burger?

[farmerjan]

I was born and raised in CT and had family in VT with dairy so I know a little about the winters but never had to deal with it like you. Here in Va we have some cold, like now it is 20 and dropping, last night was 10 and we do get a few below 0 nights. Then in a week it will be up to 50 so swings alot. One thing we do try to do with our fall calving is to get the calves on the ground before the first of dec and I like them before mid-nov but there are always a few late ones; most are sept and oct. I would think if you got them on the ground up there before 1st of oct they would have a decent start before it gets cold, but then the cows will need more feed to milk enough so the calves grow. And as you say, you are limited in space to wean so it may not work. But you might try it with the cow you like and see....
One of the reasons we calve twice is the market and sales. We don't do too much on farm sales anymore, too many people changing their mind or not having the money and I just don't have the patience to deal with them anymore. But I can relate to not wanting to sell a good cow. That is one reason 2x calving works for us too, we can move someone to the next group if they don't get bred right back but I am strict about it being a one time deal. And we have a couple of old cows that have paid their way plus, so I will often let them go 18 months between calves. They stick around a few more years, give us a couple more calves and it doesn't wear them down to nothing. We figure we can afford to give them a little break that way, after giving us calves for years. Even as big as we have gotten, there are a few that get a pass on occasion.

 

[djinwa]

The butcher should be able to get an idea just from the cutability of the meat. Ours has said repeatedly about how easy the jerseys cut , it's a "shear factor" in the meat. Also the amount of marbling in the meat will give an idea as to the chewability and taste. I agree, let them hang 21-24 days if at all possible and get them to get you a couple of steaks off each to try before cutting up the whole thing. Also, the "tenderloins" or filets ought to be good even if they are more burger. I would think that the younger one might be fine but the older one might have to be mostly burger.
You won't be able to do any cuts that include the backbone, like t-bone steaks due to the BSE thing, anything over 27 or 30 months (can't remember) they cannot cut anything that the backbone and spinal cord can contaminate but I seldom do t-bones anyway, always filets and NY strips. That's federal even for beef you take home for yourself.

Just curious how it is determined whether the animal exceeds the age requirement. Does the producer provide a birth certificate?

 

[farmerjan]

Here they go by the teeth, but I did show my butcher the birth date I had recorded on a brown swiss steer so that we could get the t-bones. The steer was tough anyway even with the younger age. They tend to be tough compared to the jerseys and I don't plan to raise anymore. Have had a couple of swiss cross milk cows too and don't want any more of them either. I'll stick to my jerseys and guernseys for milk, and all our beef cattle. If in doubt they won't let you get anycuts with the backbone bones in it. And I am pretty sure it is 30 months.