Frequently Asked Questions
- By Aaron Collingham
- •
- 14 Apr, 2017
- •
Some answers to a few of the common questions we are asked.
Pork Orders
What is the average hang weight for your hogs? Our current average whole hog hang weight is 230lbs.
About how much pork will I get? Based on our averages you will get approximately 200lbs of meat for a whole hog order and approximately 100lbs on a half hog order.
What are all these different weights (live, hanging, and package)?
Live weight is the weight of the animal when it is alive before processing. This is the least commonly used method with direct to market meat sales because most farmers don't have scales on the property.
Hanging weight is the weight of the animal as it hangs in the butcher's cooler once the head, hide, feet, organs and blood are removed. Remember the scene in Rocky when he is training for his fight at the meat packaging place? That is what is considered hanging weight! If you still have no clue check out the movie clip here http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/224521/Rocky-Movie-Clip-Meat-Locker.html Since most every butcher bases the processing fees on the hanging weight, it is the most widely used measurement by direct to market farmers.
Package weight it is the actual weight of all the packages of individual cuts of meat that you will put in your freezer. When the carcass is broken down into recognizable cuts, there is some loss when cuts are deboned and fat is trimmed away. The carcass yield will also depend on the types of cuts you selected for your order.
What cuts of meat should I expect from a Pork order? You can choose to order pork chops, pork loins, shoulder roasts, shoulder steaks, arm roasts, cutlets, ham roasts (fresh or smoked), ham steaks (fresh or smoked), bacon or side pork, sausage patties or pound packages, ground pork patties or pound packages, country style ribs, and hocks. Some of these choices depend on how much meat you have available. For example you have to have a minimum of 25lbs for a sausage order, so depending on your hog size you may only be able to get sausage and not ground pork too.
What are your hogs fed? Our pigs are fed “finisher feed” which is a mixture of milled corn, soy beans, and a few minerals. We purchase it directly from our local co-op. There are no antibiotics or hormones in the feed. Our hogs do get a soluble pig wormer and antibiotics as needed.
Where do your hogs live? Our butcher hogs are born in our barn and spend the first several weeks in crates, which helps keep them clean and safe. Once the males have healed from castration we move them all to a pin that allows them access to the outside dirt areas as well as the barn. When they are weaned from the sows they are moved into a dirt pin where they are kept until they are large enough for butcher. They have a nice shed and large mud pit that they love to lay in! Our breeding hogs are kept in a large area of pasture with nice shade trees, grass, and their mud pit!
Why are processing fees paid separately? We do this so we can keep it as fair as possible, as we would hate for customers to pay for something they aren’t getting. Processing fees can vary depending on how you have your pork order processed, so we would rather you pay the exact processing price than have everyone pay an average price.
What is the average hang weight for your hogs? Our current average whole hog hang weight is 230lbs.
About how much pork will I get? Based on our averages you will get approximately 200lbs of meat for a whole hog order and approximately 100lbs on a half hog order.
What are all these different weights (live, hanging, and package)?
Live weight is the weight of the animal when it is alive before processing. This is the least commonly used method with direct to market meat sales because most farmers don't have scales on the property.
Hanging weight is the weight of the animal as it hangs in the butcher's cooler once the head, hide, feet, organs and blood are removed. Remember the scene in Rocky when he is training for his fight at the meat packaging place? That is what is considered hanging weight! If you still have no clue check out the movie clip here http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/224521/Rocky-Movie-Clip-Meat-Locker.html Since most every butcher bases the processing fees on the hanging weight, it is the most widely used measurement by direct to market farmers.
Package weight it is the actual weight of all the packages of individual cuts of meat that you will put in your freezer. When the carcass is broken down into recognizable cuts, there is some loss when cuts are deboned and fat is trimmed away. The carcass yield will also depend on the types of cuts you selected for your order.
What cuts of meat should I expect from a Pork order? You can choose to order pork chops, pork loins, shoulder roasts, shoulder steaks, arm roasts, cutlets, ham roasts (fresh or smoked), ham steaks (fresh or smoked), bacon or side pork, sausage patties or pound packages, ground pork patties or pound packages, country style ribs, and hocks. Some of these choices depend on how much meat you have available. For example you have to have a minimum of 25lbs for a sausage order, so depending on your hog size you may only be able to get sausage and not ground pork too.
What are your hogs fed? Our pigs are fed “finisher feed” which is a mixture of milled corn, soy beans, and a few minerals. We purchase it directly from our local co-op. There are no antibiotics or hormones in the feed. Our hogs do get a soluble pig wormer and antibiotics as needed.
Where do your hogs live? Our butcher hogs are born in our barn and spend the first several weeks in crates, which helps keep them clean and safe. Once the males have healed from castration we move them all to a pin that allows them access to the outside dirt areas as well as the barn. When they are weaned from the sows they are moved into a dirt pin where they are kept until they are large enough for butcher. They have a nice shed and large mud pit that they love to lay in! Our breeding hogs are kept in a large area of pasture with nice shade trees, grass, and their mud pit!
Why are processing fees paid separately? We do this so we can keep it as fair as possible, as we would hate for customers to pay for something they aren’t getting. Processing fees can vary depending on how you have your pork order processed, so we would rather you pay the exact processing price than have everyone pay an average price.
We should have known 2020 was going to turn into the year that it has been. Starting in January/February we had horrible luck with several newborn calves. Lost one set of twins to cold weather. We lost on calf due to a freak accident. We lost another calf due to some unknown illness. And then COVID hits! What a year what a year.
Things on the farm haven't been going too bad since the initial start, but dang when it rain it pours. Right now all our remaining calves look nice and healthy. The are out to pasture and being supplemented with creep feed. This is taking the burden off the cows so they are looking good too. Our alfalfa field has been putting out some great yields, and so far our silage field is looking pretty good.
As we get ready for harvest season we give thanks that things are as good as they have been. That is the thing with farming you take the good with the bad, and just keep moving forward.
Things on the farm haven't been going too bad since the initial start, but dang when it rain it pours. Right now all our remaining calves look nice and healthy. The are out to pasture and being supplemented with creep feed. This is taking the burden off the cows so they are looking good too. Our alfalfa field has been putting out some great yields, and so far our silage field is looking pretty good.
As we get ready for harvest season we give thanks that things are as good as they have been. That is the thing with farming you take the good with the bad, and just keep moving forward.
I know I was pretty intimidated when we placed our first pork order. It's not quite as easy as going to the grocery store and picking out a package of pork chops from the meat counter, but it's actually not that bad! Here at Steel Ridge we want to make this as simple as possible for our customers.
STEP 1: How much pork do you want??? We sell whole hog and half hog orders. We shoot to have our hogs weighing anywhere between 290-320lbs on the butcher date. This means that on average you will get around 200lbs of meat for a whole hog and about 100lbs for a half hog. Current pricing can be found in our store section of the website.
STEP 2: Let us know you are interested in placing an order! You can send us an email, call us, send us a Facebook message. We can let you know when our next order is going to the butcher and help you through the next steps.
STEP 3: I Want BACON!!! So you have decided how much pork you want and let us know you are interested. The next step is to secure your order by sending a non-refundable $50 deposit. Unfortunately we can’t take a person’s word that they are going to complete their order, so we now have to require a deposit. I know...I know...don't let a couple people ruin it for the rest of us! This deposit will go towards your total amount due.
STEP 4: Tell us how you want your meat! Once we have received your deposit and we have filled our full hog order for your butcher date, we will send you the phone number to our butcher the Meat Hook. You will then call and they will walk you through the “cut sheet” process. This is the sheet that tells them how you want your order processed. You will tell them how thick you want your chops or steaks cut, how many items you want per package, etc. The Meat Hook staf are amazing and are ready to help you through this process and answer any questions you have. It can be somewhat confusing especially if you are just used to going to the supermarket to pick up a package of pork chops or bacon when needed! :) Don't worry that's how we used to get our bacon too!
STEP 5: Good-bye piggy, hello BACON! When the butcher date arrives we will send you a note about when your order should be ready for pick up or delivery. If you live more than 50 miles from Polk, NE we will deliver to a location near you. We do our deliveries in one day to keep our costs down, and get it out as quickly as possible so the meat stays frozen. All remaining balances must be paid prior to you receiving the pork.
STEP 6: Eat!!! Once you have had a chance to eat some of our scrumptious pork, please let us know what you think! You can just send us a note, or leave feedback on our Facebook page. WARNING...make sure to ration you bacon as it WILL NOT last long! ;)
STEP 1: How much pork do you want??? We sell whole hog and half hog orders. We shoot to have our hogs weighing anywhere between 290-320lbs on the butcher date. This means that on average you will get around 200lbs of meat for a whole hog and about 100lbs for a half hog. Current pricing can be found in our store section of the website.
STEP 2: Let us know you are interested in placing an order! You can send us an email, call us, send us a Facebook message. We can let you know when our next order is going to the butcher and help you through the next steps.
STEP 3: I Want BACON!!! So you have decided how much pork you want and let us know you are interested. The next step is to secure your order by sending a non-refundable $50 deposit. Unfortunately we can’t take a person’s word that they are going to complete their order, so we now have to require a deposit. I know...I know...don't let a couple people ruin it for the rest of us! This deposit will go towards your total amount due.
STEP 4: Tell us how you want your meat! Once we have received your deposit and we have filled our full hog order for your butcher date, we will send you the phone number to our butcher the Meat Hook. You will then call and they will walk you through the “cut sheet” process. This is the sheet that tells them how you want your order processed. You will tell them how thick you want your chops or steaks cut, how many items you want per package, etc. The Meat Hook staf are amazing and are ready to help you through this process and answer any questions you have. It can be somewhat confusing especially if you are just used to going to the supermarket to pick up a package of pork chops or bacon when needed! :) Don't worry that's how we used to get our bacon too!
STEP 5: Good-bye piggy, hello BACON! When the butcher date arrives we will send you a note about when your order should be ready for pick up or delivery. If you live more than 50 miles from Polk, NE we will deliver to a location near you. We do our deliveries in one day to keep our costs down, and get it out as quickly as possible so the meat stays frozen. All remaining balances must be paid prior to you receiving the pork.
STEP 6: Eat!!! Once you have had a chance to eat some of our scrumptious pork, please let us know what you think! You can just send us a note, or leave feedback on our Facebook page. WARNING...make sure to ration you bacon as it WILL NOT last long! ;)
