Utah ranchers selling quarter and half beef
What a quarter beef really costs in Utah
Utah ranches quote beef by the hanging weight, but the beef you carry home in boxes weighs less. This page shows how much less, what that does to your real price per pound, and how much freezer you need. Every number links to where it came from.
Hanging weight vs take-home weight
Hanging weight is the carcass after the hide, head, hooves, and organs come off, weighed before any cutting (Fold of Liberty Farms; University of Maine Extension). After that, moisture lost during chilling and aging, bone, and fat trim all come out before your beef is packaged.
How much comes home? Sources disagree a little, so treat it as a range:
- Mississippi State University Extension's rule of thumb: packaged beef is about 75 percent of hot carcass (hanging) weight (MSU Extension P3489).
- Bond Ranch Co. in Scipio: packaged weight is usually 60 to 65 percent of hanging weight (Bond Ranch FAQ).
- Fold of Liberty Farms: plan on roughly 40 percent less than hanging weight, and they list a quarter as 150 to 225 lb hanging and 90 to 135 lb in boxes (Fold of Liberty).
Boneless cuts, more ground beef, longer dry aging, and a leaner or grass-finished animal all push you toward the low end (MSU Extension; Fold of Liberty). We use 60 to 75 percent below.
Real cost per packaged pound at Utah ranches
Divide the all-in price per hanging pound by the yield. At 75 percent yield, $6.25 per hanging pound becomes $8.33 per pound in your freezer; at 60 percent it becomes $10.42.
| Ranch | What they publish | Est. cost per packaged lb (75% to 60% yield) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bennion Beef (Vernon) | $5.00/lb hanging plus processing approx $1.25/lb | $8.33 to $10.42 | source |
| Hoggan Ranch, grain-finished quarter | $6.75/lb hanging (page does not say if processing is extra) | $9.00 to $11.25, plus processing if extra | source |
| Hoggan Ranch, grass-finished quarter | $7.50/lb hanging (page does not say if processing is extra) | $10.00 to $12.50, plus processing if extra | source |
| Fold of Liberty Farms quarter (Lake Shore) | $7.75/lb hanging; their estimated quarter total is price times hanging weight | $10.33 to $12.92 | source |
| Bond Ranch Co. (Scipio) | $5.00/lb hanging; processing fees may be paid to the butcher (amount not listed) | $6.67 to $8.33 plus processing | source |
| Diamond D Beef (Morgan) | $4.00/lb hanging; you pay cut and wrap (amount not listed) | $5.33 to $6.67 plus processing | source |
Prices checked October 22, 2026 on each ranch's own site. Estimates are our math, not the ranch's quote. Where processing is extra and the amount is not published, the estimate leaves it out, so the real number is higher. Sales tax may apply (Fold of Liberty charges Utah sales tax on the final balance). Always confirm with the ranch.
Try your own numbers
The 175 lb default is just an example inside Fold of Liberty's 150 to 225 lb quarter range. Hoggan Ranch lists its quarter at approximately 200 lb hanging (Hoggan).
How much freezer space you need
Plan on about 1 cubic foot for every 35 to 40 lb of packaged beef, which works out to about 4 cubic feet for a quarter and 8 for a half (University of Maine Extension). University of Minnesota Extension says about 142 lb from a quarter needs at least 4.5 cubic feet in a chest freezer or 5.5 in an upright (UMN Extension). Bond Ranch suggests 4 to 5 cubic feet for a quarter and 8 to 10 for a half (Bond Ranch).
What a quarter looks like
University of Minnesota Extension's example quarter (about 142 lb of meat) includes 7 ribeye steaks, 6 T-bones, 3 sirloin steaks, 3 sirloin tip steaks, 3 round steaks, 6 roasts, and 35 to 60 lb of ground beef (UMN Extension). Your cut sheet changes this. New to cut sheets? See how to fill out a beef cut sheet.
Questions to ask the ranch before you pay a deposit
- Is processing (cut and wrap) included in the per-pound price, or paid to the butcher separately?
- What was the hanging weight range of your last few quarters?
- Is the beef grass-finished or grain-finished, and how long is it aged?
- Is sales tax added, and when is the balance due?
- Where and when is pickup?
Sources fetched October 22, 2026. No ranch paid to be listed.