Appointments
Local farmers can call South Marion Meats to set up an appointment for the slaughter of their animal. The schedule is usually booked up 2 to 4 weeks in advance, so please call as soon as possible. We remain extremely busy during the winter months and early Spring (working on FFA and 4H programs), so again, please make appointments 2 to 4 weeks in advance.
At South Marion Meats will get YOUR product back to you in timely manner, usually on beef we recommend approximately 2 weeks hanging time but we can hang longer upon customer request, certain restrictions apply.
Thank You.
Purchase
We are a custom exempt plant and are also federally inspected, to purchase beef, hogs, sheep, lamb or goat from us; we can recommend many local producers that can fill your needs. The local producer can then call us and set an appointment for slaughter, this process usually takes within 3 or 4 weeks.
Cost and Quantity
The amount of take- home beef and cost per pound of the beef in the freezer are two important considerations for potential beef buyers. Beef is often advertised and sold on a “hanging weight” basis. This term does not refer to take- home beef. In processing, there is a considerable amount of cutting loss and shrikage. It is not unusual to have 30 to 45 percent of the hanging weight of a carcass or side as cutting loss.
This means that if a side of beef weighs 300 pounds hanging weight, there would be only 165 to 210 pounds of beef in terms of trimmed retail cuts for the freezer. Assuming 35 percent cutting loss, 300 x 35 percent= 105 pounds of fat, bone, shrink and other losses. And, 300 pounds- 105 pounds= 195 pounds of take- home beef.
These figures vary greatly depending on your cutting instructions. At South Marion Meats, we strive to give you the best finished product possible. This means we cut away any excess bone and fat that is of no use to the consumer. This practice makes for a great end product. While it does reduce the actual weight of product that you take home, we do try to keep the cost low. In carcass processing, we feel that quality is most important.
Buying beef as a carcass or half can result in significant cost savings. However savings are not always realized and the quality of the beef may vary.