We understand that the idea of purchasing a 1/4 or half of a steer or hog can be overwhelming. We are here to guide you every step of the way during this journey. We promise to provide you with the knowledge and support you need to make a lasting change.

Before you dive in, make sure you have enough freezer space.We recommend using 1/2 of an upright freezer for a 1/4 of a steer or half of a hog. Why upright freezers? They allow you to access your meat without needing to move it around, ensuring you can conveniently retrieve that smoked ham hock without moving 15 pounds of ground meat. While not mandatory, consider having a generator on hand to keep your freezer running. While your meat will stay frozen for a couple of days if the freezer is predominantly filled with beef and pork, it’s always good to be prepared. Also, contact your insurance provider to inquire about coverage for freezer and refrigerator food spoilage.

Are you ready to embark on this educational journey and calculate the total cost?

Why Buy Local?

Buying local offers numerous benefits:

  • Fresher meat from known sources with transparent farming practices.
  • Superior taste compared to commercial options.
  • Supports a robust local supply chain involving various community members such as farmers, nutritionists, bankers, truckers, veterinarians, and more.
  • Avoids supporting large commercial producers who may prioritize profit over quality and local economy.
  • Commercial meat often includes additives, may lack clear origin labeling, and may have poor animal welfare standards, unlike local products.
What is Hanging Weight?

Pork and beef are typically sold by live weight or hanging weight, with a loss of 28% to 50% during processing. Further losses occur in bone, fat, scraps, and the neck, reducing the final weight by 15% to 50%.

To optimize value, get all of it: suet for birds, offal for pet food, bones for smoking or broth, smoked jowl and hocks for soups and beans, and tongue for various dishes. Lard, with a higher smoking point and no need for refrigeration, offers health benefits over butter. Utilize every part; avoid waste.

 

Let’s do some quick examples of weight:

 

Live Weight (On the hoof) for a whole animal

(Example only)

 Rail/Hanging Weight Hanging Weight for a Side/Half

ESTIMATED Take Home/On the Plate (lamb has much less loss)

for Half /Side(assume bone in and boneless with no take home bones or offal)

  For a 1/4 Divide the side by 50%
Beef 1,400 lbs 800 lbs 400 lb  260 lbs @ 35% loss  130 lbs
Pork 350 lbs 200 lbs 100 lb 70 lbs @ 30% loss 35 lbs
About the Ordering Process

Once you have made the life changing decision to order local meat what do you do?  Whether it is from Fox Crossing Farms or another local farm, the process will be similar.

1.Place a order and pay a deposit. The deposit reserves your spot in line. A farmer has a lot of work to get livestock into processing and he or she can’t afford to be stuck with an unpaid bill. So, most farms will require a deposit.  Make sure you get a paid receipt.

2. After a deposit is placed and cleared you will get a link to submit your cutting order. The next tab will talk about cutting orders.

3. The farmer will receive the hanging weight from the processor. This will be the actual hanging weight/rail weight of your portion. He/she should send an invoice or notice of some sort for the remainder due.  The deposit will be placed against the total cost of the meat for the farmer’s portion.

Here is an example (not your actual numbers):

Item Deposit Price Per Pound Hanging Weight Total Cost Amount Due After Deposit
Beef Split Side (1/4) $25.00 $4.00 200 lbs $4.00 x 200 lbs = $800 $800-$25 = $775

4. You will pay the farmer the remainder. The farmer then tells the processor that your meat can be released to you .

5. You go to the processor to pick up the meat AND pay them for any costs that were incurred for smoking, tenderizing, curing, slicing, etc. Every processor will have their own fees.  Some farmers will not include slaughter and processing costs in their price. Those charges may range from $50 to $100 for slaughter and $0.75 to $1.25 per pound for processing.  Make sure you know what you are paying for in advance! Those fees are strictly charged by the processor.

 

What Cuts Do You Get?

With custom processing you get a huge variety of cuts (see the detailed lamb, beef and pork tabs below). The options are nearly endless but there are common options and the online cut sheets walk you through them and we are here to help you.<br>

We strictly use Roskom Meats in Kaukauna because of their service, price and seasonings/smoking. Every processor may use different seasonings – so sometimes it might be worth buying some sausage, bacon, brats or ham from them to try before you have an order processed.

<br>These are some tips for cut sheets – you don’t know how many pounds of something you are getting so you can say 1/4 of the ground each for breakfast sausage, breakfast links, brats and unseasoned ground. For hams – you can say give me 4# end hams and the center sliced into 1/2″ slices.<br>

 

Please note: Roskom now has maple breakfast seasoning – it is sweeter than the traditional sage seasoning but you must request it specifically.

Beef Cuts

Here is a visual of just about every cut of beef possible.

You can download this as a PDF here. 

Pork Cuts

The Pork Council has a lot of info on cuts and cooking. Here is that link.

About Processor Inspections

In Wisconsin processors (places that slaughter) and butchers (break the carcass down into cuts) can be inspected or uninspected. We’ll take a look at three scenarios.

USDA Federal Inspection: USDA inspection is the highest inspection level in the US. Meat that is sold in stores within the state it was processed in must be inspected – but meat that crossed state lines must be USDA inspected

State Inspection (DATCP): ALL meat for resale must be inspected to the state minimum. Both USDA and DATCP inspectors place blue edible ink stamps on the carcass to indicate that the animal and carcass have been tested or certified to be consumed.

Custom Uninspected:  Uninspected processors (custom processors) work for the buyer only. Farmers can’t use a custom processor to resell meat cuts in Wisconsin. There are both fixed and mobile processors in Wisconsin.  Mobile units come to a farm or place and process/slaughter there. They each may offer different services – some may butcher and some may not. Some may hang your meat and cool it and others won’t.

The Wisconsin DATCP keeps lists of licensed processors. Both inspected and uninspected. Click on these links to find processors. (If these links break please email us for correction)

DATCP State Inspected  Processors

Mobile Processors – Mostly custom but ask to find out.

USDA Processors

Shop Online
Send a Message

920.355.3276 (FARM)

info@foxcrossingfarms.com