A common question when considering purchasing a quarter or half of a beef and a half or whole hog is how much freezer space will you need to be able to keep so much meat.

Quarter Beef (or half pork)
The rule of thumb is 1 cu. ft. per 35 pounds of meat. For a ¼ steer (or half pork), you can expect about 115 pounds of meat so you would need a 3.5 cu. ft. freezer. You should keep in mind that this would mean you have just enough room to stuff everything into a very small freezer and it would be difficult to sort or find anything. I recommend, if possible, to get a small chest or stand-up freezer - like 7 - 10 cu. ft. for a little more room. Interested?

Half Beef (or whole pork)
For a 1/2 steer (or a whole pork), you can expect about 230 pounds of meat so the absolute smallest freezer necessary would be a 7 cu. ft. freezer. Again, this would mean just enough room for the meat, and some difficulty in sorting and searching. Recommended size for a half-steer is a 10-14 cu. ft. for a little more room. 

Whole Beef
For an entire steer, you might expect 660 pounds of hanging weight with 475 pounds of meat in your freezer. The smallest freezer that would accommodate your meat is a 14 cu. ft. freezer. For sorting and searching ease, the recommended size is around a 21 cu. ft freezer.

How Long Will the Meat Last?
The beef and pork that you purchase in bulk comes double wrapped in lined butcher paper. This is the longest-lasting way to store beef and pork in a freezer, and will last more than 12 months in a deep freeze environment.

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