Every animal goes in with a live weight. Then, once the animal is killed, the internal organs, hide, hooves, and blood are removed (I keep the tongue, liver, heart, and oxtails (tail portions of meat). The weight one gets then is the "hanging weight," and is approximately 65% of the live weight. The carcass is then kept "on the rail" for about 2 weeks to dry out in the freezer. Only then does the processor cut the animal into steaks, roasts, and other cuts.

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Why is there so much ground meat? Any part that is at the end of a muscle that might have been cut to steaks or roasts is ground, as are parts that are just too tough for other uses. So, yes, an animal makes a lot of ground beef. But, when you order from any individual producer, your ground beef is from one animal and not a combination of every old cow, bull, whatever from the beef you find in a big box store.