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i've got a beef

Started by Engineer, March 07, 2007, 12:21:02 PM

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Engineer

....... about beef.   >:(

Got the sale flyer from a local supermarket chain, largest in the area, they have a decent (but not great) butcher shop and fair prices that tend to reflect the market rate.   So they are advertising angus filet mignon/tenderloin (an admittedly expensive cut) but the stuff is $17 bucks a pound!  What gives?  I've got a big family and it seems to be the trend for meat prices to have gone through the roof lately.  It's hard even to do hamburger, we get the sales as often as we can but that is just ridiculous.  Used to be that we held crab legs, lobster and scallops as sacred, treat them right, cook them right because of the price, but now I'm afraid to buy a good steak for fear I'm gonna mess it up.  To make it worse, my wife likes steak well done, and I ain't gonna do that to a good steak.   :(  Lobster is cheaper by a long shot. 

I guess what I'm getting to is - what's the advantages and disadvantages to raising your own?  I've got some land I can clear for a couple cows, maybe.  We are already planning on raising chickens this summer, and I can't imagine that raising a cow would be that hard.  Anyone here do this, one or two heads of livestock for your own use?  Sheep, goats, cows, whatever?   I'm gonna be reduced to eating tree bark and beans if these prices keep going up like they do.


moosehunter

We have a good friend that raises a dozen or so head a year. Strickly grass(hay) and good feed. We buy a halve a beef every year and know the butcher well so we get it cut the way we want it. Cost is just over $2.00 per lb total, grown,butchered,wrapped. I know where it comes from, what it eats and who processes it. AND I don't have to take care of the animal thru the year.
Works well for us.
Find a local hobby farmer and let them do the work!
"And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Well, I have really good days".    Ray Wylie Hubbard

SwampDonkey

chicken breast or turkey is around $4.30-$5.00 a pound here, in Maine it's $0.49-$1.29 a pound.   Grain can't be that cheap in Maine. ::)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

sawguy21

My dad 'beefed' about this in the 60's and with a friend bought a steer to fatten over the summer and butcher. The 2 acre pasture was not enough so we had to buy feed and we were tied down. He was a teacher and had the summer off.  By the time all was said and done, they figured it was no cheaper than buying a side.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Patty

We buy a cow a year from a friend who raises beef they way we like it. He even hauls it to the butcher for us to be processed. We have the butcher quarter it for us, and then we process it from there. It takes us 2 solid days of hard work to cut it , grind the hamburger, and package the whole cow. I guarantee we pay less than $17 a pound for it, but it is hard work, and you need to have the knives, grinder, paper, and freezer space ready to tackle such a project.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Murf

Like Moose says, find a local farmer who does direct sales.

You get cheaper (and likely a bunch better) beef, and you support a local farmer.

To put it in perspective, about the best price a farmer will get right now for a 800+ pound steer at the sale is about $100. That is an animal that is normally sold to be fed until it reaches "ideal" slaughter weight.

Even if that animal wasn't kept any longer, fed any further, and just butchered right then, based on the average yeild of the kind of meat you take home, versus the "on the hoof" weight of about 50%, that animal would give about 400 pounds of meat.

Now there's lot's of handling, transport and labour involved too, but at $0.25, never mind the "value added" products, I think there's a bit of profit in there for the "local supermarket chain".......  ::)

If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

leweee

I think your seeing the "trickal down effect" from "mad cow". Small producers have more rules & regs.(like ear tags before they can be transported for slaughter.)
These added hassles for (hobby farmers) are forcing more to abandon the effort. ::)
As more little producers are forced out there is no competition . >:(
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

treebucker

There's some good points here. Do you plan on buying a new calf and bottle feeding it? At the moment, around here you can buy bull calves from dairy farmers cheaper than anything else. It also helps to know some beef ranchers. They sometimes have cows that die after giving birth. Many of them will knock the calf in the head because they don't want to hand feed it. Simply give them your number and tell them to call you if they have one.  Simply castrate them (ring or clamp) to reduce their aggression and improve the flavor. Get advice from the farmer/rancher on castration.

Hand raising a calf requires a pen, bottle, milk replacer, sweet feed trough, sweet feed, hay and storage. When the calf gets 3-4 weeks old it will start to nibble at grass. Do you have a pasture? You'll need 1-3 acres depending on the quality of the pasture. It can by weened off the bottle at 6-12 weeks. Keeping it on the bottle longer cost more but puts on the pounds faster. Through the summer months it can graze without supplements. But this fall (3-6 weeks before slaughter time) you'll want to take it off the pasture and feed it sweet feed and hay to tenderize the meat and improve the flavor. With luck you'll end up with a slaughter weight of 800-1000 lbs. BTW - they typically dress out at 50% waste.

Working out the logistics and cost of slaughter can be a deal killer. Not many slaughter houses around here still doing it. And the cost can be high. If you know how to do it yourself, have cool secure place to hang it while it ages, meat bandsaw and grinder, and ample freezer space then you're way ahead.

It used to be common around here to skip most of the above, buy a beef in the fall, sweet feed it for a few weeks, take it to the slaughter house then return in a few days to pick up the cut, wrapped and chilled or frozen beef. People would often split the cost with their neighbors.  But I guess the regulations have closed most of the small slaughterhouses and we are left with supermarkets.  When I was growing up we raised, killed and aged our own. We then took it to my uncle's house (he was a butcher) to be cut, ground and wrapped.
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and
I thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?!" - Anon

slowzuki

Local butcher still takes animals here, we had a ram (sheep) slaughtered in the fall for a not bad price.  We used to buy a side of beef from the local farmer, let me think, it was about 300 lbs of meat, about 600$, I think.  The same butcher processed it.

SwampDonkey

Local, small butcher shop beef is no cheaper than store bought beef here. But, usually you have a good idea how the animal was raised if you know the butcher. There are a handful of people that raise 4 or 6 animals for sale in the fall. Usually sold by the side. They are becoming more rare though. Since Mad Cow in 2003, a lot of beef farmers have quit and sold their animals at a great loss, while the prices from the processor remained high or higher. Not because of supply, (and there was an over supply) but because they can do as they wish.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

LT40HDD51

Heres an idea my dad used to use in his small farmin days. He had a gurnsey for milk and had er bred every year (always threw a bull calf  :)). Hed take an old axle out of a big rear differential, slip a collar around it with a ring welded to it to attach a chain so it can turn, and drive the axle into the ground. Give the little bugger 25' of chain and he can do a 50' circle of grass. Then put an old bathtub where it can just be reached between 2 of these axles, and run a garden hose to it. Once a day turn the tap on for a couple minutes and hes fed and watered for the day. Go check once in a while to make sure hes not tangled up... ;D. With a quick connect on the end of the chain its nothing to unhook him and move to another axle when needed. No fences and easy pasture rotation...
The name's Ian. Been a sawyer for 6 years professionally, Dad bought his first mill in '84, I was 2 years old :). Factory trained service tech. as well... Happy to help any way I can...

CLL

Right now a 800# feeder steer is about 85 cents a pound. Assuming you butcher him soon, he should dress out at about 58%, thats 464# of beef. Cost for slaughter is $25.00 and .25 cents a pound to cut and wrap. That should make the price per pound about $1.77 per pound. The middlemen get all money. I red in a farmers book the meat has 3-5 people adding to the original price before we get it. Naturally everyone adds their precentage to it. Same with bread, farmers get 13 cents for the wheat in a loaf of $1.59 bread.
Too much work-not enough pay.

DR_Buck

Do you know what it cost to feed a cow these days?   :o    When they're on pasture, it's not much of an issue except for the cost to maintain pasture grass, and this is very high as well.   But this time of year when feeding hay and grain is the only way to keep them from going hungary the cost is UNBELIEVABLE!   :o :o :o   The hay I buy is cheep at $30 a round bale.  Some farmers are getting upwards to $50 a bale.   I feed 18 breeders and one bull.  I go through 1 round bale per day from early November through the end of March.   

The last batch of steer calves I sold went for $1.39 lb on the hoof and the heifer calves for about $1.15 lb.  Anything lower and I start to loose money.   These were between 500 and 600 lbs.   The feed lots that buy them at auction run them up to slaughter weight and send them on to market.   That's where the price starts to climb. And, that's where I get my meat.

We don't eat any of our own.   It works out better to sell them at auction, take the profits and buy the meat cuts we want and pocket the extra cash.    When I sell at auction, I get paid for the whole animal.   If I was to slaughter for myself, all the extra stuff (guts, hide, bone, etc) is is lost $$ and I end up with a lot of meat I wouldn't normally buy anyway. 

I just came from COSTCO at lunch time where I bought NY strips for $7.15lb and round roast for $4.38lb.
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Engineer

It sounds to me like the best way to go is buying a side?  There's a small farm abotu a half-mile up the road that raises some beef for sale and Morgan horses as well.  I don't really have much for pasture, I guess I could clear some but that's a LOT of work for what's there.  There's several farms around that raise beef, I guess I could buy a calf and have a farmer raise it, but that probably will be expensive by the time it's slaughtered.

Even three bucks a pound for a whole side is reasonable, no matter what the cut.  Plus a side will get me cuts that I normally don't buy, either for price or because they're unavailable locally.  Like tri-tip or short ribs.   Or a good porterhouse.

I gotta think about this.   ??? :P

Ianab

Having to feed an animal with bought in food is the deal killer really.
In NZ it's possible to grass feed all year round, although a bit of hay would be used to get them through the winter if you are running normal stocking rates. Thats why the US looks at NZ beef and dairy and thinks it must be subsidised, it's not, it's just so much cheaper to run cattle.

The other hassle is that it takes almost as much time to look after 2 cattle as it does a herd of 100. They still need to be checked regularly, watered, fenced, moved to new pasture, fed their hay etc.

Unless you want to actually be a farmer / fencer / vet etc , buy a beast and find a local butcher to kill and cut it up.  At least you cut a couple of middlemen out of the loop  ;)

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

treebucker

Quote from: DR_Buck on March 07, 2007, 04:21:59 PM
The hay I buy is cheep at $30 a round bale.  Some farmers are getting upwards to $50 a bale.  

Wow. Where are you located. Around here 1000# bales of hay run $10-20.00 a bale. The farmers are leaving it in the fields unharvested. They are taking one or two cuttings on mixed hay when they could get two to three. We've had bumper crops 4 out of the last 5 years. But alfalfa is still prized.
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and
I thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?!" - Anon

SwampDonkey

@  Ianab

Most practical advice a guy could give.  ;) ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

$50 a bale for good hey is probably closer to the actual cost of production. $20 seems low. Since I know hey was selling here for $2 a bale for a 50 # bale 20 years ago. In recent years all I see being grown around here is weeds and trash, mostly for hobby farms. However, I do know of a couple farms producing good hey as they manage their ground for good hey production. I don't know how people can sell weeds for cattle feed.  ::)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Mooseherder

Not familiar with your Market area and amount of competition, but that is the same Retail we have on Tenderloin down here. The Grocery industry averages less than 5 cent return net profit after all the bills get paid. Most chains average less than that.
The power bill for a Supermarket every month is 30 grand.  Alot can go wrong in a short amount of time to lose any profit you have made for the year.
Instead of buying large quantities, you may be better off shopping the ads of competitors. We have a rotation ad that is pretty predictable. The ad is a break even proposition to get you in the store.1 Week it is Porterhouse and T-Bone. I buy the Porterhouse with the Big Fillet. The womenzes eat the fillet, the guys eat the top part (Strip). Then Strips are on Sale the next week. Strip is just the top section of a Porterhouse or T-Bone. Next week it is Rib Eyes, most times Boneless, sometimes Bone In. Next week Boneless Sirloins. Then the cycle rotates back to something like a London Broil (Top Round in the south) (Shoulder steak in da Nord)

If your chain doesn't follow this kinda rotation all you gotta do is throw in a few competitors. If you have a Costco in your area, they have good Beef and do a good Job with it.  I also compete with them here and they are a worthy competitor and I admire their business model.

There are also some cheaper cuts of Beef that are tender with great flavor.
Top Blade Steaks, also known as a flat Iron Steak is the Second most tender piece of Beef behind the Fillet.  Chuck Eyes live right next door to the Rib Eye and are great cheap steaks. Problem is, there are only 4 Steaks per Steer, 2 on each side.  Another cut, not available everywhere is shoulder tenders. Most shops just use this piece off the top of the shoulder for cube steaks.
I think buy shopping the ads you will be further ahead in getting stuff you actually want to eat.

SwampDonkey

I buy cross rib roasts. No bone, very little fat. Tender meat when slow cooked. $2.49/lb on sale. It's cut from the shoulder, also known as 'Boston cut' or 'Chuck Shoulder Pot Roast'.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Mooseherder

That makes a great roast SD. 
I also buy those or Bnls chuck underblade roast and have it ground up for Hamburger.
Depends what is on sale that week. ;D
It makes delicious burgers. ;)

farmerdoug

Murf,  At 100 dollars a head you should have a freezer full of beef.  Around here feeder steer are over a dollar a pound on the hoof.  No wonder Canada wants to sell the USA more beef.

Like it was said you can save some money buying or raising a beef and butchering it but you will have a freezer full of meat.  Unless you are feeding an army you better get a good vacuum sealer or you will loss some to freezer burn.

Farmerdoug
Doug
Truck Farmer/Greenhouse grower
2001 LT40HDD42 Super with Command Control and AccuSet, 42 hp Kubota diesel
Fargo, MI

Mooseherder

Some of the best Beef I ever tasted was at my BIL Uncles house in Quebec. These folks also had a very large Maple Sugar operation shipping truckloads across the country. They also had a Dairy Farm. Yep, dat Canadian Beef was mmmmm  mmmm good.

WDH

I "order" five deer each year from my nephews (and provide land for them to hunt).  I process the meat myself into ground venison and cubed steak as "staples".  That way, I have ground meat, no fat, for use in a variety of foods and the "un-ground" meat for country fried steak, stews, stir fry, etc.  That way, when I shop the sales and buy steak for grilling, the cost impact is not so bad.

I have come to three inviolable conclusions:  1).  If you want all purpose meat to prepare a number of dishes, lean venison is superior.  2).  If you want sausage, you cannot beat hogmeat.  3).  If you want grilled steak, beef is the only way to go.

I am prepared for the backlash from the the Forum members to what will be perceived as a flawed strategy, so bring on the reprimands 8) 8).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Dave Shepard

I personally would try to buy a side locally, and get to know the farmer. You, and the farmer, will be better off with locally grown food. I strongly support local agriculture as it used to be. I think there will be a day soon when it won't be feasible to truck food cross country, or fly it in from south america. Why send your hard earned dollars to another part of the world, spend it locally on your neighbors, a healthy community is invaluable to all. Except perhaps to the very people who are driving prices of everything we buy through the roof.


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

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