The 880-pound carcass yields approximately:
- 570 pounds boneless trimmed beef;
- 280 pounds fat trim and bone;
- 32 pounds of kidney, pelvic, and heart (KPH) fat, trim loss and carcass shrink.
How much does a cow really eat?
Their normal intake is 1.4 to 4.0% of their body weight daily, but this can change depending on the type of diet they have. There are studies showing that if cows are fed on a dry basis a low-quality feed, they will consume between 1.8% and 2% of their body weight.
How much hay will a cow consume?
The dry cow will consume 26.4 pounds/day of average quality grass hay on a 100% dry matter basis. However, the hay is actually 90% dry matter which means that the cow will consume 29.3 pounds on an “as-fed” basis.
How much manure does a cow produce per day?
The amount of manure your cow produces naturally depends upon her size. Generally speaking, a 1000 pound cow will produce about 82 pounds of manure daily. Most cows are bigger than this. For example, a typical Holstein weighs about 1400 pounds, so she would produce about 115 pounds of manure daily. This adds up to about 21 tons of manure annually.
What is the best cow for meat?
Texas Longhorn
- Profit. Their horns sell for $200 to $1200. The hides sell for $400 to $700. ...
- Pros:
- Cons: While the Red Angus is not as popular as the Black Angus, it possesses the same great marbling and taste as the Black Angus.
How much meat do you get from a 1000 lb cow?
In summary, a steer weighing 1,000 pounds on the hoof will average around 430 pounds of retail cuts (steaks, roasts, ground beef, stew beef, etc.).
How much meat do you get from a 700 lb cow?
How much to expect when buying freezer beef: Part OneCarcass weight, Yield Grade 3 beef steerBeef from whole carcass, poundsBone-in cutsBoneless, closely trimmed cuts600408300700476350800544400May 21, 2020
How much meat do you get out of a 1200 pound cow?
So, in other words, you start with a 1200 pound steer, which has a dressing percent of 63%, so that you have a 750 pound carcass. From that you will get about 65% of the carcass weight, or roughly 490 pounds, as boneless, trimmed beef.
How much meat do you get from a 1400 lb steer?
880-poundTo summarize: A 1,400-pound steer, one-half inch fat, average muscling, yields an 880-pound carcass....(880 hot carcass weight ÷ 1400-pound live weight) x 100 = 63%.Wholesale cutPoundsPercent of carcassRound19722.4Loin151.417.2Hanging tender, kidney fat & cutting losses31.73.6Total880100%7 more rows•Aug 1, 2020
Is buying a whole cow worth it?
Meaning you're getting around $8 per pound for ground beef, which is around the same price as at the grocery store, but you're also getting $8 per pound for strip steak, which is $18.99 less than the grocery store price! So if you're a steak or roast eater, buying a cow is absolutely worth the savings.
Can you butcher a 7 year old cow?
While it is undeniable that meat gets tougher as an animal ages, Danforth says it is possible to get flavorful and tender meat from an older animal.
How many Ribeyes are in a cow?
In a half of a beef, there are approximately 12 roasts, 14 t-bone steaks, 5 sirloin steaks, 5 sirloin tip steaks, 14 rib-eye steaks, and 6 round steaks. There are also short ribs, flank steak, stew meat, brisket and approximately 75# of ground beef. You can choose to have any of the cuts made into ground beef.
What is a 500 pound calf worth?
The cwt for a beef cow is between $135 and $165. That's an average of $140 per 100 pounds. A 500-pound calf would cost about $700. Bred heifers cost a little more than 1.5 times the cost of a heifer.
How long does beef last in the freezer?
Cold Food Storage ChartFoodTypeFreezer (0 °F or below)Hamburger, ground meats and ground poultryHamburger, ground beef, turkey, chicken, other poultry, veal, pork, lamb, and mixtures of them3 to 4 monthsFresh beef, veal, lamb, and porkSteaks4 to 12 monthsChops4 to 12 monthsRoasts4 to 12 months49 more rows•Sep 20, 2021
How much freezer space do you need for a whole cow?
How much freezer space will my beef take? For a quarter share (85 pounds of meat), you'll want to have 4 cubic feet. And for a Side (half), around 8 cubic feet. A whole cow will need 16 cubic feet.
How much does a whole cow butchered cost?
The cost to have the animal slaughtered is $100 for a half or $200 for a whole, payable to the rancher. The cost to have the meat aged, cut, wrapped and frozen so it's ready to take home is $1.40 per pound hanging weight. Hanging weight is usually 59% to 62% of the live weight. This is payable to the butcher.
How much does a 1200 lb steer cost?
Based on the 2019 budget, slaughter cows (1,200 pounds) are expected to average $50 per hundredweight, while 550 pounds steers and 520 heifers are expected to average $145 and $130 per hundredweight respectively.
Dressing Percentage
To better understand the amount of meat you may expect from a finished beef animal, the first step is understanding the difference in live weight compared to carcass weight. When a beef animal is harvested certain components of the animal such as the head, hide, feet, blood, and viscera (internal organs) are removed.
Carcass Fabrication
The next thing to consider is more weight will be lost when a carcass is fabricated, or broken down into smaller (i.e. retail) cuts. The percentage of carcass weight remaining as “take-home” product is called the carcass cutting yield.
Understanding Primal vs Retail Cuts
The first cuts made to a whole carcass are to divide the carcass into primal cuts (Figure 1). Each primal cut will be further fabricated into a variety of bone-in or boneless retail cuts.
Purchasing Locally Raised Beef
Many farmers and locker plants sell beef by halves, quarters, or split sides. Beef carcasses are split down the spine into two halves for easier handling, better chilling, storage and aging processes – this results in what is referred to as ‘a half of beef’.
Example Meat Yield Calculations
Live weight x typical dressing percent = hot carcass weight 1200 lb x 62% = 744 lb
For More Information
Contact your local Extension Educator; Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; or Wisconsin Beef Council.
Dressing Percentage
The dressing percentage is hot carcass weight as a percentage of the live weight of the animal at harvest. The hot carcass weight is calculated after the head, hide, and internal organs have been removed.
Carcass Chill
Hot carcass weight is called such because it is the weight directly from the processing floor. The next important step in the process is to chill the carcass. Chilling affects carcass weight because moisture is lost from water evaporation. A carcass is approximately 70 to 75 percent water.
Aging
Aging is simply the process of holding whole beef carcasses or wholesale cuts at refrigerated temperatures to allow for improved tenderness and flavor through natural processes. Beef can be aged for 4 to 5 weeks to improve tenderness, but aging time often depends on the processor’s cooler space.
Primal Cuts
After the carcass is chilled and aged, it will be further processed into cuts. First, the carcass will be split into sides (also called halves). A side is half of a dressed carcass split from nose to tail. Each half will be split into quarters.
Cut Choices
Perhaps the most daunting task of having an animal custom processed is choosing which cuts of beef to take home. Custom fabrication is one of the highlights of processing beef locally. This section describes the choices available for each of the primal cuts. Figure 1 describes each primal and the retail cuts found in each section of the carcass.
Factors Affecting Yields of Retail Cuts
The amount of final packaged meat depends on factors such as fat, bone, aging, and muscularity of the carcass. Carcass fat has the greatest impact on the amount of product from the carcass. The more external fat an animal has, the more trim will be lost.
Example Retail Yield
Tables 1 and 2 give a thorough example of the amount of meat and cut options that can be expected from the 1,200-pound steer described here:
Step 1
Lead the cow onto the scale until it is centered on the platform. Record the total weight in pounds.
Step 2
Calculate the dressing weight by multiplying the total living weight by 55 to 65 percent. Choose a higher percentage in the range if the beef cattle is a leaner breed, the animal has defined musculature, or it was fed a restricted diet that produces leaner meat.
Step 3
Multiply the dressing weight by 75 percent to account for all the weight lost during the trimming process where usable cuts of meat are rendered. The remaining cuts of meat commonly weigh in at 20 to 30 percent of the original weight of the living cow.
