Butcher Prices

[somn]

cfpinz
I apologize for the last thread being locked. It seems some people would rather do favors for the packing industry that they won't do for friends and neighbors. I'm an honest person that won't allow me to screw the locals just because I can. I will repost your question so you can get an idea of how many honest people we have on this board and how many dishonest people there are on this board. Depending on how many dishonest people there are the dishonest method might be in the majority. Then you won't need to feel bad about overcharging for your meat. You can use the excuse everyone else does it. I'm done arguing with dishonest people I will try my best to not reply to the dishonest ones. Here goes.

For those of you that sell butcher steers/heifers off the farm fattened, how do you go about your pricing?

Thank You

 

[larryshoat]

I usually call my cattle buyer and ask him what he is paying for direct cattle and charge that . That's what I would get on that day if I brought in A full load .It seems we don't sell many freezer beef, processing is so high, very few places left to have one processed and, it takes for ever to get one in .

Larry

 

[JMichal]

1) You need to know the Quality of your product
2) You need to know the retail value of your product
3) You need to know what your product costs to produce

This chart may help a little.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/meatpricespreads/Data/beef.xl

If you can not figure out the 3 steps above and come up with a price you could try this;

If you feel your customers would appreciate the ability to purchase high quality beef for the price of average hamburger at Sams club $2.87 per lb (charge $1.60 per lb Hanging wt)

If you feel your customers would appreciate the ability to purchase high quality beef for the average retail price of beef in 2007 $4.16 per LB (charge $2.50 per lb Hanging wt)

As somn has suggested you need to be honest with your customers. So whatever you decide to charge be willing to show your customers your product and the method you use to price your product.
They are adults and can make a decision based on the facts. After that the market in your area will dictate if you will be successful or not.

We charge $2/LB hanging wt., and are about right in the middle of the #s above. This is what we have determined we need to receive, to offer this service to some of our friends. We do this because they ask us to, they are familiar with our operation, and would rather purchase their Beef from us than the stores. We primarily sell our pre-conditioned calves to backgrounders. We are finding out more and more people want us to finish cattle for them.

I believe this will be a growing market in the U.S., as the international market will be flooded with beef from other countries such as, Argentina and Brazil. This inferior product will become common in the stores and people will reach out to the local farm for the quality product they want. With the increased cost of land, Feed, Fuel, etc. our farmers that do not adapt will sell out, meaning a declining U.S. herd. We are contemplating our future, and concentrating our efforts, to incorporate a herd with a higher beef quality, while not jeopardizing the maternal and growth traits we allready have.

The market is changing and I wish to survive it for a little while longer.

 

[cfpinz]

Thanks for reposting the question. Never had a topic get locked before, are the internet police going to come looking for me now?

From what I've gathered the average price around here is around $2/lb hanging wt. Lowest I've heard is $1.50 and some of the "grass-fed" and "natural" circles charge $3-$4 a lb. I'd rather not deal with the latter crowd.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

We use to sell them for a 1.00 LB when feed was cheaper. I haven't put much thought into yet this year. We weight the day they go to processers. I just make sure my customers know what they are getting.

 

[ChrisB]

I charge whatever the top of the market is the day they go to the locker. I don't try and sell too many direct but if someone asks I will put them on the list.

 

[JMichal]

We use to sell them for a 1.00 LB when feed was cheaper. I haven't put much thought into yet this year. We weight the day they go to processers. I just make sure my customers know what they are getting.

Live Wt. or hanging Hanging Wt

 

[JMichal]

I charge whatever the top of the market is the day they go to the locker. I don't try and sell too many direct but if someone asks I will put them on the list.

So are you talking salebarn price?

 

[auctionboy]

It is funny how lots of people on here complain about what price they get at the sales barn and not being able to set there own price and when they get the chance some still sell for what they would get at the sales barn. When you are selling retail, don't charge wholesale, actualy if you are doing fine and don't need the money good for you, but you don't have to try and make new farmers and people trying to make a living feel bad about selling for more then you. Odds are there product is better then what can be bought in the grocery store. these people are doing a service selling hormone free beef for less, equal, and even if they charged more then the grocery store!

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

JMichal It was a few years back, feed was 6.50 a 100 LB and i sold live weight.

auctionboy sold calves last fall to Lauras Lean Beef 6 weight steers 1.24 5 weight heifers 1.23 they shipped Nov. 6 07. Local market at that time 6 weight steers .96, 5 weight heifers were .92.

 

[auctionboy]

JMichal It was a few years back, feed was 6.50 a 100 LB and i sold live weight.

auctionboy sold calves last fall to Lauras Lean Beef 6 weight steers 1.24 5 weight heifers 1.23 they shipped Nov. 6 07. Local market at that time 6 weight steers .96, 5 weight heifers were .92.

Cogratulations! Taking advantage of a different then normal market and winning big is always satisfying.

 

[novatech]

JMichal hit it on the head.
If you are going through all the work of raising better beef and then just charging sale barn prices the person you are cheating is yourself. Hanging weight is the only fair value to both buyer and seller. I will never apologize for charging people for producing a better product. If you don't charge more for a better product, where is the incentive for doing it.
Honesty and fairness comes into play in what you tell the customer they are getting for what ever they are willing to pay.

 

[somn]

JMichal hit it on the head.
If you are going through all the work of raising better beef and then just charging sale barn prices the person you are cheating is yourself. Hanging weight is the only fair value to both buyer and seller. I will never apologize for charging people for producing a better product. If you don't charge more for a better product, where is the incentive for doing it.
Honesty and fairness comes into play in what you tell the customer they are getting for what ever they are willing to pay.

First off it amazes me that you think your product is a better product than what gets graded choice. You might want to try and sell a 100 head on the grid getting payed grade and yield you will find out real quick how good your product is or isn't compared to the national average. I wonder how many people have ever had their beef graded once. I'm guessing very few. Because it would require most people to change either their genetics or maybe their feeding program. The price I charge is the market value for choice and that is the product I gaurantee to sell. If you think your beef is prime by all meens sell it as prime or even above. You are only misleading your customer. Region 6 produces the lowest quality fed cattle of the entire nation. Welcome to Texas.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

When we have so big of a problem with obesity in America today you would think produceing healthy beef should be our goal. Our grading system is based on fat. If someone wants to buy beef from me i will tell them what they are getting lean, tender, healthy beef. The economy of the area where you live will dictate what you can sell your beef for localy.

 

[kscowboy]

Myself i find alot of the difference to be in the processing. The beef we get from our local house is different from the store bought crap , our 80/20 burger is comparable to the 90/10 ground chuck in the stores and actually better. i don't think you can compare the two products at all. I think a well produced butcher side is just hands down better than the stuff at the stores probably due to processing , freshness , and attention to feeding out properly without the inherent stress of living in a truck , feedyard , and major slaughter facility. That has value to a customer not to mention they know where it came from and what went into it. I raise natural beef , no hormones , no medications , grain finished , that said , I find the hucksters selling " natural / organic " for 4-6 dollars a pound to be just short of felons. Sell a good product , get a reasonable price , and get repeat business , just like any other business. People won't remember a 25 cent a pound difference but they will remember how good the beef was , or whether they got the weight they were promised , once hooked you got a customer for a long time.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

You got it KScowboy i think the processer is really important. When i do sell locally i pick the processing plant. We have used the same place for years they know me and do a great job for myself and my costomer.

 

[dun]

Equally important to price is standing behind your product. Gaurantee satisfaction or you'll buy it back.

 

[ChrisB]

I charge whatever the top of the market is the day they go to the locker. I don't try and sell too many direct but if someone asks I will put them on the list.

So are you talking salebarn price?

Yes. I don't have enough head to get a potload finished at the same time, so I take them to St.Paul in trailer loads.

I can totally understand people that are trying to establish a direct marketing business and want to charge a bit more. If I was going through the extra work I would want to be compensated for it. For me though, I can't justify bringing a trailer load to St.Paul and getting $90 and then hauling a couple to the local locker for my brothers and neighbors and charging them any more than that.

I too find it odd that everyone who raises a couple head a year for the freezer seems to know more about raising beef than the feedyards that do it for a living. Maybe some of the people on here could offer consulting services to the cattle feeders, so every beef eating experience in the entire country will be an enjoyable one and will thus raise demand prices for everyone. I have a neighbor that gets a holstein calf every few years, feeds them 5 lbs of corn a day and butchers them at 3 years old; he swears it's the best beef he's ever had. Before they go to slaughter they look like their about 6 feet tall and only 1200 lbs., I just shake my head everytime I drive by. SOMN, should I send him down and let him share his secret with you? ;-)

 

[bigbull338]

if i fed something 5lbs a day.they would never be ready to butcher.not putting the guys ways down.but feeding like that itll take emm 3yrs to get ready to butcher.now as for the price.it should be a fair price to seller an buyer.an if its a nitch market i can see paying more than normal.theres alot of work raising steers.

 

[ROB]

last year i sold about 25 head to individuals - price was based on hanging wt. i charged $1.75/lb and the purchaser payed for the processing and kill charge which totaled about another $0.40/lb. i deliver most of the beef, but if the drive is excessive i will charge a little more to cover the cost. i would like to make more money, but i am happy to be able to provide 'premium beef at an affordable price'. kinda like a vision statement. i figured the other day to cover the cost increase of $3 corn to $5 corn, i will need to raise my price about $0.15/lb to make the same per hd. as last year.

one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that consumers don't have to worry about market driven prices when they buy beef off of individuals. they know what the general price will be from year to year and are good with it. likewise, go to the grocery store, usually the beef that is listed on special is of poor quality to begin with, or the expiration date is hours away. try to buy a quality rib-roast near Thanksgiving or Christmas - the price is so jacked up you might need to put up collateral to cover the check!

ROB