Frequently Asked Questions

Tallgrass Meats is a network of regenerative family farms in Kansas. We connect you directly with the farmers raising your food — so you can shake the hand that feeds you.

Every package is traceable from pasture to plate, with a QR code that tells you exactly where your meat came from and how to cook it.

Grocery store meat is a commodity — anonymous animals from anonymous farms, raised in confinement, stressed at harvest, and impossible to trace.

With Tallgrass Meats:

• You know your farmer — meet the people raising your food
• You know your animal — pasture-raised, stress-free harvest
• You know your meat — scan the QR code for the full story

Stress affects meat quality. Conventional processing involves transport to feedlots, crowded holding pens, and unfamiliar environments — all of which stress the animal and release hormones that toughen the meat.

Our partner farms practice low-stress handling and on-farm or small-batch harvest, keeping animals calm in familiar surroundings. The result is more tender, better-tasting meat.

No! This is what makes Tallgrass different. Traditional meat shares require you to commit to a whole, half, or quarter animal — often 100+ pounds of meat and $500+ upfront.

Our membership offers flexible shares. Pick the cuts you want, in quantities that fit your freezer and budget.

It's simple:

• Join — Become a member (it's free to join)
• Browse — See available cuts from our partner farms
• Order — Select what you want, customize your cuts
• Pickup — Get your meat at a scheduled pickup location
• Trace — Scan the QR code to see your meat's full journey

For whole/half/quarter shares, pricing is based on hanging weight — the weight of the carcass after harvest, before cutting. You pay per pound of hanging weight, plus processing fees.

For individual cuts, pricing is based on the final packaged weight.

Our prices reflect the true cost of regenerative farming — better for the land, the animals, and your health.

Yes! Use our Cut List Builder to customize exactly how you want your meat processed — steak thickness, roast sizes, how much ground beef, and whether you want specialty cuts like marrow bones or oxtail.

Practices vary by partner farm, but all our animals are pasture-raised on regeneratively managed land. Many are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished; some may receive grain supplementation.

Each farm's practices are listed on their profile, and every package's QR code tells you exactly how that animal was raised.

Most of our partner farms follow organic practices but may not carry official USDA Organic certification (which is expensive for small farms). What we can promise: no hormones, no routine antibiotics, no feedlots.

We believe in transparency over labels — ask us anything about how our animals are raised.

Custom exempt means the animal is processed for the person who owns it (you!), rather than for resale. This allows small farms to use local processors instead of USDA-inspected facilities (which are often hours away and booked months out).

The meat is labeled "Not for Sale" because you already own it — you purchased a share of the live animal.

Every package has a QR code that links to that meat's full story:

• Which farm it came from
• The animal's breed and how it was raised
• Harvest and aging details
• Tasting notes for that specific cut
• Cooking tips and videos — especially helpful for unfamiliar cuts!

Never cooked beef tongue or roasted marrow bones? We've got you covered.

We offer scheduled pickup at convenient locations in the Wichita area. You'll receive a notification when your order is ready with pickup details.

Bring a cooler! Your meat will be frozen and vacuum-sealed.

Not currently. Shipping frozen meat is expensive and complicated, and we're focused on serving our Kansas community — that's the whole point of buying local!

We encourage it! "Shake the hand that feeds you" isn't just a slogan. Many of our partner farms welcome visitors by appointment. Check individual farm profiles for details.

A rough guide:

• Quarter beef (~90-100 lbs): 4-5 cubic feet
• Half beef (~180-200 lbs): 8-10 cubic feet
• Whole lamb (~30-40 lbs): 2-3 cubic feet

With our flexible shares, you can order just what fits your space!