beef hanging weight

montidale · Mar 19, 2012

Just curious what the cost of beef per pound is going for around the country? Just bought a steer for $2.00 a lb. hanging weight. We have been buying beef like this for the last few years.I think we"re getting a good price.One thing for sure it tastes a lot better than store bought beef. Also about what % weigh is lost from the hanging weight when the steer is butchered?

bg/mo · Mar 19, 2012

is there a processing charge on top of that or not?

Walt Davies · Mar 19, 2012

Sounds pretty cheap as beef is over $1 lb on the hoof.
Plus the cost of butchering.
Walt

montidale · Mar 19, 2012

Yes that is the price before processing.That is the price I pay the farmer. He hauls the cow to the butcher .I pay the butcher to process the cow. Hamberger is going for around $3.00 a lb. in the stores around here.

rrlund · Mar 19, 2012

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! They say to figure 220% of price on the hoof. I took a load last week. Had one heifer that brought $1.24 a pound. The rest brought $1.19-1.20.

donjr · Mar 19, 2012

Depends on the breed. Rule of thumb, about 60% for beef types, and about 50% for dairy breeds hanging. And then you have to assume about a 10% cutting loss. So, if you paid $2 hanging, you just got a cheap hunk of hamburger.

Kow Farmer · Mar 19, 2012

I sell all my steers by live weight. I don't know what is better, live weight or hanging weight. I guess I figure I buy them by live weight, so I sell them that way. I was told by a butcher you can expect 40% loss from a live weight animal. Just my .02.
Kow Farmer

RN · Mar 19, 2012

Weight loss live % hanging weight? About 40/50% loss depending on cuts and offal,bone usage. Cattle have 4 stomachs not usually saved, hide and bones, trimmed of fat. Old country practices use lights(innards), bone for soup stock, boil skulls, and use brains scrambled with eggs-- now most of butcher cuts need to specify everything or the dogs get the tongues and innards other than liver. RN

Anonymous-0 · Mar 19, 2012

I sell butcher beef on the rail also. I charged $2.10 per pound hanging weight last year. The customer pays $50 kill charge and $.55 per pound to cut, wrap and freeze. The critters dress 55 to 60% on the rail. After that it is the way you have it processed as to how many pounds you get in the packages.When no organs are kept, very little soup bones, no ox tail, no ribs, the price per pound goes up. Had a customer last year that was a little dissatisfied with the amount of beef he got.Best way to fix is to not to sell to him next year. Not sure it is worth all of the extra hassle when I can haul them to the local market and get $1.00 live weight on 1225 pound steers plus the benefit of cash the same day. Bud

DoubleR · Mar 19, 2012

I have been selling it for 2.00 per lb. hang wt. They also pay the processing and they pick it up at the slaughter house. I deliver the animal to the slaughter house. I have been thinking of raising the price. I think your getting a good price on yours. I could deliver it to the stock yards and get almost that with no hassle and a check the same day.

NW Ohio Tim · Mar 19, 2012

We bought the half we are eating now, last Aug. It cost $2.10/lb on the rail, we paid for all processing.

Tim

Jerry/MT · Mar 19, 2012

It's pretty amazing what people expect when they buy a beef isn't it. I have had to educate people on the difference between live weight and hot carcass weight as well as cutting loss. And they're amazed at what the difference between live and hot carcassweights. I guess they think the hid,e the head, and the offal weigh a few pounds.

Everyone also seems to think the beef is made up of all steaks!

P.S. Where are you located in MT? We're in the Mission Valley.

JMS/.MN · Mar 19, 2012

Used to be charts showing a 1000 lb steer had a hanging weight of about 600 lbs, and around 450 lbs cut/wrapped into the freezer. I"ve had beef done in butcher shops that couldn"t hit 40%. A lot depends on trimming and how much is deboned.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 19, 2012

Jerry,
We are now in Fairfield. Prior to that we were in Whitefish for 19 years. Bud
Sure like the sun here.

Keith Molden · Mar 19, 2012

We just paid 1.50 lb. hanging weight, up 5 cents from last year. We've been buying from the same guy for the last 5 or 6 years. Told him he's gonna have to raise his price if he's gonna stay in business. He said he probably would next year. I also pay for the slaughter and processing. I like the cheap price but I also know you've got to realize a profit to stay in business. Keith

greygoat · Mar 20, 2012

When figureing the difference between hanging
weight, and wrapped and packaged weight, don't
forget to deduct for a few steaks that the
butcher stole from you. Most take a few everyday
for themselves!

Eldo case · Mar 20, 2012

It depends on how you have it cut. If hamburger it is all deboned and you loose allot of weight. If the butcher lets it hang in the cooler it will loose moisture. On the average approx. five gallon of water on one beef. Some beef breeds have larger bones. So it depends on several factors.

Eldon (WA) · Mar 20, 2012

(quoted from post at 06:32:37 03/20/12) When figureing the difference between hanging
weight, and wrapped and packaged weight, don't
forget to deduct for a few steaks that the
butcher stole from you. Most take a few everyday
for themselves!

That is a problem around here...finding a butcher you can trust. Last beef we bought came from a local guy that knew how to feed out his beef. The prime steaks we got were almost impossible to eat, whereas the round steaks fell apart after a couple hours in the crockpot...I'm thinking the butcher traded out the prime steaks but didn't bother with the rounds...anyway, we were dissappointed in the quality and quantity we ended up with for the $$$$$.

Tom-NorthCenTX · Mar 20, 2012

You are right on the money, GreyGoat.
Why cant folks see that the butcher shop window is full of top quality steaks all the time - - - where do you suppose he got them - - - by taking some of the very choice steaks from each butcher job. A school kid can figure that all the work the shop does for the alaughter fee and the cut/wrap fees that the butcher would be broke flat - - - - the money is in the "free" steaks and best roasts the the butcher take from the customers' jobs and sells at 100 percent profit; been that way for at least 60 years. Tom

JDseller · Mar 21, 2012

You will usually get around 55-60 percent hanging weight. Then the dressed weight will be about 80% of that. It will make a difference on how you have it cut and what you keep. The more bone in cuts then your percentage will be higher.

Your $2.00 per pound hanging weight is cheap for a beef steer. It would be about right for a diary breed.

The processing is usually around 85 cents to a dollar a pound on the finished weight. It depends on if you have hamburger pattys and sausage made the more proceed the higher the cost.

I just had two 1400 lbs beef steers done. The hanging weight was 1600 lbs or 58%. The total proceeding cost was just under $1200. Had larger packages and no patties.

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