Understanding Beef and Pork Weights: Live Weight, Hanging Weight, and Packaged Weight
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When purchasing a whole or half beef or pig, it’s important to understand the different weight measurements and terminology involved in the process. This knowledge ensures transparency regarding pricing and helps you know what to expect as a customer. This article strives to be comprehensive and transparent, so you can make the best decision for you and your family; however, we are always available to answer your questions.
Live Weight: Live weight is the total weight of the animal while alive, often referred to as “on the hoof.” This measurement is primarily utilized by the livestock industry during transactions in sales barns or when farmers sell livestock to one another. While live weight provides an initial estimate of what the hanging weight will be, it does not have any direct bearing on the final sales price of the meat to consumers.
Hanging Weight (Carcass Weight): Hanging weight, also referred to as carcass weight, is the weight of the animal after it has been slaughtered, which includes the removal of non-essential parts. This measurement is provided by the butcher and is a crucial factor in determining the quantity of meat you will receive and the price you will pay.
Using hanging weight as the basis for pricing ensures consistency and fairness. Charging based on hanging weight simplifies the process by providing a standard measure applicable to the entire carcass. Customizations, such as requesting more ground beef or specific percentages made into sausage can affect the final weight you take home but does not change the price you pay to the farmer.
Unlike grocery stores, where cuts are priced individually (i.e. you pay more for a ribeye than hamburger), when you purchase a whole or half animal, you pay the farmer the same price for all cuts, making hanging weight the most reliable way to determine costs. This is one of the biggest advantages of buying by the whole or half animal!!
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For our purposes, we assume carcass weight is typically about 60% of the live weight. For our Red Devon grass finished cattle, that generally equates to a hanging weight of approximately 650 pounds. The hanging weight for pasture raised Idaho Pasture Pigs is approximately 175 pounds. However, we have observed hanging weights ranging from 620 to 740 pounds for cattle and 162 to 187 pounds for pigs. Now that we know the hanging weight, and how we get the hanging weight, we can calculate the cost for the meat you will receive. Here is a real-world example of a steer that was sold off our farm in 2024.
Example 1
Steer “Willow Valley Farm K1” had a hanging weight of 648 pounds and was sold at a cost of $4.50 per pound.
Total Costs:
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Total Paid to Farmer: $2,916
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Total Paid to Butcher: $766.52
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Total: $3,682.52
Breakdown:
Total Paid to Farmer: 648 pounds x $4.50 per pound sale price = $2,916
​Total Processing Cost Paid to Butcher: Processing fee $641.52 + slaughter fee $125 = $766.52
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Processing fee per pound was: 648 pounds x $0.99 = $641.52
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Slaughter fee was: $125
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Not too hard!! However, keep in mind that the $766.52 charged by the butcher covered basic processing for standard cuts (which includes wrapping and packaging) based on the customer’s request. Additional customization—such as aging, sausage making, or other specialty requests—would have incurred extra costs. Here is another real-world example but this time it is for a pig that was sold off our farm in 2024.
Example 2
Pig “Willow Valley Farm Pink 3” had a hanging weight of 174 pounds and was sold at a cost of $4.50 per pound.
Total Costs:
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Total Paid to Farmer: $783.00
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Total Paid to Butcher: $492.87
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Total: $1,275.87
Breakdown:
Total Paid to Farmer: 174 pounds x $4.50 per pound sale price = $783.00
Total Processing Costs Paid to Butcher: Processing fee $153.12 + slaughter fee $78 + specialty processing $261.75 = $492.87
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Processing fee per pound was: 174 pounds x $0.88 = 153.12
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Slaughter fee was: $78
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Bratwurst Fresh (Additional) – 23 pounds x $2.25 per pound = $51.75
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Smoked Ham (Additional) – 34 pounds x 3.50 per pound = $119.00
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Smoked Hocks (Additional) – 5 pounds x 3.50 per pound = $17.50
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Bacon (Additional) – 21 pounds x 3.50 per pound = $73.50
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As you can see, the separation of charges between farmer and butcher allows for a more tailored experience, ensuring that you only pay for the processing options you select.
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Packaged Weight (Final Weight or Take-Home Weight):
Packaged weight is the amount of meat you take home after it has been cut and packaged. This final weight usually represents 60-70% of the hanging weight, but this will depend on how you choose to have your animal processed.
For a steer, with an average hanging weight of 650 pounds, you can expect a take-home a packaged weight ranging from approximately 390 to 455 pounds.
For a pig with an average hanging weight of 175 pounds, you can expect a take-home a packaged weight ranging from approximately 105 to 123 pounds.
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The reduction from hanging weight to packaged weight occurs due to bone loss, additional trimming, and some water loss (more if you request aging on beef). Also, there will be water/weight loss for cooked products like smoked sausage, bacon and ham.
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Summary
Hopefully this article helped you gain a better understanding of weights and costs. If you have further questions about our beef or the purchasing process, please feel free to reach out. We are committed to providing you with high-quality, fairly priced meat directly from our farm to your table!