Four E Farms
All natural hay and grassfed beef
Step by Step guide on Locker Beef
This incredible step by step guide on locker beef written by Katia is a must read if you are buying locker beef for the first time.
In Lesson One, which you can find here, she explains the differences between USDA Inspected meat and custom processed meat. Some of the great points she makes is just because USDA Inspected meat is inspected, that doesn’t always mean it is better quality and often the animal has to be hauled many miles to this state butchering plant because USDA Inspected meat has to arrive live to the plant which exposes the animal to stress. We prefer to sell shares of our cows so we can have the meat custom processed and the butcher comes to our place and the animal is processed right here on the farm.
Lesson two is explains the difference between live weight vs hanging weight vs the cut and wrap yield and how to calculate the amount of weight you get back. The pro with our lean meat, there is a lot less scraps taken off because our animals have nice, healthy muscling and do not a thick layer of yellow corn fat the butcher cuts away and tosses. So your cut and wrap yield is actually better from our grass fed beef.
Next is Lesson three which gives a breakdown on how to calculate how much your beef will cost. We also have a breakdown of the costs on our pricing page , but lesson three is a very good explanation of how and why the costs are the way they are.
Our most frequently asked question is definitely about the cuts you get from a 1/4. Lesson four is definitely a good one to read if you still feel confused after reading about the different cuts on our frequently asked questions page.
It can be rather daunting to call up the butcher and give him your custom cutting instructions. Lesson five might help you understand better how to do this. We currently use Northwest Farm to Table in Post Falls.
In Lesson six Katia goes over what to expect the day you pick up your custom ordered meat from the butcher. The meat stays frozen very well, even when it is pretty warm outside, so don’t stress out. She also goes over the freezer space needed, which is usually one cubic feet per 35-40 lbs of frozen packages of meat. Her blog goes into a bit more detail so this lesson is a good read too.
Lesson seven is a summary of the first six lessons and also includes a frequently asked questions sections (but after such detailed lessons, who needs them? I greatly appreciate her the work she did writing these lessons. I’m going to send her a personal thank you right now!)
I’m sure all of you appreciate these lessons too, but if you have any more questions, do not hesitate to give me a call!
Four E Farms 