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By NANCY SECRIST
Extension Agent
Many people when living in the country decide to buy a side of beef and store it in the freezer. The following information can help you make the decision of whether it is worth it for you.
The average side of beef, one that has choice quality and has a yield grade of 3, will weigh about 307 pounds and on the current market will cost approximately $0.67pound. To this you must add 12 cents to 15 cents per pound for processing and freezing. If 13 cents per pound for processing is used you are going to pay in the neighborhood of $245.60 for the carcass. Of the 307 pound carcass, you will get approximately 210 pounds of meat; the remainder being fat and bone. If you divide the 210 pounds into your cost of $245.60, you will find that the meat actually costs about $1.17 per pound. Add to this the average cost for the locker rental and your final cost per pound is about $1.26. At $1.26, T-bone steaks sound cheap but $1.26 soup bone is relatively expensive which leads us to the following discussion.
One of the things you must be aware of is that when you buy a side of beef you get a tremendous variety of products. If you do not like or will not use all that you get, it may be much wiser to purchase only what you need.
Obviously, the decision on whether or not to buy a side of beef must be a personal one. The current average store price for all beef is in the $1.30-$ 1.40 range; down 15 cents to 20 cents per pound from 12 months ago. If you like everything you get from a side and add intangible value on having your
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