Buying Bulk Beef, Hanging Weight Vs Packaged Weight

Are you considering buying beef in bulk directly from the producer? Perhaps you’re confused about the difference between hanging weight vs packaged weight and the price per pound. We’re here to explain what it all means so that you know what you’re paying for when you buy from the beef farmer.

So What’s the Difference in Hanging Weight vs Packaged Weight?

There are three terms that describe weight when it comes to beef processing: Live Weight, Hanging Weight, and and Packaged Weight.

Live Weight

The live animal weight is how much the cow or steer weighs while it’s alive. We also call this weight “on the hoof.”

Generally, the farmer or rancher will weigh the animal while it stands on a scale. Alternatively, the whole animal may be weighed by the butcher immediately after dispatching by hanging it from a scale. 

The live weight of the animal includes all fluids, the head, and any parts that may be typically discarded.

Hanging Weight

The hanging weight is also known as the hot carcass weight. It is how much the beef carcass weighs after the head, skin, and internal organs are removed. This weight is taken before the carcass is chilled or aged which will cause moisture loss.

The hanging weight is usually about 60% of the live weight. This includes bones and fluids that will be lost later as the sides hang in the cooler. After hanging, the carcass will be a lower weight.

The hanging weight is roughly 70% water, much of which will evaporate when chilled. 

However, when you purchase a beef share, you are usually paying a price per pound according to the hot carcass weight, before weight reduction. Keep this in mind.

Packaged Weight for Freezer Beef

The beef that is cut and wrapped, that you bring home for your freezer, is the packaged weight. This is usually another 60-65% of the hanging weight. This can be somewhat shocking to first-time buyers of beef shares.

Example Purchase – Hanging Weight vs Packaged Weight

An angus steer is unloaded at the processing plant and weighs 1200 pounds live weight, before dispatching.

The hanging weight is 720 pounds, after head, feet, hide, and organs are removed. (1200 X .60=720)

The total boxed weight is 432 pounds. (720 X .60 = 432)

As you can see, there is a large weight difference from whole animals to actual weight of the meat.

We aim to grow out our beef so that we take home 40% of the live weight, plus tongue, liver, bones, fat, and heart.

Shares

Putting 400-500 pounds of meat in the freezer at once is not only a large expense, it takes a lot of space. Many buyers choose to purchase a “share” of beef instead of the whole animal. This way, they take a large portion, still buying in bulk, but not buying the whole animal.

A quarter beef share in our 1200 pound animal scenario will yield about 108 pounds of meat. Depending on what other meats the family eats, that much could last a family of four for about 4-6 months.

Aging and Trim Loss – Where Does It Go?

What happens between the hanging weight and the final weight of the meat?

The beef will be trimmed of extra fat which equals additional weight loss.

Aging beef is the process of allowing the sides of meat to hang in the cooler for a period of time. Doing this tenderizes the meat. It also causes some drying to the meat which concentrates the beef flavor in the muscle. Beef should be allowed to hang for AT LEAST 10-14 days. We prefer longer for enhanced flavor.

Since there is some drying involved in aging the beef, the butcher has to trim the dried edges off contributing to more loss in the final package weight.

Bones will be cut out and the toughest muscles will be ground. Tendons and connective tissue is discarded.

Cooler Shrink

Cooler shrink happens during the first 24 hours of the carcass hanging to chill. This is simply evaporation of water out of the hanging carcass. This causes an overall reduction in weight.

Factors Affecting Cut Yields

• Breed: Beef yields more meat than dairy.
• Age: Younger animals may be smaller and have more fat than prime-aged animals.
• Fat: A grain-fed or grain-finished beef will have a greater amount of fat to trim.
• Bones: Dairy cows have a lot of bone weight.
• Injury: If an injured animals comes in, bruising or abscessed meat will be cut out, reducing overall weight.
• Aging: The longer the meat ages, the dryer it becomes. Dry exterior meat gets trimmed.
• Amount of muscling: Some breeds have prominent muscles that will yield more meat.
• Diet: Grass feed beef is far leaner than grain feed beef.

Primal Cuts

After hanging, the butcher will cut the beef sides into these primal cuts:

round, sirloin, loin, ribs, chuck, and flank, skirt, and brisket.

Type of Cuts

The choices of cuts by the buyer are the primal cuts broken down into their choices.

The top roast, rump roast, and eye of round can be cut out of the round primal.

The filet mignon, strip steak, T-bone, or porterhouse can be out of the loin.

The Extras

Organ meats, the beef tongue, trimmed fat, etc. may have an additional cost to keep. The meat processor will have to spend time trimming, packaging, and weighing them to include in your purchase if you choose. The cost is usually minimal though.

FAQs – Hanging Weight Vs Packaged Weight

Here are some other questions that potential beef buyers are asking.

1. Do Butchers Charge by Live Weight or Hanging Weight?

Butchers charge their fees by the hanging weight in the United States. Perhaps this is something that may vary by region or state. 

Direct-to-consumer beef producers will usually sell their beef shares by the hanging weight as well.

If you are merely purchasing beef from a butcher shop, it must be a USDA inspected facility, and they’ll charge by the packaged weight of the meat, just like if you purchased meat from a grocery store.

2. What is the Hanging Weight of a 1000 Lb Steer?

Remember, the hanging weight is about 60-65% of the live weight. If the animal walked in weighing 1000 pounds, the hanging weight will be 600-650 pounds.

3. What’s a Good Size Steer to Butcher?

On our farm, we aim to raise them to 1000 pounds live weight. This yields about 400 pounds of beef for the freezer. We often keep a quarter or half share, and the sell the rest.

Sometimes, we can’t get the butcher date when we’d like, and the animal continues to grow, adding weight. The most we like to send them is around 1300 pounds.

4. How Long Does It Take to Raise a Steer to Process?

A few factors will determine the time it takes to finish a steer for processing. 

First, the breed matters. Beef breeds will generally grow out faster than dairy breeds. Dairy breeds generally have more bone and less meat.

Second, genetics are key. Even amongst the beef breeds, some genetics just grow faster than others.

Last, diet will determine the growth rate of any calf or yearling. A strictly grass-fed yearling will take longer to grow out than a grain finished steer.

5. How Much Freezer Space Will I Need?

Obviously that depends on how much you purchase. A half beef from a 1000 pound steer or cow will fill a 10 cubic feet freezer.

6. Is My Cow Too Old to Butcher for Beef?

Here’s where experience wins in the beef business. I used to think that you’d never want to butcher a cow that was older than 2-3 years old. Or at least only use it for ground and stew meat because the meat would be too tough.

Then we butchered an older cow. We decided to ask the butcher to hang it to age for 28 days, knowing that we’d lose a little more to trimming. Boy was it worth it. That cow remains the best beef we’ve ever had. Even the burger grind had an unmatched amazing flavor.

7. Which Quarter Will I Get With My Share?

This is a question that I get from potential customers pretty regularly. They are concerned that they will get all shoulder and no loin, or vice versa.

A quarter of beef should be an equal mix of the front, back, and grind of the beef. No quarter purchaser should receive all steaks and no burger. Or all burger and no steaks. 

Basically, the halves get separated by left and right. Then each half is split equally into two quarters each, dividing each section equally.

Cost Confusion:  Hanging Weight vs Packaged Weight 

A general rule of thumb is that the final amount of beef put into the freezer will be approximately 40 percent of the animal’s live weight. Because the butchers charge by hanging weight, most beef producers sell and advertise their prices by hanging weight too.

Ask them how much actual cut-and-wrapped meat will make it to your freezer at that price. Then divide the total dollar amount that you’re spending on the share by the amount of take home meat you receive. This is your actual price per pound to put the beef in your freezer.

Summary

We here at American Farmsteadhers hope that you’re inspired to raise your own beef. If that’s not possible, we encourage you to go find your local producers and support those small farms that are doing their best to provide direct-to-consumer meats. This information should help clarify what you’re buying and what you get.

Happy Homesteading!

Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+  years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm.

Source: How Much Meat to Expect from a Beef Animal: Farm-Direct Beef