Beef and Pork Sales

Beef Examples:

Live Weight X (Dressing Percentage X Carcass Cutting Yield) = Pounds of Meat

Average live beef animal, weighing 1,200 pounds, cut into boneless steaks and roasts, closely trimmed, lean ground beef:
1200 X (.61 X .62) = 1200 X 38% = 456 lbs. of meat

Average live beef animal, weighing 1,200 pounds, cut into bone-in steaks and roasts, regular trimmed, regular ground beef:
1200 X (.61 X .71) = 1200 X 43% = 516 lbs. of meat

Average live beef animal, weighing 1,200 pounds, cut into some bone-in and some boneless steaks and roasts, closely trimmed, regular ground beef:
1200 X (.61 X .67) = 1200 X 41% = 491 lbs. of meat

Pork Examples:

Note:  The dressing percentages and carcass cutting yields in these examples are for skin-on pork carcasses. Many small-scale meat plants skin pork carcasses. Skinned carcasses will have lower dressing percentages and higher carcass cutting yields. However, you will still come up with the same answer when calculating the amount of meat so these examples still apply. In other words, you will get the same amount of meat from a hog whether the carcass is skinned or not.

Average live hog, weighing 250 pounds, cut into bone-in chops and roasts, closely trimmed, regular ground pork/sausage:
250 X (.72 X .74) = 250 X 53% = 133 lbs. of meat

Average live hog, weighing 250 pounds, cut into boneless chops and roasts, closely trimmed, lean ground pork/sausage:
250 X (.72 X .65) = 250 X 47% = 117 lbs. of meat

Space Requirements

As a general guide, 50 pounds of meat will fit in about 2.25 cu.ft. of cooler/freezer space. The empty freezer compartment of an average-sized home refrigerator will usually hold one-eighth of a beef (roughly 50-60 lbs.) or half of a hog (roughly 60-70 lbs.). Quantities larger than this will require a stand-alone freezer or another refrigerator-freezer. A stand-alone freezer will usually store meat better because it has the capability to store meat at a colder temperature. Some meat processors will store product for you in their walk-in freezers for a monthly fee of $5 to $10. This is a good option if you would like to try purchasing half a beef or a whole hog but do not have the freezer space.

How to Store

It is recommended that custom-processed beef and pork be frozen before pickup. If you ask, your butcher may keep a portion of it fresh. If kept frozen continuously, meat technically will be safe indefinitely; however, for best quality use it within 9 to 12 months for beef, and within 6 months for pork. It's a good idea to make sure there is a date on each package so you can keep track of when it was purchased.

Fresh Meats

If you request fresh meat, take it home immediately and refrigerate it below 40° F. Use it within three to five days (one or two days for ground meat and variety meats such as liver, kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, or tongue) or freeze (0°​ F). It is safe to freeze fresh meat in the freezer paper or vacuum packaging it comes in from the processor. It is not recommended that you try to freeze a large quantity of fresh meat in your home freezer. It will freeze slowly, which is bad for the quality.​​

This depends a lot on the animal you buy and the types of cuts you get. Below are general figures based on typical cuts from a half beef and a half hog.

Meat from a typical half beef (from 1,000 - 1,200 lb. live animal) consists of approximately:

(Variety meats, if desired, such as heart, liver, tongue, and oxtail)​​

Meat from a typical half hog (from a 250 - 270 lb. live animal) consist of approximately:

(Variety meats, if desired, such as heart, liver, tongue, and fat/lard)​

• Submit online order form using the link provided by the DMACC Beef and Pork contact(s)

• You will receive a confirmation email once order is submitted

• We will email you on the day that your order has been taken to the locker

• You will receive a second email from us with an invoice along with pick up instructions when your order is ready to be picked up at the locker in Winterset (The process takes 1-2 weeks from the day your order is taken to the locker to the time you receive an invoice and pick up instructions)