Hanging vs. Packaged Weight: What to expect buying beef meat

If you are looking to buy beef directly from a farmer, but confused by all the lingo, this post outlines common terms used when buying a quarter, half or whole animal so you can feel confident filling your freezer with a beef share! You will need to be informed about how your locker and farmer are charging you, so you can plan accordingly. 

Three common terms used:

• Live weight 
• hanging weight
• packaged weight 

These three different weight measurements are all important ones to know, but it can be hard to understand what you are paying for in your beef share. We see many first time buyers calculate their cost per pound of meat incorrectly,  so first let’s outline these terms! 

The live weight is the total number of pounds for the live animal. It is also sometimes called “on the hoof.” It includes all the animal– alive, so blood, fluids– etc. Most producers are aiming to raise their beef to be 1,000 pounds by the locker date. 

The packaged weight of the animal refers to the pounds of meat you take home as the consumer. How much beef you take home depends on how you chose your cuts, but since water weight is lost as well as bones, connective tissue and other inedible pieces, the final weight of the meat that you take home is often another 60% or more, depending on the cuts of meat you choose. For example, if you choose to get the majority of your meat ground or more boneless cuts, the take home weight is even less as those bones were left at the butcher shop. So that 600 pound hanging weight turns into roughly 360 pounds for your freezer. 

Pictured here is a half share, also known as half a beef. 

How beef shares are purchased

Most generally, a buyer is going to pay the farmer a deposit and then pay the farmer for the weight of a cow. This is often based on the hanging weight, which the locker communicates to the farmer. A separate payment is made to the locker for the processing. Sometimes this is a per pound cost based off the hanging weight, but some lockers have additional fees listed like kill fee, disposal fee. These payments are part of the process and are standard! While some lockers may vary how they charge, it is usually all equilavant in the end. For example, if ones charges $1.25 per pound to process the animal with no kill fees but another charges $1 per pound, they are almost equal by the time the entire process is completed. 

Generally the farmer sets up the locker appointments in advance, so we find best results finding small farms that raise beef and seeing what locker they use. You can also call the lockers in your area to find a farmer. Once you have an animal secured, you can ask the locker for a “cut card” which covers all of your options for your animal. Many  times the locker will take these instructions over the phone. As a first time buyer, I find it helpful to know what cuts are available ahead of the call. 

Why it’s critical to know

Oftentimes I see people calculating how much money they spent on their beef by using the hanging weight price– but that is not the actual weight of the meat that is brought home. Many lockers do not provide take home weights, but you can ask them to put the meat on a scale or you can weigh it at home. In order to calculate the cost per pound of your beef share, you need to know the final weight you are bringing home to the chest freezer. 

How to calculate the total cost per pound of your freezer beef

Farmer payment (be sure to include a deposit if one was paid) + locker fees = __________  Take this number and divide it by the number of pounds you brought home. 

This final price may seem shocking to prospective customers, but for that price you are getting all the primal cuts of meat from one animal. Ribeye steaks, rump roasts, ground beef, t-bone steaks all for the same price per pound of meat. If you choose to only order a quarter or half beef, rest assured you don’t need to pick the front of back quarter– you get an equal share of cuts from the whole cow. If you compared these prices to the grocery store, they will be much lower and there are plenty of cuts not available in the store! 

At the end of this post, there is an example of our 2025 beef that we had processed for our family. It covers how much meat we brought home and what cuts and what we paid! 

Typically, the processing costs and farmer costs are based off of the hanging weight. If you see a beef farmer selling an animal with a live weight, or you go to the local sale barn, you can compare across producers by adding 30% of t

Example of Full beef breakdown: 

In March of 2025, we had our beef processed at the locker in Leighton, Iowa. We will use this as the example, assuming we paid the average cost of other beef that have recently been through the locker. In our freezers, we have a good mix of chicken, deer, pork and beef. 

Live weight of the animal: 1,202 pounds

hanging weight: 709 pounds 

March 2023 average beef price: $3/per pound hanging weight

Farmer payment: $2,127 

Locker fees: $1053*

Farmer payment + locker fees = $3,180

Take home weight: 505 

Price per pound: $6.30 per pound 

What final product went into our freezer is listed below. We are only referring to the number of packages here, we did not take a final weight of the products each individually. 

Brisket- 4

Chuck Roast- 10

Arm Roast- 8

Soup Bones- 14

Ribeye steak- 11

Sirloin Tip roast- 4

Heel roast- 3

T-bone steak- 9

Round steak- 16

Rolled rump roast- 4

sirloin steak- 20 

minute steak- 9 

2# packs of hamburger patties- 10 

2# packs of ground beef- 75 

Liver- 9

Heart- 1

tounge-1 

We did not include this in the boxed weight, but we did get all of our bones and fat from our beef. We will render the beef fat for cooking and the beef tallow for skincare. Visit this blog post to learn how to render fat. We kept all our bones for making beef broth. We follow the same process for making beef broth as we do chicken broth. 

Curious to see a half beef? Here’s an older post on our blog!

Other FAQ’s:

How much freezer space do I need? 

A whole cow would take about 20 cubic feet of freezer space. If you do the math, a quarter of beef would take about five cubic feet. Keep in mind that the weight of the carcass and what individual cuts you choose can change this guideline. 

How do I choose a producer?

Most farms offer smaller bundles of meat to try. Once your family decides what they would like as far as grass fed, grain fed, etc. you can connect with local producers. The local meat processor can often refer you to someone! I for sure would not have a whole beef cut from a farmer I did not know! Ask them for a few pounds of beef to try before you commit to a whole beef cow. 

Our farm personally does not raise enough beef to offer for sale, but we suggest Wanders Farms in Otley, Iowa. The owner Julie raises the beef and owner the locker! Photo credit for the beef images comes from her locker! 

What should I look for?

Your family can make decisions about how your animal was fed and cared for. Another thing to know is what types of beef go to the locker. Different breeds of beef will put on weight differently, for example dairy cows will have more bones and not as much excess fat. Trust your producer and your local locker in helping you make these decisions! One other important note is if you ask on a local facebook group, ask for a “butcher beef” or a heifer (female that has not gave birth) or steer (castrated male). You may come across a cow for sale, which means it is a female that has gave birth. These are typically good if you are only looking for hamburger. Sometimes people are selling a bull, which in our experience has very tough cuts of meat. 

Why does my meat say “Not for sale?”

When meat is processed for an individual family at a local locker, it is processed for that family only. It will often have a stamp that says “not for sale” as the meat itself was not inspected by a USDA or state employee. The processing plant was inspected but this direct to consumer sale did not require the animal to be inspected. Meat that is sold by farmer’s in individual pieces is required to have an inspection. 

How long will it last?

While a whole beef animal being in your freezer may seem like a large amount, if you think of your meals throughout an entire year, it is not as much as you think. As a general rule of thumb, I think of my average week and what we eat to decide if I need a whole, half or quarter cow. Our family of six eats a minimum of 4 pounds of ground meat a week– meaning we can easily eat 200 pounds in a year. Almost all lockers are using vacuum packs or paper + plastic, so the meat should last a year in the freezer. Think through how many lbs of meat your family eats in a week and what freezer space you have and choose your portion of beef from there!