By: CommonGround Nebraska Volunteer Katy Wolff

Buying meat in bulk from a local producer or locker can take time and effort. Many affairs must be lined up, including finding a source, finances to cover the purchase and long-term storage before the idea can become a reality.

Understandably, only some have easy access to local meat and conventionally raised livestock. Commercial products on grocery store shelves are still a great option to provide your family with healthy, nutrient-packed protein sources.  However, if you are contemplating buying bulk meat, there are several considerations and preparations to make before fully committing, including 1) Timing, 2) Investment, 3) Cut Sheet, 4) Pounds Returned and 5) Storage.  

Realistic Timing

Local producers and ranchers may or may not have an animal ready to go the day you inquire about purchasing meat from them. Customers may need to wait until the animal is adequately mature and finished to provide a quality product, which could take weeks or even months. Further, appointments at local processors can take a lot of work to come by, especially over the summer during the county fair season, so it may be a while until there is an opening at the meat locker.  Therefore, you should be prepared to wait before you get your meat. 

Prepare for the Investment

A large up-front cost is associated with buying directly because often you purchase the entire animal. In some cases, you can buy half or even a quarter of the animal, but regardless, the investment cost is still high at the beginning. It is important to note that the upfront cost can make a consumer do a double take, but the price at the end of the day is comparable to the store if not less. The price is also variable depending on the animal’s weight and if you are being charged by the live weight or hanging carcass weight, you will want to clarify with the producer. To help negotiate a fair price, check current industry prices online through the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service website, USDA Market News | Agricultural Marketing Service.  Daily information regarding commercial cattle/sheep/hogs trading prices for live and carcass animals is published. Lastly, the purchase cost of the animal will not typically include the processing cost or fees, which are owed directly to the meat locker for harvesting, processing and packaging your meat. Depending on the species, processing fees are calculated by the pound or at a flat rate.  

Filling Out a Cut Sheet

Once you have committed to purchasing the animal, typically the producer will be responsible for getting the animal to the butcher. At this time, you will need to fill out a cut sheet.  A cut sheet is the road map the butcher will use to break down the carcass into the parts and pieces that you want, so it’s extremely beneficial to have some knowledge and understanding of parts of the carcasses to identify how you would like your meat cut up. This could include ground beef, chuck, sirloin or flank.

How Much Meat Comes Home

The amount of meat that makes it to your home freezer can come as a surprise to many. The dressing percentage or the percent of the live animal weight that makes it to carcass weight is significantly less than the weight of the animal when it goes in to be processed. In beef cattle, about 62% of the live animal weight becomes the meat on the table with hogs dress around 75% and sheep around 55%. The dressing percentage is flexible and impacted by many factors. The amount of edible, usable lean protein is about 55-75% of the carcass weight, depending on how you choose to have your meat processed. Therefore, the amount taken home is only about 40% of the live animal’s weight.

Storage

Adequate freezer space is essential.  A half side of beef requires about eight cubic feet of freezer space, and a quarter would need about 4.5 cubic feet.  Generally, meat will last in the freezer for up to a year. This means a large freezer is necessary in addition to the freezer in the fridge. 

Buying A Whole Beef Example

If you negotiated to pay the current market price of $1.87/pound for a 1,400-pound live steer, you would owe the producer $2,618. If that animal dressed 62%, the carcass would weigh about 868 pounds.  The meat locker chargers $0.75/pound for processing plus a $100 processing fee so you would owe the processor a total of $751. If roughly 65% of the carcass weight was converted to edible cuts, that’s approximately 560 pounds of take-home product. For roughly 560 pounds of meat, you are paying $3,369.

Don’t let the price deter you from buying meat in bulk. With the right plan, ability to store and opportunities to use it, supporting local producers can have big benefits in the long run.