Wow! 530 pounds is HALF of a beef? That's usually what our whole steers dress out at. We picked up two whole steers in September from a processor in Westcliffe, nice Amish couple. The steers were raised by our neighbor. They were a little fattier than I like them, but we didn't have much choice. Plenty of steers around, but the small processors we use are booked up a year in advance. I prefer the steers raised by another friend who pastures our place in the summer. He fattens them on corn, but only for about 6 weeks. His steaks aren't as pretty, but the taste is awesome.
About three years ago, we decided to raise our own, just for fun. I bought three 725 pound steers in May from my cousin near Limon CO, and turned them out onto our 40 acres of Arkansas river bottom. I finished them for six weeks on sweet mix, and took them to the processor in October, at which time they weighed about 1300 pounds each. We sold the excess and actually made a little profit. Our finished cost was roughly $4.25 a lb. I don't recommend raising such a small herd though, if you lose one steer, you have lost a third of your herd, and you lose big time, but we were lucky.
The meat we picked up in September cost right at $6 per lb. The last steers, from our other friend, was around $4.50 a lb. in 2018. I don't know how he makes a profit at that, since he also pays for pasture most of the year. Pasture runs about $18 per head per month.