reserve a half and $150.00 to reserve a whole. A few animals are now available that are currently unreserved; that said, we don’t have an unlimited supply of animals and ask your understanding.

We find most of our half/whole customers take between 8-18 months to go through the meat, averaging a year per household. We ourselves have eaten meat from the freezer that went past two years or more with no diminished quality (even we occasionally lose track of a package at the bottom of the freezer). We are also told that our customers find themselves eating at home more often. Further, those who purchase stand alone freezers tell us that the freezer itself becomes a great investment in eating better at a less expensive price per meal. We would invite all our current customers to evaluate what they would spend on meat from the store per year, as well as consider the quality they would get for what they would spend, against a half of beef from Bear in the Valley. We feel confident that our price per pound on the hanging weight will be the best value for quality and taste.

We offer custom cutting at no extra charge. If you’re unsure about what you can or want to get from a custom cut half, either Allen or myself would be happy to walk you through options. Usually, asking a few questions can get us an idea of what a customer is looking for. From quick weekday meals to slow cooked special occasions, and all the in-betweens, we can help you get the cuts your family needs. We also have our Standard cut, which gets you a good mix of everything.

We will also note that it isn’t uncommon for friends and family to purchase a half or whole beef together and split the costs and meat amongst themselves. Two customers, splitting a half, would receive a bit more than three of our former boxes worth of meat. Many of our boxed meat customers buy at least that per year already. This might be a perfect fit, and at an overall lower price than the standard price we used to charge for boxes. If you have friends or family that may be interested, or who are already customers, we invite you to discuss this option with them.

While we may have special seasonal offers of boxes in the future, they will no longer be offered as a regular option. To all our customers, we appreciate you. We hope we can continue to provide you with that quality and taste our family enjoys.

Jesse Huntsman

Bear in the Valley

To place an order (call or text): 435-231-9208, email: bearinthevalleyfarms@gmail.com

Halves and Wholes available

-Want an investment of high quality beef? Buy a half and save.

-Sold on the hanging weight, wholesale fashion.

-Pick the cuts and sizes right for you.

-$5.75/lb charged to the hanging weight. Plus a $50.00 harvest fee.

-Plan $2,000.00 (individual prices vary depending on size).

-Provide a year’s worth of delicious beef for your family for only about $6/day.

A standard cut half beef is a great way to start out if you’re unfamiliar with this type of product. It gives you an excellent variety of cuts to try, and, if you decide you want to make adjustments and customizations for your next order, we certainly can accommodate them. Below we have a description of what’s included in a standard cut half to give you an idea:

- 10-12% high back steak (ribeye and T-bone in roughly even numbers of steaks, though weights might differ).

- About the same number of sirloin and top sirloin steak as ribeye (this is measured by count not weight).

- 20-25% roasts (chuck and rump roasts included, a bit more chuck in the standard cut).

- Specialty cuts: brisket, tri-tip roast, sirloin tip roast, flap steak, flank steak, skirt steak, osso bucco (shank), and eye of round. You get one of each with the exception of the osso bucco, which includes several.

- 40-50% ground beef

- An assortment of stew meat and cube steak, though our standard cut includes a small amount.

Referral Rewards

Tell your friends! Any sale officially completed that can be accredited to you will count as credit toward future items!

Each referral credit awards $50 off a half or whole beef order.

Interested in a free sample? Let us know by call or email! We sample out one pound of ground beef and will deliver when we are in the neighborhood.