Guides
Beef processing, explained
The questions we answer on the phone every week, written down. No jargon you have to know before you call.
Start here
How to fill out a beef cut sheet
Our real three-page sheet as a free PDF, with every decision on it explained in the order it appears.
Show steer processing
From the show ring to the freezer: why show steers get extra USDA scrutiny including residue testing, what to stop feeding and when, how to schedule around show week, and what a show-finished steer yields.
8 min read
How your beef is packaged
Which cuts come off the rollstock machine and which are vacuum sealed, why the film is thicker than the industry runs, what every label says, how the boxes are sorted, and how long the beef keeps.
5 min read
Selling your own beef
The legal path from a live animal to beef you can sell by the cut in Texas: inspection tier, labels, barcodes, permits, the half-beef buyer market, and what to ask your processor before harvest.
8 min read
Whole, half, or quarter
How a beef is split between families here, why we cut and bill by the half, what a 'quarter' really means, how much freezer space each share takes, and how to keep two households happy on one cut sheet.
5 min read
Reading your weight report
What each line on the report you get at pickup means, what normal ratios look like, when a number deserves a question, and how to use the report to plan your next animal.
5 min read
When to book
Our target is a harvest date within 21 days of your call. Here is when that is easy, when it is tight, and how to count backward from a holiday, a market, or a show so the beef is in the freezer on time.
5 min read
Drop-off day
How to get an animal ready for the haul, what happens in the first 24 hours at the plant, what the USDA inspector does, what to bring, and how pickup works two to three weeks later.
6 min read
USDA vs. custom-exempt
The three inspection tiers a Texas processor can run under, who is allowed to eat the beef from each, where it can be sold, and why the "NOT FOR SALE" stamp matters if you ever want to sell a steak.
7 min read
Processing cost in Texas
How per-pound hanging-weight pricing actually adds up, with worked examples at three carcass weights against published Texas rates, and when a flat fee is or isn't the better deal.
6 min read
Hanging vs. take-home weight
Live weight, hanging weight, and boxed weight explained with real ranges, why the box is lighter than the carcass, and how your cut sheet moves the number.
6 min read
How long beef should hang
What aging does, how many days it takes, the difference between wet and dry aging, and why a four-day turnaround is a warning sign.
5 min read
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