Live Weight is pretty obvious, this is the weight of the animal while it's alive, sometimes referred to as "on-the-hoof."

Hanging Weight refers to the weight of animal as it hangs on the rail at the meat locker after the head, hooves, organs, hide etc. are removed. Sometimes referred to as the "carcass weight." We'll commonly use phrases like: "Your half hung at 400 lbs."

Cut Weight is the actual amount of product you will receive to put in your freezer after excess fat and bone are removed. This amount is roughly 60% of the hanging weight for beef, and slightly higher for hogs. Sometimes referred to as "take-home" or "finished" weight.

Selling by the hanging weight controls for variability that occurs when people customize their orders. All customers pay the same price whether they choose to leave bones in, take bones out, or grind large portions of cuts. It also gives you, the consumer, control over the processing so you're not stuck with the farmer's preferences.

Cutting instructions are the directions you give the butcher that tell them how you want your meat processed. They will ask questions such as: how thick would you like your steaks? How many steaks per package? Would you like any of the ground as pre-made patties? For pork they will ask about smoking certain cuts and what you'd like to have done with the ground. Remember, smoking and making sausage add to the overall processing cost. The butcher will need this information before the can process your meat. Please feel free to reach out to your farmer if you have questions regarding cutting instructions.

A good start is about 1 cu. ft for every 35 lbs of meat minimum. But there are a few things to take into consideration. First, upright freezers usually are slightly less efficient than chest-style freezers. And second, if the meat is packed into a freezer extremely tight, it's more difficult to access products that are buried. I recommend 10-12 cu.ft for half a cow. For easy comparison, a half hog is similar to a quarter beef.

The meat will come double-wrapped in butcher paper, and frozen solid, ready for your freezer.

We make every effort to get product to our customers no matter where they live, so please reach out to us. We make trips around the state or we may even have an existing customer who lives just down the road from you! Chances are they'd be willing to drop off your product for a little gas money. And if there is sufficient demand from an area, we may just add it to our routine drop off schedule.

Unfortunately at this time we do not ship, we find it too cost-prohibitive. If you're that far away that shipping would be the only option, we encourage you to seek out a local farm nearby, they would be happy to have your business.