Butcher prices
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kscowboy
Well-known member
In our area seems to run about 2.00 up to 2.75 per wrapped pound + the wrapping cost and kill fee paid by customer when they pick up at the processing house. To keep it simple I charge 600 per side and they pay .38 per pound for wrapping and about 30 per side for the kill fee. My sides run a little over 250 lbs . They have to pick up at the processing house.If I don't know them I get a deposit and full pay prior to going in.I have holstein / angus crossses that I get pretty reasonable so the economics might be different buying better purebred stock.
I'll sell 10 steers this spring and see how it goes , all by word of mouth to friends and friends of friends. I'll keep a side for myself and for samples as we start into the season. I have the first five sold for may 1st and have scheduled the second five for june first. I don't see this as being able to grow real quickly and it will just be a slow build over a few years. I'm getting close to retiring and if i can sell 15 or so a year I'd be happy with it. Beats taking them to the sale barn and helps us utilize pastures that were not getting used at all , long term investment ground owned by one of my customers.
I'd be interested in others thoughts and practices too !
I'll sell 10 steers this spring and see how it goes , all by word of mouth to friends and friends of friends. I'll keep a side for myself and for samples as we start into the season. I have the first five sold for may 1st and have scheduled the second five for june first. I don't see this as being able to grow real quickly and it will just be a slow build over a few years. I'm getting close to retiring and if i can sell 15 or so a year I'd be happy with it. Beats taking them to the sale barn and helps us utilize pastures that were not getting used at all , long term investment ground owned by one of my customers.
I'd be interested in others thoughts and practices too !
I charge the customer the daily choice cutout value for the day their steer was slaughtered. Yesterday that would have been $150.02 cwt or just $1.50 per pound hanging weight. They pay the locker plant for the slaughter and cut and wrap. It is fair to all people involved.
http://marketnews.usda.gov/LSMNPubs/PDF_DAILY/DCBS.PDF
http://marketnews.usda.gov/LSMNPubs/PDF_DAILY/DCBS.PDF
somn":3nylko1z said:
Doesn't seem to be worth finishing them for 90 days for that price. You can get close to that at the salebarn. Good Quality beef should be worth paying for. If a person buys there beef at the store the average price is right around $4.00/lb. Cut and wrapped. Lets say you get 430 lbs out of a 1000 lb steer thats $1,720. Kill, cut, and wrap is about $188. This comes to $1532.
Hanging weight on this animal is probably 650 or so. Multiply by 1.50= $975.00 You are getting. Seems you are leaving $557 on the table. If you have high quality beef you should be charging at least 2.50/lb hanging. Thats $1625.00. If it is mediocre like at Wally World Then charge $2 which would be $1300.
This is part of the Farmers dilemna. Allways under selling our product. Don't do it.
I do see more and more people buying great quality off the farms in the future. As it will be harder to obtain.
First off don't tell me what I should be charging I've been at this long enough to know right from wrong.JMichal":wt00gx7q said:
$1.50 hanging comes out to $.93 live. It will take a very good steer to bring $.93 Live at an auction.
At $4 a pound few will be able to afford it. People who pay $4.00 a pound for beef cut and wrapped will be few and far between. I've never seen 4 qtrs slaughter, cut, and wrap for $188 but I guess I only sell 150 or so a year thru a locker so I'm sure it gets done as cheap as you have said. It averages around $90 a qtr here.
I also don't kill calves my hanging weight average is closer to your live weight example. I also don't finish the cattle for 90 days either it is closer to 9 months. Your hanging 65% now thats something boxed beef 43% even better. So when you sell who sets the cutting order you or the customer?
As far as selling a quality product I do just that I sell quality beef at a fair price. Why would I charge my local customers that I meet on the street everyday more for the same product that I sell to the packer for much less? Just because I can. Maybe you do. I guess I'm just different than you I would never stick it to somebody just because I can. My way is fair to everyone involved. It seems you want your share the packers share and then some more. I'm happy just getting my share. I will do no favors for the packing industry that I won't do for my neighbors.
Prices also vary by availability of the product. In this area everybodys cousin and their cat has a steer in the back yard to sell half of. Makes it pretty hard to sell a beef with that kind of supply floating around.
somn":fks4jbw5 said:
I agree it would take a very good steer to get .93. But it is all relative to that point.
My wife had found on the internet that the Average price of Beef bought at the retail level was near $4.00/lb., Average 1 year ago was 3.77/lb, Heck hamburger is 2.87/lb, and ribeyes are 6.98/lb at Sams club.
My butcher charges $25 to kill, .38/lb to wrap of hanging wt., I made a mistake their, I used cut up wt. comes to $228 using industry standard of 60%, 600 lbs hanging. Cost for Butcher is $253.00
Industry standard shows 60% hanging, and 42% packaged. I used 1000 lbs as an example. To be closer to what you are saying I will use your numbers.
1600 live, 960 hanging, 672 pkgd
you charge $1440
retail charge 1 year ago $2533 - 390 (Butcher) = 2143 you leave $703 on the table
at $4 = $2688 - 390 = 2298 you leave $858 on table.
Why do we all insist on screwing ourselves? No wonder we bitch about the cost of fertilizer, feed, and fuel. Why are they all F words?
You can buy 1500 lb roll of grass hay here for $20. It cost me $16, based on $10/hr, to make it myself without fertilizer. Custom baling here is $16 to cut, rake, and Bale.
You are the Feedlot so you should get paid that portion.
Like I said Farmers are under selling while inflation skyrockets.
Like I said before I don't care how much I leave on the table when it comes to providing food for the young families in my area. I will do no favors for the packing industry that I won't do for my neighbors. Simple as that. It always seems the people that want to charge outrageous amounts of money for freezer beef are those who normally don't sell it. Market value ask for more they will buy chicken.JMichal":38n5r462 said:
SOMN
I am not saying you should be unfair to your customers. I am saying you should be fair to yourself.
If you charge $2.00 it would be $1920. At least you might cover your feed cost and time.
Feed would be 1.80 per day at 20lbs. Again using 2% of1000 lbs body weight.
1.80 X 270 days = $486 per head to finish. Probably $500 after hay and Vacs.
You were at $1440 - $500 = $940
That comes to .587/lb live 58.7cwt
Wouldn't you be better off selling calves.
Look here http://docscows.com/store.php?cm=214
I am not saying you should be unfair to your customers. I am saying you should be fair to yourself.
If you charge $2.00 it would be $1920. At least you might cover your feed cost and time.
Feed would be 1.80 per day at 20lbs. Again using 2% of1000 lbs body weight.
1.80 X 270 days = $486 per head to finish. Probably $500 after hay and Vacs.
You were at $1440 - $500 = $940
That comes to .587/lb live 58.7cwt
Wouldn't you be better off selling calves.
Look here http://docscows.com/store.php?cm=214
Bobg
Well-known member
I charge $1.80/pound hanging weight. Cut and wrap costs $.41/pound. I feed for 90 days and they have been averaging 1200 pounds. That gives me the best return for my dollar, I have feed for 150 days, but didn't make anymore money since their efficiency goes down.
Bobg
Bobg
I hope your not suggesting we make $940 profit. If so someone needs to sit down with you and go over the numbers.JMichal":5yfig0ox said:
So because of the fact the profit is very slim in feedlot cattle right now you think I should make it up by overcharging my neighbors and friends or I should sell calves. It seems you have a very difficult understanding the whole concept but I will say it again I will not do the packing industry any favor that I won't do to my freinds and neighbors. That is how much the cattle will bring going to slaughter at a packer that is what my friends and neighbors will also pay. I will not charge them more for the same product it is just wrong. If someone will benefit from me leaving money on the table I will rather it be my friends and neighbors not the packer. If you want to over charge people instead of selling at market price by all meens do it. I won't. I want to look these people in the eye when I meet them on the street.
I'm starting to think you my be new at this whole beef business. You do realize over 50% of the beef graded each year grades choice. More than all other grades combined. I'm being more than fair. You seem to think I should charge for the grade above prime. ;-)JMichal":2nshs22e said:
simangus23
Well-known member
I think this is pretty interesting that you are selling select and low to maybe med choice beef to your neighbors, lol. Any backyard feed outfit can make a select or low choice grade and I guess when you do count your $$ you are making a pretty good profit selling that garbage to them. Sounds like they haven't ever had a high choice/low prime piece of beef before. I need to send you some high choice or low prime YG 3 beef or maybe I need to send it to your neighbors.
somn":3relu8tb said:
About 40 % is Select right. I think if a person were to charge .25 to .50 above the index you are using they would be in the ballpark.
If you charged 1.75 for a 960 lb hanging wt that comes to $1680 + $390 (butcher) = 2070 for 688 pkgd lbs. This is 3.00 a lb packaged. Hamburger is $2.87. Don't you think they would jump at that price. Especially in MN where the cost of living is 15 to 20 percent higher than here. We sell every steer we raise at 2:00/lb. and they are jumpin all over it. We don't have enough.
At $2 it's 3.35/lb.
I think some one needs to go over the #s with you. You charge this, but don't complain about Fuel, Feed, and Fertilizer. Maybe you get it for 20% less from you friends and neighbors.
larryshoat
Well-known member
You've lost me with all that . What does the 58.7 cwt represent?JMichal":210l6fay said:
Larry
Well I charge for choice because that is the least quality meat that I produce and sell to my friends and neighbors if they get a prime one so be it. I'm not a guy that will sit here and tell you all my cattle grade prime and why should they the national average for last week was only 2.2% prime.JMichal":1iwnm4x4 said:
I really don't care what % grade select. Why you even brought it up is beyond me but what the heck as long as you did the national average for cattle grading select is 30%.
Now if your talking southern cattle they are around that 44% selects. Southern cattle grade poorly to much grass.
I don't need anyone to go over any numbers for me I watch them daily it doesn't bother me I'm smart enough to manage my operation around them. But maybe if I put it in caps you will be able to understand it so here goes.
I WILL NOT DO FAVORS FOR THE CATTLE INDUSTRY THAT I WON'T DO FOR MY FREINDS AND NEIGHBORS. My neighbors will be charged the same market price I would have gotten from the packer. It doesn't get much simpler than that. By all meens charge what you want if you like the packer better than your friends and neighbors charge your friends and neighbors more. I'm not telling you that you are wrong stop telling me that I am. I have a conscience that doesn't let me charge more to my neighbors and friends than I do a meat packer.
larryshoat
Well-known member
;-)somn":ejxdejq1 said:
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