Rocky Dog Ranch

Rocky Dog Ranch A little land, a little river, a lot of love How much beef should you buy? The first is “live” weight. Some steers are less, as are heifers.

When it comes to beef weights, there are 3 different ones of which customers should be aware. This is what the animal weighed on the hoof, or when it was alive. The live weight for our Premium summer Black Angus / Brahman steers usually averages around 1200 lbs. The next weight is “hanging” weight. This is the weight that the butcher gives us after the animal has been taken back to the butcher sho

p to hang. The weight difference from live to hanging is from loss of blood, head, hide, hooves, viscera, lungs and heart. The hanging weight is usually about 60% of the live weight. So, a 1200 lb animal would have a hanging weight of 720 lbs (estimated). (A half share would then be 360 lbs, and a 1/4 would be 180 lbs). This is the weight we base our per lb charges on. The butcher also charges cut/wrap fees based on this weight, plus extra if a customer has requested additional bones or organ meats. The last weight is the “final” or “take-home” weight. This is the weight of the meat that each customer will bring home. This weight is usually about 60-65% of the hanging weight. So for a 180 lb quarter share, the final weight would be about 108-117 lbs (estimated). The weight is lost in 2 ways. About 4% is water weight lost during the 10-14 day period that the carcass is hung (or “cured”). Then about another 30-35% is lost during the cutting process. This amount is variable based on 2 factors – one is the amount of fat in the meat, and the other is the cuts that a customer requests. Higher fat means more loss. (Our grass-fed beef animals tend to be lower fat, so the loss tends to be closer to 35%.) Also , the more boneless cuts requested by the customer, the lower the final weight. (Note that the lower weight doesn’t mean that you are receiving less meat – rather, you are receiving fewer bones). What does this mean as far as actually per lb costs? It depends on the per pound original cost/price as well as the cuts that a customer requests. A 180 lb quarter share of beef would range from $3.50-5/lb (for final weight). This is less than what you would pay if you purchased grass-fed beef by the cut from retail outlets.

Thank you Schriever Simmentals for supporting our small farm this year!
04/06/2026

Thank you Schriever Simmentals for supporting our small farm this year!

12/24/2025

Grateful our farm and pasture were only a little under water during the recent flooding of the Clackamas River. Still…to watch the small waves roll up where the drop to the river is usually 20 feet down was pretty chilling…

07/06/2025
2025 additions to Rocky Dog Ranch
03/14/2025

2025 additions to Rocky Dog Ranch

09/26/2024
08/30/2024

To help ensure cattle are 100% fresh grass fed, we use rotational grazing… and of course the master farmer’s fearless gate operations 🚜

Moo 🚜
05/20/2024

Moo 🚜

We are lucky at Rocky Dog Ranch to live next to farms with such gentle horses. Pictured here is Bugatti and Maxine with ...
05/12/2024

We are lucky at Rocky Dog Ranch to live next to farms with such gentle horses. Pictured here is Bugatti and Maxine with one of their biggest fans, Lily. 👩‍🌾🚜

Greetings. This is the last week to place an order for 2023 Beef Shares. We have a limited supply on our small farm, a...
09/13/2023

Greetings. This is the last week to place an order for 2023 Beef Shares. We have a limited supply on our small farm, and all orders are first come, first serve.

Please fill out the form below prior to September 15th, 2023 if you would like to order beef this year! Thank you!

(You can also contact us directly on facebook or via email if preferred too ! 🐃🐂🐄)

Greetings! We are reaching out to gather information on pre-orders for 2023 fall cattle processing. Orders will be confirmed on a first come, first serve basis. After you fill out this order request, we will contact you to confirm and finalize your request before the order is completed. If you have....

06/13/2023

As a (very) small business in Oregon City, we have learned a lot this past decade. We try to live by core values as a company: Be Kind and Be Grateful

People have different opinions, beliefs, and each person makes unique choices. We want to ensure we always celebrate that we have this opportunity in our country to choose… and that we are kind whenever we disagree.

Beautiful view of Venus here at Rocky Dog Ranch
06/10/2023

Beautiful view of Venus here at Rocky Dog Ranch

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Oregon City, OR
97045

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