For those who have purchased 1/2 or 1/4 of a cow, how did it come about? I'd love to do it for our family, but don't even know who I'd talk to or where to look in order to get in on such a transaction.
I "cowpool" with my parents to buy the beef from my brother, who raises a few cows every year. So, my experience is different than those who deal with more "unknowns".
First, I know my brother raises some yummy cows. He finishes with grain, the marbling is perfect, and it tastes really, really good. (A former coworker once bought a cow all grass fed and threw it all away because he thought it was spoiled. It wasn't; grass fed just tastes different. And man, the butcher paper from grass fed beef can stink up your kitchen in a few hours. I don't care for it myself.)
Second, I know he uses a great butcher. A good butcher is key. Another former coworker used a butcher that was not near as good, and the meat ended up having an "off" taste.
Third, we request the cuts straight from the butcher so we know we're getting the cuts we want. I also have the bones cut for stew meat. (When I had a dog, the butcher would sometimes send a full-sized leg bone someone else didn't want. For the dog. She was happy for hours gnawing on that thing!)
Forth, because I "cowpool" with my family, we get the whole thing and then divide the meat when it shows up. That way if there is an odd number of packages for different cuts, we can split them up the way we like.
As far as finding a place, I've seen others ask around and find people from coworkers, from facebook, from farmer's markets, and from butchers (I know that my brother's butcher buys his meat, and recommends his beef to others. You want to buy from the same guy the butcher buys from if you can.)
I had less than stellar results when I bought pork from a coworker. I'd had some of their pork before, and it was good, but then they changed butchers. I didn't buy meat from him again. My brother lives 5 hours away, so it's not like the coworker could just use this trusted butcher, he had to go with what was near him.