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Buying a Side of Beef: What It Actually Involves

Buying a whole or half beef directly from a Maryland farm is one of those things that sounds complicated until someone explains how it works, and then it sounds obvious. Most farms that raise beef for direct sale will price it by hanging weight, which is the weight of the carcass after slaughter but before it's cut and packaged. That number is different from the take-home weight you'll actually put in your freezer, because trim and bone loss happen during butchering. A typical hanging weight price in Maryland right now runs somewhere between four and seven dollars per pound depending on the farm and the breed, and you'll pay that price across the whole animal, not just the premium cuts. On top of that you pay processing fees directly to the butcher, usually somewhere in the range of four hundred to six hundred dollars for a half, covering the cut, wrap, and freeze.