Cattle Butchery Calculator: Estimate Packaged Meat Yields and Cuts from a Finished Steer

A finished beef steer at 600 kg live weight will not produce 600 kg of steak. Hide, gut fill, blood, and trim reduce the weight significantly at each processing stage. The Cattle Butchery Calculator applies realistic dressing and cutting yield percentages to show exactly what you can expect from a finished beef animal.

The calculator uses a 57% dressing percentage from live weight to carcass weight, based on AHDB published KO% data for finished beef cattle in the UK. A further 72% yield from carcass to packaged and trimmed cuts reflects commercial cutting losses from bone, fat trim, and sinew.

The cut breakdown covers all major beef joints and retail cuts: rump, sirloin, fillet, topside, silverside, brisket, chuck/blade, short ribs, mince (manufacturing beef), and offal. Each cut is shown in kilograms with an indicative retail price.

Dressing percentages are drawn from AHDB Beef & Lamb KO% quarterly reports. The 57% figure is the average for finished continental breed steers; native breeds may dress slightly lower (55–56%) due to smaller proportion of hindquarter muscle to live weight. Packaged yield percentages are based on MLC (Meat and Livestock Commission) cutting yield studies.

Enter the live weight of the steer in kilograms. The carcass weight, packaged yield, and cut breakdown will appear immediately. Use these figures when setting prices for whole or half carcass sales, planning freezer or cold store space, and communicating expected meat quantities to wholesale or direct customers.