selling butcher beef

CAB · Mar 5, 2009

That exactly why we put together packages and bundles for the customers along with the fact that we could help control cut flow by doing as much of this as we could. Brent

chigirl · Mar 5, 2009

we get 3.50 lb hanging weight we pay for kill cut and wrap
they call in tell the processing plant how they want it cut buyer will receive
a call when it ready to be picked up they pick it up.

farwest · Mar 5, 2009

You need to send some of those 3.50 a pound customers my way.

TJ · Mar 5, 2009

FYI, I know people personally, who are charging $5 - $6 per lb. & paying the butcher. A lot depends upon where you are located, what you are marketing & who you are marketing too.

worthabit · Mar 5, 2009

chigirl said:
we get 3.50 lb hanging weight we pay for kill cut and wrap
they call in tell the processing plant how they want it cut buyer will receive
a call when it ready to be picked up they pick it up.

That is what we do but only get $2, $3.50 is amazing!

TJ · Mar 5, 2009

farwest said:
There's money to be made in freezer beef if.a guy don't mind the hassle especially if you push all natural or organic.

... or grassfed.

Brent is right, I wouldn't bother with Organic, although I've heard those folks are selling beef for $8 - $12. Don't know any personally & that is all 2nd hand info. But, I do know people selling all natural grassfed, or all natural/limited grain fed for $5 - $6 per lb. & money can be made. Even in big a "grain state" like Illinois!

CAB · Mar 5, 2009

Not saying that there is not a niche for grassfed, but I have have seen more than one grassfed producer come & go here in Iowa. I think that along with being educated and not under pricing our product, we have a big responsibility to be honest and fair to these PPL. If you can get $5&up /lb hanging beef be careful you don't want to kill the golden goose. Remember bad word of mouth travels fast. In this economy, I wonder if those prices will be sustainable. As I said we need to be educated, the customers will educate themselves also as to what is fair. Watch the isles @ the supermarket expand with the "natural" products. Some of these PPL that were paying those prices were making easy great money @ jobs that are being reined back in. JMO. Brent

MYT Farms · Mar 5, 2009

Grassfed beef with no hormones or growth supplements is very popular here near the town of Colorado Springs. We sell on the live weight and the customer picks up the bill for processing. Sometimes we'll deliver. I can still get rid of a grain fat beef for about $1.20 live. Sometimes, I'll have to come down. Might have to this year.

CAB · Mar 5, 2009

AAAh or UHG, Iowa, The Tall Corn State.

TJ · Mar 5, 2009

CAB said:
Not saying that there is not a niche for grassfed, but I have have seen more than one grassfed producer come & go here in Iowa. I think that along with being educated and not under pricing our product, we have a big responsibility to be honest and fair to these PPL. If you can get $5&up /lb hanging beef be careful you don't want to kill the golden goose. Remember bad word of mouth travels fast. In this economy, I wonder if those prices will be sustainable. As I said we need to be educated, the customers will educate themselves also as to what is fair. Watch the isles @ the supermarket expand with the "natural" products. Some of these PPL that were paying those prices were making easy great money @ jobs that are being reined back in. JMO. Brent

I'm not selling grassfed beef, I just know people who are & that is what they are selling it for. They have loyal customer bases that are growing, so I think they will continue to do OK. The buyers like the fact that they know who raised it, they can see it being raised & they will gladly pay a premium. Plus this stuff actually tastes good (I've tried & like it!) & I've been told that some grassfed beef isn't very good... maybe that's why they get a premium. The thing is getting established with a market & that is the hardest part. Maybe they will eventually have to lower their prices... IDK. I'm just telling you what they tell me. I do know somebody right now who sells all natural chickens & they keep telling me to raise grass finished beef & so that they can market it for me. They think $5 per lb. would be an easy sell.

OhShOwEr · Mar 5, 2009

we get around 2.00/ pound hanging weight, take it to the butcher shop for them, they pay the processing and pick up the finished product. This seems to work out well for us, most of the time the most aggrivating thing is getting them to go pick up their meat so the butcher shop can have the freezer space haha. hope this helps :

reno1014 · Mar 5, 2009

I just sold corn fed-out steers for 1.00 per pound on the hoof...customer pays for all processing. These steers were weighing in
at 1450 and 1025 live wt. I butchered one in December that hung 1000 pounds on the rail, I guessed his weight at 1375 at the time of
sale....guess I was off.

dori36 · Mar 5, 2009

braunvieh said:
We have a group of 4 people that want to buy a butcher beef from us. We have done this in the past but it has been a while I cannot remember how it was done. I was just going to charge them the going rate for a side of beef at the butcher shop, such as $2.00/lb (whatever it is). Question is....who pays for processing? Me or them? Also, I am hauling the beef 4 hours to their location to butcher so I don't have to worry about delivering or storing it. Please share what you do.

I've sold freezer beef several times, both in MI and WY. I charge rail price plus ten cents/lb. The buyer pays processing, I pay the kill fee. I'd levy a mileage charge for the delivery or charge more for the beef.

JSchroeder · Mar 5, 2009

Has there been a new story or episode of Oprah lately that brought this subject to the limelight?

I've heard more and had more requests for natural beef (from non-ag people looking for a hook up) in the past month than I've seen in the past five years.

savaged · Mar 5, 2009

I know that the "city folk" I work with will pay for "natural" beef - and they seem to mostly define natural as no antibiotics or hormones. I think grain fed is perfectly acceptable to them.

My question is, how much do you figure is invested in a steer from breeding to finish, and feeding grain after weaning?

knabe · Mar 5, 2009

savaged said:
My question is, how much do you figure is invested in a steer from breeding to finish, and feeding grain after weaning?

add up input costs and costs allocated to assets used, ie land, water, your salary.

ELBEE · Mar 5, 2009

We've done this for years here's the formula used. this also helps us avoid a retailers license.

Customer estimate: Live weight x (live) market price x 63% = hanging weight x 70% = freezer meat + processing and kill charge.

Today's example;

Fat steer #1200 x $.84 = $1008
Killing #1200 x 63% = #756 + $ 50 (flat fee)
Processing #756 x $.45 = + $ 340
___________
$1398
Freezer meat #756 x 70% = #529
$1398
__________ = $2.64 per lb.

#529

We deliver to processing (locker) plant and receive live weight payment from customer, then they pay locker all other fees. I also try to shrink them before killing. With our Shorthorns, the yield is usually higher than estimated and the hamburger is 85-90% lean. Therefore happy customers!

MYT Farms · Mar 5, 2009

ELBEE said:
We've done this for years here's the formula used. this also helps us avoid a retailers license.

Customer estimate: Live weight x (live) market price x 63% = hanging weight x 70% = freezer meat + processing and kill charge.

Today's example;

Fat steer #1200 x $.84 = $1008
Killing #1200 x 63% = #756 + $ 50 (flat fee)
Processing #756 x $.45 = + $ 340
___________
$1398
Freezer meat #756 x 70% = #529
$1398
__________ = $2.64 per lb.

#529

We deliver to processing (locker) plant and receive live weight payment from customer, then they pay locker all other fees. I also try to shrink them before killing. With our Shorthorns, the yield is usually higher than estimated and the hamburger is 85-90% lean. Therefore happy customers!

Wow, I'm gonna keep that handy so I can figure what to charge! Thanks!

yousesteers · Mar 5, 2009

We used to do it quite a bit up to 10 calves a year but people got to where they wanted 1/4 and only rears so we would get hung with the fronts so we started going halves or wholes and people could not afford them so we just kinda quit ours were grain fed. I thought all meat was natural I took one to the locker the other day for me and dad if he dont hang a 1000# carcass I will be disappointed probably charge dad around $1.30 for his half see what he weighs out and what cattle are when we pick them up

Ausley Family Farms · Mar 5, 2009

This last year or so we have went up to 3.00/lb for hanging weight. We pay the cutting an wrapping, and we are running out of steers quicker and quicker every year. We have never advertised as natural beef although our cattle are completely natural besides doctoring of sick calves which are held back for the appropriate period of time. In our part of Arkansas I would have never though that this sort of demand would be possible, but apparently good genetics along with a great feed regiment is working amazingly. My grandmother keeps complaining because we keep selling our beef before we can fill the freezers at home.

selling butcher beef

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