How Many Pounds of Beef on a Cow

Are you lot thinking of buying a cow? Accept you decided how much?

Most people commonly retrieve about buying half a cow, only did you know there other options. You lot tin can often purchase a sixteenth, quarter, half, or whole cow from a farmer, and so you demand to do research and determine what quantity is correct for your family.

We've been selling beef direct off of our subcontract for decades. Without a doubt i of the first questions people ask earlier buying a moo-cow is "how much beef will I actually go?" That question is usually followed by, "If I buy a cow, what part am I getting? The front half or dorsum half?"

The goal of this post is to show you how much beef yous get when you lot buy a moo-cow. We as well accept a step-by-footstep guide on buying a cow from a farmer, including what questions to ask.

To put it in perspective, nosotros've made our abode fridge the star of the video and photos.

We've taken these pictures twice, years apart. The offset time we just took photos and we had a standard 18.1 cu ft refrigerator with a freezer on meridian. The second time nosotros did this, we fabricated a video and we had a newer refrigerator – a 22.1 cu ft refrigerator with french doors and freezer on the lesser. Hopefully, seeing the beefiness in two different refrigerators will aid put it into perspective fifty-fifty more than.

Jump to:

• Is ownership a cow worth information technology?
• Buying a sixteenth cow
• Ownership a quarter cow
• Buying a half cow
• Buying a whole cow
• Cuts of beef included
• Freezer space needed
• How much beefiness do you actually become?
• Shelf life of frozen beef
• Packaging
• How do you find a local farm?

Is ownership a cow worth information technology?

Yes! The benefit of ownership a cow is that y'all will relieve money and get higher quality beef.

Every year, we compare the price of beef from our farm to local St. Louis grocery stores. With Clover Meadows Beef, the cost is approximately $five.45/pound for all cuts of grass fed beefiness. This is compared to $7.03/pound at Walmart, $7.84/pound at a local St. Louis grocery shop, and $9.86/pound at Whole Foods.

Please note, every subcontract and beef processor prices beef differently. You will need to do your own math on determining the price per pound if you're not in the St. Louis area and can't order from our farm.

Buying a sixteenth moo-cow

Here's what our 22.1 cu ft refrigerator looks like with a sixteenth of a cow. At our subcontract, a sixteenth is approximately 25 lbs of beef. This includes 13 lbs of hamburger, 2 Ribeye steaks, 2 Strip steaks, two Filet steaks, 2 Sirloin steaks, ane Stew Meat, ane Short Rib, 1 packet Soup Basic, i package Beefiness Liver, and one Roast.

Ownership a quarter cow

Hither'due south what our 18.1 cu ft refrigerator with freezer on peak looks similar with a quarter beef, which is 110 lbs of beef. As yous can see, it's a lot of beefiness, but it all fits in the freezer (without the freezer shelf or water ice bucket).

And so what comes with a quarter? That answer varies since every cow is unique and weighs something different, merely here is how it typically breaks out:

With a quarter you get about l pounds of basis beef, and the remaining 60 lbs of meat is in steaks, brisket, roasts, stew meat, ribs, liver, soup bones, etc. Please go along in mind that everything is based on the individual cow and how the beef is cutting, but typical, the remaining 60 lbs works out to be approximately six-vii strip steaks, vi-vii ribeye steaks, 5-six filets, 5-6 sirloin steaks, ii short ribs, four-5 roasts, 1-2 package of stew meat, 1-2 packages of liver, ane brisket, and several packages of soup bones.

With a quarter, you also get the pick of the ane-per-creature parts like natural language, oxtail and heart. Since there's merely one-per-animal, these are first-come-first-serve based on the other who requests them first.

Hither'southward what our 22.one cu ft fridge looks like with a quarter cow. Over again, it'due south 50 pounds of ground beef, and the residue of the beef comes in a multifariousness of cuts similar steaks, roasts, ribs, and brisket.

Buying a one-half cow

And then, what if yous buy half a moo-cow? What does that look similar? With a half a cow, you'll become approximately 220 pounds of beef. Information technology includes 100 pounds of basis beef, and the rest of the beef are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, and tenderloin.

Merely for fun, we included a dozen eggs and a half gallon of milk in this flick so you would have some additional perspective 🙂

Ownership a whole cow

With a whole cow y'all would get approximately 440 pounds of beef. It will be approximately 200 pounds of basis beef, and the other 220 pounds are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, tenderloin, etc. On average, we've institute that a whole is bang-up for families of three or more that eat beef with 4 or more meals a week.

Cuts of beef included

When yous purchase a cow, yous get a variety of cuts such as

• Steaks like filet, sirloin, ribeye, strip, skirt and flank
• Brisket
• Roasts like chuck, sirloin, arm
• Footing beefiness
• Ribs
• Stew meat
• Kabob meat
• Soup bones
• Organ meat (if desired)
• And the listing keeps going on and on!

Freezer infinite needed

The rule of thumb is 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every 30-35 lbs of cutting and wrapped meat.

That means you'll definitely desire a stand-alone freezer when buying a cow. If you don't take i all the same, y'all can usually get a proficient deal at a warehouse store like Sam'southward or Costco. We have both chest and upright freezers at our business firm and nosotros similar both of them.

Our biggest piece of communication when buying a stand-solitary freezer is to get one with a lock and cardinal.  This is very important for child rubber reasons and considering a physical lock volition make sure your freezer is deeply closed. You lot can likewise purchase an aftermarket lock.

How much beef do you actually get?

When you lot buy a cow, yous want to know exactly how much beef yous'll put in your freezer.

Our farm is somewhat unique in how we price our beef because it's spread-out – we tell you lot how much beefiness you'll get for a specific price. Our pricing includes all processing fees and gratuitous delivery to a specific pick-upwardly locations in the St. Louis expanse.

A quarter cow is 110 lbs, half is 220 lbs, and whole moo-cow is 440 lbs. We've chosen to sell our beef this way because we retrieve it's easier for our customers and there are no surprises – yous know exactly what you're going to become.

The other way to figure out how much beef you'll put in your freezer, is to explain information technology with agronomics industry-lingo like hang-weight and bundle-weight. If these terms are new to you, here are quick definitions:

• Live weight (or "on the hoof") is how much a cow weighs when it's alive and walking around. This includes meat, bones, blood, etc.
• Hanging weight (or "on the track") is afterwards the animate being is slaughtered and all the unusable parts are removed (like head, skin and hooves), Hanging weight includes bones and meat. Typically, the hanging weight is about sixty% of the live weight.
• Boxed weight (or packaged weight) is the weight of all the packages of individual cuts of meat that y'all volition put in your freezer This is typically nigh 60 per centum of hanging weight.

So, what does this mean in plain-terms? If yous're told it'southward $3.75 per pound hanging weight, and so expect to pay approximately $half-dozen.25 per pound ($3.75 / 0.60)  PLUS the butchering fee, which is ordinarily about $600.00 for the entire cow (you'll split this fee if you're sharing with another family unit).

No thing who you buy from, make sure yous know exactly what you'll be taking home earlier you lot buy so yous have adequate freezer space.

Shelf life of frozen beef

Approximately 1-year if frozen and vacuum sealed. The corporeality of time volition be shorter if it is packaged in newspaper or shrink wrapped.

Packaging

Near farmers will requite you an selection between paper, compress wrapped, or vacuum sealing packaging. Nosotros recommend vacuum sealing considering it volition keep the beef fresh for longer.

Here'due south an example of what a vacuum sealed steak looks like.

How practice yous observe a local farm?

So, do you still want to buy a moo-cow? If you're in the St. Louis expanse, let us know. Nosotros are happy to respond any questions you lot may have.

If you're exterior of St. Louis, read our step-by-step guide on how to buy a cow from a farmer. Information technology will tell y'all how to find a farmer, the correct questions to ask, and how to know if yous're getting a good bargain on beef.

Ane MORE Matter!

Do you want to larn more nigh beef? Join our weekly e-newsletter where we share farm happenings, recipes and beef availability. Sign-upwards and go a cheat sheet with 9-must-enquire questions before ownership beefiness directly from a farmer. Or, nosotros have an entire ebook about beefiness that goes through purchasing and preparing beef from a cattle farmers perspective.

Here are a few other links y'all may like:

• Practice Cows Have Teeth?
• What everybody ought to know most beef cuts
• Buying a Moo-cow. How Much Beef Is It?
• 7 Steps to Grilling a Steak to Perfection
• How We Raise Our Grass Fed Beef
• Easy Beef Brisket Recipe (oven-roasted)
• The Best Farm Books for Kids

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This ways if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate committee at no extra cost to yous. All opinions are our ain and nosotros but recommend products that we truly believe in.

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We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for usa to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Run into our disclosure policy for more details.

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