How to Sell Beef Direct in Alberta

Selling beef directly can give Alberta producers a closer relationship with the people who eat their beef and potentially retain more of the value created on the farm. It also means taking responsibility for marketing, orders, processing coordination and customer communication.

Start with the legal route to market

If meat is being sold or distributed in Alberta, it must come from an inspected slaughter facility or applicable inspected processing facility.

Alberta also licenses on-farm slaughter operations and mobile butchers for certain private-use situations. Meat produced through uninspected slaughter is subject to restrictions and is not the same as inspected meat that can enter the commercial food system.

Important: Do not assume that selling a live animal or a share of an animal automatically makes every slaughter and resale arrangement legal. Confirm the current requirements that apply to your specific sales model.

Decide what you are selling

Farm-direct beef can be offered in several ways, depending on your processing arrangements and business model:

whole beef
half beef
quarter beef
mixed beef boxes
individual inspected cuts

The logistics, pricing and labelling requirements may differ depending on how the beef is processed, packaged and sold.

Secure processing before promising beef

Processing capacity can determine how much beef you can realistically sell. Before taking a large number of orders, understand your processor’s booking schedule, slaughter requirements, aging options, cut-sheet process, packaging and pickup arrangements.

Know your costs

Your price needs to account for more than the animal itself. Consider feed, pasture, winter feed, livestock costs, transportation, processing, packaging, marketing, payment fees, customer communication and your own time.

Explain your production practices clearly

Customers buying directly often want information they cannot easily obtain at a supermarket. Be prepared to explain where the cattle were born, what they were fed, how they were finished, animal health practices, whether implants are used and where processing occurs.

PureBeef principle: You do not need to raise cattle according to somebody else’s marketing philosophy. Describe what you actually do, accurately and specifically.

Keep claims accurate

Claims such as grass-fed, grain-fed, organic, raised without antibiotics and raised without added hormones should not be treated as casual marketing phrases. Canadian food advertising and labelling claims must be truthful and not misleading, and producers should be able to support the claims they make.

References & Further Reading

Last reviewed: September 2026