How to Buy a Quarter, Half or Whole Beef

Buying beef by the quarter, half or whole animal is one of the best ways to get high-quality beef at a predictable price and to know exactly where your food came from. It is also one of the most confusing purchases most households make, because the numbers do not line up the way they do at the grocery store. You hear about live weight, hanging weight and cut weight, a price per pound that is not the price per pound you take home and a cut sheet that asks questions you have never been asked.

This guide explains how buying beef by the side works, what to ask the producer and processor and how to plan for storage and cooking. Prices, practices and rules vary by region, so confirm details with your producer and processor. To find local producers and agriculture events near you, agriculture.directory can help you find agriculture events in your area.

How the Purchase Works

Most buyers purchase a share of a live animal from a producer and then pay a processor, often called a locker or butcher, to harvest, cut, wrap and freeze the meat. That means you often pay two separate bills: one to the farmer for the animal and one to the processor for the work. Some producers bundle both into a single price. Ask early which approach your producer uses.

Because the animal is divided, a quarter is typically the front or hind quarter or a mix, a half is one side of the carcass and a whole is the entire animal. Many producers offer a mix so that quarter buyers receive a balance of cuts. Ask how the producer handles the division.

Live Weight, Hanging Weight and Take-Home Weight

The three weights are the heart of the confusion:

Live weight is the animal's weight on the hoof.
Hanging weight, also called carcass weight, is the weight of the carcass after harvest, once the hide, head, feet and internal organs are removed.
Take-home weight is the weight of the packaged meat you bring home after the carcass is cut, boned and trimmed.

Each step loses weight. Hanging weight is typically a little over half of live weight, and take-home weight depends on how the meat is cut and trimmed. Boneless cuts reduce weight further than bone-in cuts. As a rough guide, many extension and producer resources suggest that packaged meat is somewhere around 60 to 70 percent of hanging weight, though this depends heavily on your cut choices, so ask your processor for an estimate.

Understanding the Price

Producers commonly price beef by the pound of hanging weight, and processors charge a kill fee plus a cutting and wrapping fee, often priced per pound of hanging weight. Because take-home weight is lower than hanging weight, the price you pay per pound of meat you actually bring home is higher than the advertised hanging weight price. To compare with grocery store prices, divide your total cost by the pounds of packaged meat you expect to receive, and then compare against the average of steaks, roasts and ground beef you would otherwise buy.

Remember that you are also buying every cut at the same average price, including premium steaks and ground beef. A fair comparison looks at the whole mix, not just the steaks.

Questions to Ask the Producer

What breed or cross is the animal, and how was it raised and finished?
How long was it fed, and what was its diet?
What is the expected hanging weight?
Is the price based on hanging weight, live weight or packaged weight?
Is a deposit required, and when is the balance due?
Which processor do you use, and is it a state- or federally inspected facility?
How does the quarter or half get divided?

A good producer will answer these openly and will be happy to explain their practices.

Inspected Processing and Legal Basics

Meat sold to individual customers by the cut must generally be processed in an inspected facility. Beef sold as a live-animal share, where the buyer owns the animal or a portion of it before harvest, is often processed at a custom-exempt facility for the owner's use only. The rules differ by state, so check your state's agriculture department and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service for details. Ask the producer which type of processing applies.

Filling Out the Cut Sheet

The cut sheet tells the processor how to cut and package your beef. You will usually choose steak thickness, roast sizes, ground beef package size and whether to keep items such as the soup bones, liver, heart or tongue. If you are not sure, ask the processor for recommendations and tell them how your family cooks. A few tips help beginners:

Choose package sizes that match how many people you cook for.
Ask for steaks about an inch thick for grilling, and thicker if you like.
Decide whether you want bone-in or boneless cuts, knowing boneless gives less take-home weight.
Do not over-order specialty cuts you will not cook.
Choose ground beef in one-pound packages for easy thawing.

Your producer or processor can walk you through the sheet and often provide a sample.

Freezer Space

Plan your freezer before the beef arrives. As a rough rule of thumb used by many extension sources, a cubic foot of freezer space holds somewhere around 35 to 40 pounds of packaged beef, so a quarter may need several cubic feet, and a half more than that. Make sure your freezer is set to zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and consider keeping a thermometer inside. Organize packages by type so you can find what you need.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service offers guidance on handling and storing beef safely.

Timing and Logistics

Most producers have a limited number of animals per year, and processors book out weeks or months ahead, so plan ahead. Ask when the animal will be harvested, when the beef will be ready and how you will pick it up. Aging, often 14 to 21 days or more for beef, adds time. Have your freezer and coolers ready on pick-up day.

Is It a Good Deal?

Buying beef by the side often saves money compared with buying comparable quality at retail, but not always, and the savings depend on the producer's prices, the processing fees and what you would otherwise buy. The better reasons to buy by the side are quality, knowing your producer and having beef on hand. Compare the full cost per pound of take-home meat with what you actually spend at the grocery store, then decide.

Many buyers find it easiest to start with a quarter or to split a half with another family. For a humor piece about the economics on the other side of the transaction, farm.fm's farm-to-table restaurant and the farmer's share makes the point with a smile.