How Much Does It Cost To Process A Cow

Are you looking to purchase responsible and humane beefiness? Many people cull to purchase a cow considering they desire to control what the cow eats, how it lives, and because they know the quality of the beef in their freezer. Others buy a fully-grown cow from a farmer for the same reasons because they don't take the time or land to raise a cow themselves.

But, the question oftentimes arises.

How much does it cost to butcher a steer? There are several costs involved in butchering a steer. Offset, you will pay a kill fee that volition range between $40-$80 per cow. And so you lot will pay a processing fee of between $0.45 to $ane.00 per pound of hanging weight.

Some butchers volition likewise pay a travel or transport fee and others will charge extra if yous want the hide kept. Other extra expenses include shrink wrapping, instead of wrapping the beef with freezer paper.

Let's dive into the costs of butchering a cow a little deeper.

• • Impale Fee : $forty-$80 per cow
  • Cut and Wrap Fee: $0.45-$ane.00 per hanging pound. This cost depends on what office of the country you live in. In the rural areas where at that place are more than butchers and farmers, the processing fee averages between $0.46-$0.65 per hanging pound weight. In other parts of the countries nearer to cities, the cost of processing can be equally high as $1.00 per pound of hanging weight.
  • Skinning and gutting: $forty-60 total. Not all butchers charge a skinning and gutting fee. Others volition skin and gut for free, but charge extra if y'all want the cow skinned in a mode that will save the hide.
  • Trucking or Transport Fee: Many butchers will come to you to kill and butcher. Others want to transport the cow to their location. Depending on whether yous have the ways and transportation, you lot may end up paying between $0.50-$1.00 per mile to send the cow or have the butcher come to you.
  • Shrinkwrapping : Some butchers automatically shrink wrap everything. Others charge actress. Shrinkwrapping is usually between $0.50-$0.75 per pound of final weight.
  • Keep the hibernate : $xx-30
  • Boosted Processing Costs: beef sticks, jerky, sausage or other special processing usually adds extra costs. This is because of the extra time required past the butcher.

How much meat do I get when I buy a cow to butcher?The full pounds of meat you take habitation will be betwixt 40-45% of the alive weight of the cow. A 1250 lb steer will yield betwixt 500-560 lbs of meat. This depends in part on what cuts y'all cull, whether yous choose bone-in cuts, and how long the steer hangs to age. Grass-finished steers average effectually 30-38% of the live weight. A half cow yields 250-280 lbs of beef after butchering.

What is the difference between a cow'southward live weight, the hanging weight, and the finished weight? A moo-cow'south live weight is the weight of the cow just before butcher. After the blood, hide and inedible parts are cleaned from the carcass, what'south left is the hanging weight. The hanging weight is usually betwixt 60%-62% of the alive weight. The finished or cut weight is the weight later the moo-cow has been processed, cut and aged. The cut weight is nigh 25-35% less than the hanging weight.

That'southward because ligaments, tendons, gristle are removed in the final cutting. Plus, aging allows for additional water evaporation.

It's also important to know that the larger the steer, the smaller the percent of meat is lost to the inedible parts. That's considering larger steers volition have gained the extra weight in meat.

How Much Meat Is On A 1200 Pound Steer?

	1000 pound Steer	1200 pound Steer	1400 pound Steer
Alive Weight	chiliad lbs	1200 lbs	1400 lbs
Hanging Weight	600-620 lbs	720-744lbs	840-868 lbs
Cut Weight	400-450 lbs	480-540 lbs	560-630 lbs
Estimated Costs (no extras included)	$65 kill fee $400 processing fee estimated at $0.65 per pound at the hanging weight of 610 lbs	$65 kill fee $476 processing fee estimated at $0.65 per pound at the hanging weight of 732 lbs	$65 kill fee $555 processing fee estimated at $0.65 per pound at the hanging weight of 854 lbs
Total Costs	$465 estimated	$541 estimated	$620 estimated
Ave Butcher Cost Per Pound	$0.ninety per pound for butchering	$0.87 per pound for butchering	$0.86 per pound for butchering

It is important to realize that any additional costs such as shrink wrap, hide preservation, guts, transportation or other costs will affect the final price of the meat. This judge does Non include the cost of the bodily cow, either to purchase or to raise.

What is the total cost per pound to buy or heighten a cow to slaughter?

Of course, it would be super cheap to merely pay the butchering costs and go domicile with quality beef for less than $1.00 per pound. But, that cost doesn't include the actual cost of the cow. You will need to either heighten a cow yourself for butchering or to purchase one from a farmer or rancher.

There are dissimilar costs associated with ownership or raising a cow to butcher. Let'southward go over them.

What Is The Price To Purchase A Cow For Butcher?

If you plan to buy a cow instead of raising it, then yous will need to purchase it from a rancher. The cost to the rancher is based on the live weight of the moo-cow. In that location are several ways to purchase a cow.

You can purchase it from a local farmer. You tin buy information technology off a commercial website that sells whole, one-half, or quarter cows to consumers, or you lot can purchase it through other means. I'll go over some creative ways to detect a moo-cow for sale locally.

The cost per alive pound will depend on whether the moo-cow was grass-fed, grain and grass-fed, organically grass-fed, or other factors. Almost modest-scale farmers and ranchers don't utilise many of the same practices used past commercial feedlots that are considered inhumane. They raise their cattle on grass fields, open ranges, and mount hillsides.

But, if yous purchase an organically raised cow, the cost is likely to be more expensive. That's because it can cost significantly more to grow completely organic grass and take significantly more space for the same amount of grass.

How Much Does A Cow Cost To Purchase From A Rancher in 2021?

A cow generally costs $3-$iv per pound for live weight. Cows usually counterbalance 1,000-1,2000 lbs which ways a full cost of $3,500-$4,200. The cost is college for an organically raised cow. A whole cow costs less per pound than purchasing a half or quarter of the cow. The smaller the percentage of the cow purchased, the college the price per pound.

How Can I Salve Coin On The Toll Of A Moo-cow?

There are other ways to find a local cow that may save you money on the toll of a cow. Check out these other ideas.

• Ask a local rancher to enhance a cow for you. Purchase a yearling, which costs less than fully-grown cows, then ask a local rancher to raise it with his cattle. You will have to pay a fee to him for raising information technology, merely depending on what he charges, it may exist less than the last cost of purchasing a fully-grown steer.
• iv-H Toward the end of the summer, during fair time, there are almost always kids who have raised 4-H cows who didn't qualify for the fair. 4-H cows have to meet a sure weight limit to be sold at the fair. Those kids nevertheless want to make some money off their cows then buying a moo-cow that didn't qualify helps them out. (My neighbor kid in one case lost almost $600 on a moo-cow that they couldn't sell because the weight wasn't high enough.)
• Local Connections: Facebook groups, Craigslist, the butcher, and other local groups are a peachy resources for finding farmers and families that heighten cows.
• Unattended Pasture: Often in rural areas, there are families who have purchased a house with more than country than they program to employ. Every year, I see ads on Craigslist or in the classifieds nearly extra land that's available for grazing animals on. The owners want to be relieved of the burden of caring and mowing the land. Frequently the cost to "rent" the land is minimal or may include only the cost of the fencing to keep your cows contained.

How Much Does It Cost To Buy And Raise A Cow?

Raising a moo-cow includes many factors and costs. For a full analysis of how much a cow costs, check out this article on the costs of a moo-cow, which covers age, weight, type, and gender of the cow and the costs associated with each.

How much does a calf cost?

A beef yearling will cost about $700 and volition be based on weight. By and large, a yearling will toll about $135-165 per 100 pounds. A younger calf will cost less because they need more care and have a higher mortality rate. A day-old calf will need to be canteen-fed several times a day. They are usually about $fifty a calf.

How much does it price to raise a cow or steer?

The costs to raise a cow volition depend greatly on the resource you take. If you already have plenty acreage to grass-feed a cow, and so you won't have as much additional cost. If you need to buy grain or rent acreage, then it will cost more to raise a moo-cow to total weight.

A single cow needs betwixt ii-five acres of country to graze from during the year. That amounts to a toll of about $200-300 a year per cow. If you lot demand to purchase the hay, a cow volition eat near xxx-forty pounds of hay a mean solar day. Purchasing hay will increment your costs to most $i,000 a year per cow in feed costs.

To raise a cow over the summertime for the butcher, the University of Wyoming has estimated feed costs of about $440 per cow. These costs include estimates for both hay and grain feeding for ninety days.

You will need 1.five tons of hay and 1,350 pounds of grain. If you raise a 100% grass-fed moo-cow, then y'all will need to plan on it taking a little longer to fatten the cow. Buy the cow earlier in the spring and program on butchering in Oct or only before the snow comes.

In 2021, a ton of siliage hay costs around $130. Siliage is one of the cheaper hays, but cows exercise well on it. Alfalfa hay cost between $300-385 in 2021, while grass hay cost an average of $175 a ton.

In improver to feeding the cow from grazing, plan on providing hay for easier consumption.

The cost of raising your own cow and butchering information technology will cost you between $5.00-$six.50 a pound depending on your existing infrastructure and resources. That equates to $iv,850 for a whole cow. If you have to purchase the moo-cow to butcher it, the price is closer to $five,700.

What's The Total Cost To Purchase And Butcher A Cow?

When all is said and done, to purchase and butcher a cow will toll you betwixt $6.50-$9.00 per final pound of beef. If you lot heighten the cow yourself, it volition cost between $5.00-$6.50 a pound.

Is It Worth It?

A cow raised on grass tastes different than a cow raised on grain. Virtually people love the taste of grass-raised cows and love the fact that the cow was able to live its life in the sunshine and open fields.

Additionally, there is a lot of comfort in knowing everything that went into your food. Information technology's also important to know that there are no growth-hormones and your cow was raised and butchered humanely.

Although yous can purchase many cheaper cuts of beef for equally little as $2-3.00 per pound, you actually don't know what went into those cows. Hormone-free beef costs more than that and the nicer cuts of beefiness are every bit much as $12.00 a pound at the store.

When you purchase a cow, you go both the cheaper cuts and the more expensive cuts of beef in the total cost of the cow. This means that yous salve a lot of money on the nicer cuts. Plus, the cheaper cuts of beef are very similarly priced to the organic-grass-fed beef at the grocery store.

Yep, it'due south worth it!

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