The ranch.
I'm Craig, and together with my wife Abby and our children, we run Melvin Hill Meats in the Green Creek community of western North Carolina. We didn't always do this. Our journey from finance to farming and banking to butchering started with a growing conviction that there was a better way to live, work, and feed our family. We wanted to build something on a human scale. Something that put people ahead of stuff, relationships ahead of transactions, and quality ahead of quantity. So we traded our corporate careers for livestock, pastures, and a butcher shop. Today we raise animals on our family farm, work alongside neighboring farmers who share our values, and operate our own USDA-inspected abattoir and butcher shop right here on the farm. We believe good meat begins with good husbandry and ends with careful butchery. Doing both ourselves means we can stand behind what goes into your freezer. It's a new take on an old way of doing things: good food, raised by people you can know and trust.
- Raises
- Angus, Hereford, and crosses
- Finished
- Grass fed, grass finished
- Antibiotics
- Never
- Plant
- Melvin Hill Meats, 584 Melvin Hill Road, Columbus, North Carolina
- Ship days
- Monday and Tuesday
- Herd
- 22 head
- On the map since
- 2022
“We're both the farmer and the butcher, so we take responsibility for your beef from pasture to package. If you've got a question about how your animal was raised or how your meat was prepared, give us a call. We'd love to talk with you.” — Melvin Hill Meats
Columbus, North Carolina. One of 4 partner ranches, 3 shipping to North Carolina.
Signed the Find a Rancher Standard
- Harvested at an inspected plant
- Cut and vacuum-sealed, frozen solid at pack
- Insulated shipper sized to the transit
- Ships Monday through Wednesday only
- Nothing in the box but your beef and the rancher's note
Other shares from Melvin Hill Meats.
One side of the animal. About 200 lb packaged, a family's freezer for six months.
$2,690 full payment
Buy nowMore ranches shipping to Texas.
Questions people ask before they reserve.
What exactly is a whole?
The entire animal, both sides. Melvin Hill Meats processes whole-animal orders so you get every primal — steaks, roasts, ground beef, and the variety cuts.
Is anything charged later?
No. You pay the full $5,190 today and nothing more is charged afterwards. No adjustments, no surprises.
Is this sold as beef or as a share of a live animal?
It depends on the plant. Melvin Hill Meats harvests at a Melvin Hill Meats plant , so you are buying a share of the live animal and must pick it up at the plant in North Carolina or take rancher delivery. Either way, you see the terms before you pay.
How much freezer space do I need?
About 8 cubic feet for a half and a 15 cubic foot chest freezer for a whole. A standard kitchen freezer holds a half if it is nearly empty.