It's not a widespread practice, but it's more common than I expected when I started looking into it. EatWild[1] maintains a directory of meat and dairy farmers that sell directly to consumers, they seem to have most of the US covered. Anecdotally I've also purchased humanely raised meat/eggs through CSAs that aren't listed here and offer smaller amounts than an entire animal. [1] http://www.eatwild.com/index.html

> a really tall ask for many people I would argue

I agree, but I don't think they were doing much beyond stating their own goals and methods. As a guide to what you can do and how you can attempt to go about it, I think it serves well.

> I personally would likely struggle to convince anyone I know to enter some kind of cooperative livestock purchase/kill/process/store arrangement. As a matter of curiosity, how willing is the average livestock farmer to enter into such an agreement with private individuals?

I imagine some butchers might provide cows where you can check the providence, at least in more populated areas. It wouldn't be quite as cheap as a cooperative project, but it would almost definitely be less time consuming, and supporting a free market for this good has additional benefits.

It was trivial? Many of the farmers list their rates on their websites.

With my friends, it was "Hey, anyone want to buy 50lbs of meat? It's $XYZ dollars per 50lbs. 50lbs is about one medium freezer full."

I put out the call to about 20 people, and got 5 very interested people, and about 5 maybe next times.

I have done this for years. Its as simple as 1. Buying a deep freezer 2. Check local forums for ranchers, or use a sustainable ranch that will ship, like corner post meats. 3. Enjoy while being thankful for the life of the animal, the effort of the rancher, and the ethics observed by everyone in the chain.