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She just looks fat and sassy to me. I bet if you were to butcher her she'd be some good eating. Not suggesting that. Just saying.
 
I missed your question, but I'm certain in my mind there is no such thing as a dumb question as long as it's asked in all seriousness..... But there is plenty of dumb answers to most question. Don't hesitate to ask any question.
 
Work is (scary) slow so I spend too much time on the internet posting dumb questions.....

Jogeephus, don't even mention that, we haven't had freezer beef since we bought this farm, can't afford it! One of the new calfs is a bull so I will probably band him shortly and sell half of him next year and keep the other.

Can you eat a cow? lets say one did not work out, making her 3 or older at the time, can you finish her and get any decent cuts out of her? We mostly eat hamburger, but that would be a whole lot of hamburger.
 
Kell-inKY":364oxysj said:
Can you eat a cow? lets say one did not work out, making her 3 or older at the time, can you finish her and get any decent cuts out of her? We mostly eat hamburger, but that would be a whole lot of hamburger.
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I'm not sure if this was directed at Jo or anyone, but....... The short,correct answer is yes. But my opinion is meat quality, an older cow may be fine for hamburger but may not for other cuts. My thoughts are a steer or heifer around 24 to 36 months or so. Fed for 90 days on grain to fatten up, this will help you get a more tender beef for the freezer.

To offset the expense you can sell half and keep half. Right now it seems $4.25 per lb hanging weight plus half the processing fee is the going rate around here.
 
i've bought plenty of commodity grade whole ribeyes and tenderloins, which i have been told is old dairy cattle and whatnot. i have no idea if that's true or not.

out of that commodity grade, if you take a whole or half loin, tenderloin, ribeye, etc, and cook it like you would prime rib (225* to medium rare-ish), people will think you are feeding them prime+ 30 day dry aged Wagyu.

if you cut a steak off of it, and grill it, not so much. if you try it, leave the primals whole and use it like that and i'd bet it would be good.

worst thing that happens is you try it and it's no good. if that's the case, grind it and vac seal it. i don't know how long vac sealed burger will stay good, but it's a LONG time. at least a couple years.
 
Alan":zfla5ryo said:
Right now it seems $4.25 per lb hanging weight plus half the processing fee is the going rate around here.
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And that's what worries me about trying to sell beef locally. We have tons of people asking us about it but when the rubber hits the road are they going to shell out the money for a half a cow? Do the math on $4.25 plus processing and I think they are going to get sticker shock, then again my wife knows the people that have money, the ones who want "grass fed no hormone etc.", but I still have my doubts. We could easily sell smaller portions to local health food stores etc. but I think that gets into a whole nuther side of the business. I'm just not talented enough to figure this out, our area has plenty of people who want "farm raised", but very few farms, and I have no problem having people come out and see how their beef is raised, I think that would sell a lot of it right there. There's a way to do this I'm sure, boy, this is like learning a whole new occupation though.......

here is fatties rear end that I deleted, my original question was why does she have these large deposits on each side of her tail and nobody else does? They jiggle a whole lot too, just look peculiar to me.
8358-73butt.jpg
 
she is an easy keeping cow , dose she have a calf on her ? if so how dose it look ? if no calf and did not breed she would be finished for the freezer

Suzanne
 
Yes you can eat a cow. Boy aren't anericans spoiled. Should not have to fatten her too much. You will have a bit more connective tissue and gristle in steaks, but the flavor should be great. If not then you will really know what you have going on genetically......
 
AllForage is right.. she doesn't need anymore fattening.

ground meat from old cows is BETTER than from a young animal.. the GOOD cuts of steaks will still be good, but the rest ought to go into stew and burger meat.

That cow will have a LOT of trim off her, I figure 200 lbs or more of fat.. we've had a couple like that.

As for hanging weight, I'd take a guess at about 1000 lbs or so. If people don't want to pay, go darned well pay $4.50 a lb for ground beef in the store (can you tell I'm sick of tire-kickers?)
 
I have eaten a few 3 yr olds. Allforage is dead right. More flavor than young feeders, just not quite as tender. Still darn good eating though. Enjoy.
 
My grandpa fed out a pile 3-5 year old cows he bough out of the kill pen for a living and we ate several of them. On a true three year old that was fed hard there wasn't much difference between that and choice from the store.
 

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