What Do Our Fractions & Product Names Mean

Ordering Guide for The Snake River Farm
Why do we use fractions?  What do they mean?
 
We sell direct to consuming families.
According to Minnesota law, farmers cannot sell meat directly to consumers, but we can sell animals.
Because most families do not want a full beef, bison or hog, the state allows us to sell fractions of that animal to more than one family. Hence the fractions. The state also allows me to haul your fractional animal to the butcher shop.
We cannot sell specific parts of the animals such as steaks or hams. Consumers can have their fraction processed into steaks and hams.
The state also requires that you deal directly with the processor and that you pay us and the processor separately.
 
What do we mean by “Beef ¼ for Cuts” or “Bison ¼ for Cuts”?
That means an unsegregated one-fourth of the entire animal carcass. (We do not do front of hind quarters.)
You can have your one-fourth processed according to your specifications. 
Of course, that is limited to what can actually be done with one-fourth (a ¼). 
For example, you cannot have your ¼ processed into all steaks. You can ask that the butcher convert you ¼ into as many steaks as possible. There are many other potential “cuts” that can come from your portion, including ground meat (hamburger).
We do not normally sell by the “1/8th for cuts”. It is simply too difficult to divide the carcass into that many equal portions. 
Animals sold for “cuts” are young, grass-fat and selected to be tender.
 
 What do we mean by “Beef 1/8th for Roast and Ground” or “Bison 1/8th for Roast and Ground”?
An animal designated for “Roasts and Ground” is normally a mature, grass-fed, cow in excellent condition. These older animals may not produce tender steaks. Roasts can always be slow cooked until tender.
Quality Meats processes the entire carcass into as many 2-3-pound, boneless roasts as possible. 
The rest of the meat is made into 90% lean, ground beef.
The resulting roasts and hamburger are divided into eight equal portions. 
These cows are generally larger than the young animals used for cuts.
Each 1/8th has a hanging weight of 80 to 100 pounds.
 
What do we mean by “Beef by the 1/10th for Ground” or “Bison by the 1/10th for Ground”?
Normally, animals designated for ground meat are mature. Sometimes they are younger animals that do not fatten sufficiently on grass to make high quality cuts.
All the meat from the carcass is made into ground. 
Quality Meat then blends in enough grass-fat in to produce 90% lean hamburger.
We standardize 1/10th to be 30 pounds of packaged ground. We do that for simplicity. A small animal might actually yield seven 1/10ths, a large animal eleven or twelve 1/10ths.
Because the entire animal is made into ground meat, we can sell in any size portion (i.e. any fraction). 
We use 1/10ths because that is a convenient amount.
 
Why are Hogs and lambs sold by the ½?
The carcasses of pigs and sheep cannot reasonably be subdivided into 1/4s.
The customer specifies how their ½ is processed.
 
Why do we sell “Ground Pork by the 1/6th”?
Again, the entire hog carcass is converted into ground. Quality Meats blends in the right amount of fat to produce 80% lean burger. This is terrific meat by the way. Mix 50/50 with our ground beef to have the best grilling hamburgers ever.
This whole-hog ground is unique to Snake River Farm. Other ground pork is made from trim and scraps.
Congratulations if you have read this far. I have individual info sheets on each of these products that give more details.
Just email me for those.                         Thank you, Tom                                    Tom@snakeriverfarmmn.com
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