Deeper information on the health benefits of grass fed vs grain fed beef, please click the button above the illustration.
All of our beef is Grass-Fed AND Grass-Finished. Once you see the value in grass-fed beef, it is important to find beef that spends their entire life on grass. Feedlots abuse the Grass-Fed term because all cattle are on grass for the first few months of their lives. The term is not regulated by the USDA or FDA. It is important to know where your food comes from and to know if the cattle have been on real grass their entire lives. For more information about grass fed, grass finished and grain fed beef, please click the link above.
If you allow 1 cubic foot of freezer space per 30 pounds of beef, you should be safe.
1/8 of beef will be about 40 pounds of packaged product. This will fit easily in a typical refrigerator’s freezer.
1/4 of beef will be about 80 pounds of packaged product. This will fit in a typical refrigerator’s freezer with NO SPACE LEFT for anything else. It is recommended to have at least a small deep freeze if you want to store anything else with your beef. A small 6-7 cubic foot freezer will hold a 1/4 beef and have plenty of room for additional storage.
1/2 of beef will be about 160 pounds of packaged product. An 8 cubic foot freezer would be completely full. The recommendation is to have 9-12 cubic foot freezers if you want to have any additional storage.
A Whole Beef will be about 320 pounds of packaged product. A 16 cubic foot freezer would be the minimum size with no other product space available. We recommend at least a 17 cubic foot freezer for a whole beef.
For additional information from Oklahoma State University: Buying Beef for Home Freezers, click the link above.
Our beef will go to market at about 1000-1200 pounds. All calculations are estimates. Each side of beef will have slightly different fat content/bone density/muscle mass, therefore will have variations in weights. The hanging weight will be approximately 60% of Angus and about 70% of Southpole beef live weight. The variation is due to the two breeds difference is bone/muscle mass. Hanging weight is calculated after the animal is slaughtered and all inedible material is removed. The take-home packaged weight is typically about 60% of the hanging weight. The dry aging process will cause water to evaporate (which lends to a more robust flavor). That along with fat, bone and further inedible material account for the additional loss in weight.
For a typical 1000 pound Angus steer:
Whole Beef Hanging weight will be approximately 600 pounds. This is the weight used to determine the per pound price for the beef. This hanging carcass is dry aged for 21 days and then cut into retail, packaged cuts. The packaged cuts will be approximately 360 pounds.
A 1/2 Beef Hanging weight will be approximately 300 pounds. The packaged cuts will be approximately 180 pounds.
A 1/4 Beef Hanging weight will be approximately 150 pounds. The packaged cuts will be approximately 90 pounds.
An 1/8 Beef Hanging weight will be approximately 75 pounds. The packaged cuts will be approximately 45 pounds.
For information of the specific cuts you will receive, please click the link above.
We dry age our beef for 21 days.
For a great blog on WHY dry aging is important, click the link above.
Price Comparison to store purchase
For a side by side purchasing our shares compared to organic bought individual pieces and grocery store prices, please click the link above.
