The sequence
- 01 · Live
- The animal on the farm, before harvest. The pipeline uses a dressing range of 58–61% for grass-finished cattle and 62–64% for grain-finished cattle.
- 02 · Hanging
- The carcass after the non-carcass parts are removed. This is the basis used by the bulk index.
- 03 · Packaged
- What remains after bone, trim, and cutting choices. The published animal below returned 58.6% of its hanging weight as cuts.
Worked record
Brookford Farm, side number 2
“1/2 Cow Standard Package (Side #2) ... Each $3,117.25; body: 'Side number 2 hung at 337 lbs, you pay $3117.25 ($9.25 x 337) in total and receive about 197.54 of meat back in cuts.'”
Published bill$9.25 × 337 lb= $3117.25
Packaged basis$3117.25 ÷ 197.54 lb= $15.78/lb
Estimated live basis$3117.25 ÷ 552–581 lb= $5.37–$5.64/lb
The bill never changes. Only the denominator does. The live-weight line is a range because the carcass dressing percentage was not measured for this animal; the packaged line is exact to the weights the farm published.
Before ordering
Ask for the whole equation.
Confirm the rate, the named weight basis, the expected weight range, whether slaughter and cut-and-wrap are included, and whether a deposit comes off the final bill. Then ask for an expected packaged yield as a range, not a promise.
Cut instructions move the take-home number. Boneless steaks, close trimming, more ground beef, soup bones, and organ choices all change what enters the freezer without changing the original carcass.
Use the register median to estimate whole, half, quarter, and eighth shares.