Frequently Asked Questions

1. Keenan Cattle
Frequently Asked Questions
1) How is your beef sold?
We sell all of our beef in wholes, halves (right or left side) or quarters (half of a half). The
processor packages each side of beef based on the specific customer’s instructions
(thickness of steaks, lbs of hamburger in a package, etc). Realizing some of our
customers only need a quarter of beef, we have developed a custom cutting order for
those customers. Another option for those who want quarters, but want their beef
packaged specific to their desires - split a half beef with a relative/friend. We have
customers that do this, but they are responsible for agreeing on how they want the
meat cut and packaged.
2.) What’s included in a quarter beef
 T-Bones – 1” thick, 1 steak/package
 Boneless Ribeye – 1” thick, 1 steak/package
 Sirloin Steak – 1” thick, 1 steak/package
 Tenderized Round Steak Cutlets – 2 cutlets/package
 Chuck Roast – 3 lbs/roast
 Arm Roast – 3 lbs/roast
 Stew Meat – 1 lb/package
 ½ Brisket
 Loin Tip Cutlets – 2 cutlets/package
 Ground Hamburger – 1 lb/package
3) How is your beef priced?
The beef is sold based on the hot carcass weight (HCW). This weight is taken by the
processor after harvesting is complete and before the sides are taken into the cooler.
We prefer selling beef based on this weight as the customer is not paying for all of the
inedible parts. For a visual, I’m sure most of you have seen sides of beef hanging in a
cooler; the weight of that side is the HCW. The HCW can contain approximately 25-30%
fat and bone, so your take-home-meat weight will be less than the HCW. The difference
in these two weights is impacted by the way the beef is cut, and in particular how many
cuts are left bone-in.

2. 4) What is the cost of your custom beef?
Our goal is to provide our customers with high quality, wholesome beef at the most
economical price. We are going to cut our margin thin and price the beef currently for
sale at $3.69 per pound of HCW plus processing. Below is an example of the estimated
total cost of a whole beef.
We would expect the HCW of an 1050 lb steer to weigh approximately 630 lbs.
$ 2,325 (Costof Beef:630 lbsx $3.69)
$ 491 (Processing:630 lbsx $0.78)
$ 50 (Variouspackagingfees)
$ 2,866
Basedon this,the projectedtotal costof a half beef wouldbe $1,433; and the projectedtotal
cost of a quarterbeef wouldbe $717.
5) How muchfreezerspace doI need?
On average,youwill needone cubicfootof freezerspace for35 – 40 lbspackagedbeef.If you
are purchasinga freezer,we alwaysrecommendgettingalargerfreezerthanyouwill needfor
the beef toallowroomfor additional foods.
6) What isthe process?Isthe buyerresponsiblefortakingthe steertothe processor?
First,letus knowthatyou wantto buy ourpremierbeef!Suppliesare alwayslimited,soletus
knowas soonas you can. We will schedule aharvestdaywiththe processor,anddeliverthe
steerto the processor.The day afterprocessing,we willcontactyouwiththe hotcarcass weight
and resultingamountowedtoKeenanCattle. Also,we will provideyouwithacuttingorder
formfor youto complete andphone into the processor.Thisissimplycuttingandpackaging
instructionsforthe processor;ex.keep roastsorturn intogroundhamburger,lbshamburger
perpackage,de-bone orleave bone inribeye,etc. Followingdry-agingthe carcassfor 20 days,
the processorwill cutand package the beef basedonyourinstructions.We prefercustomers
picktheirbeef upat the processor(Fischer’sinMuenster,TX),butwe cancertainlydeliverthe
beef toyour freezer.