Out the door pounds from processor?

[Dixie2542]

Been reading around some and trying to figure out what an average take home weight would be for a bone out package for a live steer wt around 1260#'s? What percentage or poundage should i be targeting? Trying to do some figuring before I go to processor. What's ya'lls experience?

 

[Travlr]

Been reading around some and trying to figure out what an average take home weight would be for a bone out package for a live steer wt around 1260#'s? What percentage or poundage should i be targeting? Trying to do some figuring before I go to processor. What's ya'lls experience?

Pics of the steer? Condition can matter a great deal. Muscle to bone ratio. Deposition of fat can matter.

 

[Silver]

I've never had an animal completely deboned at the processor. For normal bone in processing I figure 2/3's of 2/3's and that gets me close and I'm usually pleasantly surprised with the results.
So 1,260 x 2/3 = 831, 831 x 2/3 = 548 lbs

 

[Buck N' Bull]

I personally think that running your yield figures off live weight has too many subjectives. Condition, hide thickness, how much is in their bellies. I think working off hanging weight is a better way to figure. When I opened up 4 months ago, I was expecting to see hanging weights around 60% of live wt, in line with what I had always heard. However what I found was the majority are actually going to hang around the 50% mark. I had a situation with a gentleman a while back who questioned the amount of meat he received back. His yield was 64% of his hanging weight, boned out. I contacted another local processor when I was looked at rather dubiously. This guy raises and feeds out cows he puts through his shop. He told me if he gets a 58 - 60% yield (boned out) he is very happy. Hanging weights that are 60% of the live weight is only on cows that have been fed out extremely well. The one in question I ran my numbers on was actually grass-fed and in beautiful condition. He hung at 50% with a 64% yield off hanging weight. We don't usually weigh the yield, but had to under the circumstances.

 

[Little Joe]

I typically get 60-62% of live weight in hanging weight, on a 750lb carcass I expect around 500 lbs of meat retail.

I personally think that running your yield figures off live weight has too many subjectives. Condition, hide thickness, how much is in their bellies. I think working off hanging weight is a better way to figure. When I opened up 4 months ago, I was expecting to see hanging weights around 60% of live wt, in line with what I had always heard. However what I found was the majority are actually going to hang around the 50% mark. I had a situation with a gentleman a while back who questioned the amount of meat he received back. His yield was 64% of his hanging weight, boned out. I contacted another local processor when I was looked at rather dubiously. This guy raises and feeds out cows he puts through his shop. He told me if he gets a 58 - 60% yield (boned out) he is very happy. Hanging weights that are 60% of the live weight is only on cows that have been fed out extremely well. The one in question I ran my numbers on was actually grass-fed and in beautiful condition. He hung at 50% with a 64% yield off hanging weight. We don't usually weigh the yield, but had to under the circumstances.

Only type I've gotten hanging weights in the 50% range is on older burger cows.

 

[J+ Cattle]

I think the percentages are misleading because most people don't want the parts that are saved at the mega slaughterhouses and are included in their yield figures.
Here's an example that I found, (take home meat-which includes the average weight of 27 lbs of variety meat: liver, heart, tongue, tripe, sweetbreads, and brains)

It also makes a difference in how much fat is trimmed, think of an untrimmed brisket (in the stores it's called packer trim) versus a trimmed brisket.
For ground meat you can make 100 lbs of 90/10 or you can make 112.5 lbs of 80/20 from the same amount of lean meat. Makes a big difference in your take home weight.

 

[Buck N' Bull]

I typically get 60-62% of live weight in hanging weight, on a 750lb carcass I expect around 500 lbs of meat retail.

Only type I've gotten hanging weights in the 50% range is on older burger cows.

I think this year a lot of people were just killing cows to eat to get them off the feed bill rather than send them to the saleyard and get squat for them. The cattle that were fed out properly weighed in at up to 63% of live wt.

 

[ClinchValley86]

I figure 55 to 65 percent live weight will equal hanging weight. And then depending on how it's processed, 50 to 65 percent of hanging weight will be take home weight.

If going completely boneless, i would guess around 50 percent of hanging weight.

Everything into lean ground beef would be potentially less than 50 percent of hanging weight.

These estimates would be for a proper finish/condition at time of slaughter.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

My 0.2 cents-
" Variety meat" is usually sold overseas because Americans don't eat it. You don't see it in the stores anymore.