Butchering Steers

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wvherefords

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Hello. I'm new to cattle. I have about 13 head of herefords that I got started in about a year ago. I'm currently feeding out 3 steers. Should be done by early January. I've got a bunch of family and friends who have committed to buying 1/2 steer each. I've never gone through the process of taking them to the slaughter/butcher, requesting cuts, selling meat, etc. I'm located in WV not too farm from Washington, DC.

A few questions:

1. should I charge each person per live lb on the hoof?
2. if yes, then I'm guessing I assign each person 1/2 of a particular steer and tell them what 1/2 of the live weight of that steer was, correct?
3. can they designate how they'd like their 1/2 cut? I'm guessing they can call the processor I choose and let him know (but I'll have to find out from that processor).
4. what should I charge, roughly, per live lb? (i.e. what is market in your respective areas)?

I will only have 3-5 calves to feed out each year and a healthy demand for beef from friends/family, so I *should* never have to send them to the sale barn.

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

thanks,

-E
 
We just sold 5 halves and we charged by the pound hanging weight. We came out farther ahead by doing it this way verses live weight. We checked with the local butcher to see what the going rate was and that's what we went by. At the time 1/2s were going for $1.69 a pound cut and wrapped. We charged $1.35 a pound and they paid the butcher for cutting and wrapping which was .30 a pound. We told our customers to call the butcher and make arrangements on how they wanted their beef cut up and when to pick it up. Worked out just fine.
 
wvherefords":1rtsdwn0 said:
Hello. I'm new to cattle. I have about 13 head of herefords that I got started in about a year ago. I'm currently feeding out 3 steers. Should be done by early January. I've got a bunch of family and friends who have committed to buying 1/2 steer each. I've never gone through the process of taking them to the slaughter/butcher, requesting cuts, selling meat, etc. I'm located in WV not too farm from Washington, DC.

A few questions:

1. should I charge each person per live lb on the hoof?


-E

Even though I am relatively new at alot of aspects of the cattle business, I have done what you are doing for a while. Here's my take on it. When I have a steer ready for someone, they come out to the pen. We load it up and off to the Coop scales we go. After the steer is weighed, I am paid on the spot for the live critter. I will have already figured a per pound price which will include feed,etc. that I want and have conveyed that to the buyer before bothering to load the critter into the trailer. I will then haul it to their choice of local slaughter houses and unload. What happens from there on out is their business. I'm done. Easiest and simplest way I've found.

george
 
Rookie,

Does the buyer make two trips to the scale with you one to weigh the trailer empty and one to weigh it with the steer or do you unload and load the steer at the scales? Than head to the slaughter house? If so seems like alot of stress to the steer before the kill.

I've always had the mobile unit out to the place.

Alan
 
Alan":3ql4mtyo said:
Rookie,

Does the buyer make two trips to the scale with you one to weigh the trailer empty and one to weigh it with the steer or do you unload and load the steer at the scales? Than head to the slaughter house? If so seems like alot of stress to the steer before the kill.

I've always had the mobile unit out to the place.

Alan

One trip with the critter loaded.Since I don't do business with strangers I am basically on the honor system with any buyers. I take my trailer to the scale empty several times a year and get a dated weight ticket on it which is never more than 3 months old. The folks I deal with know that I am on the up and up and know also that all they gotta do is ask and I will gladly take them to the scales with an empty trailer and let em see for themselves. The Coop scale is only a couple miles from my home 20 .......And if there is ever a big difference between what the Coop scale says and what the slaughterhouse scale says, somebody is gonna get their clock cleaned ;)

george
 
[/quote]One trip with the critter loaded.Since I don't do business with strangers I am basically on the honor system with any buyers. I take my trailer to the scale empty several times a year and get a dated weight ticket on it which is never more than 3 months old. The folks I deal with know that I am on the up and up and know also that all they gotta do is ask and I will gladly take them to the scales with an empty trailer and let em see for themselves. The Coop scale is only a couple miles from my home 20 ..
George,

Sounds like you got a good group of clients, the scale ticket would work for me.

Thanks,
Alan
 
Well, I thought I figured out how to do the quote with the "so and so" wrote at the top, guess not. reverse the last post.

Alan
 
Alan":3fwjxvx3 said:
Well, I thought I figured out how to do the quote with the "so and so" wrote at the top, guess not. reverse the last post.

Alan

Alan, I had that trouble, had to go in and disable HTML on my profile page. At least I think that is where I did it :roll:

george
 
Rookie":z208ovzs said:
When I have a steer ready for someone, they come out to the pen. We load it up and off to the Coop scales we go. After the steer is weighed, I am paid on the spot for the live critter. I will have already figured a per pound price which will include feed,etc. that I want and have conveyed that to the buyer before bothering to load the critter into the trailer. I will then haul it to their choice of local slaughter houses and unload. What happens from there on out is their business. I'm done. Easiest and simplest way I've found.

I agree with this approach. We try to avoid these type deals because they are a headache but on the few occasions where we do it for friends we follow basically the same way Rookie described. Ownership is transferred on the live animal. That means you don't have any regulatory issues, the customer deals with the locker plant as far as ordering cuts, aging, etc. and they decide how to split the order with whoever they want. This makes it as simple as it can be made. The thing to remember is to charge enough to make it worth your while which is always a premium over what the calf would bring at the sale barn.

Craig-TX
 
thanks for the info. I have the little added wrinkle that no-one wants a whole steer. I'm keeping 1/2 for myself and my parents are getting 1/2, but the other two steers will be sold in 1/2's.

I am only doing this for friends or I'd otherwise sell the whole steer "live" as you suggested.

thanks,

-E
 
I just sold two halves last week. I sold one half to close friends for $1.50 a lb hanging weight, plus cut and wrap. The other half I sold for $1.80 plus cut and wrap. I also butchered a cow and I am selling the hamburger for $2.00 a pound.

The animals were farm killed and I had the buyers call the butcher and order their cuts. This worked just fine for me.

Damien
 
We sell only on live wt, and charge $1.58/lb and this includes processing. On top of this we ad sales tax. The Georgia Revenue department told me that since we are selling a live animal that is going to a person not practicing animal husbandry that we must charge sales tax on the animal, which is 7% in the county we actually transfer ownership.

We have a contract with all customers, that specifies that we are not selling meat, but a live animal and that the customer is authorizing us to set up the processing for them at a USDA meat plant. Upon weigh in on the meat plants's certified scale we send a bill of sale for the animal, and send them notification of the amount due to the processor on meat pickup based on hanging wt.

On thing about weighing the truck and trailer empty on a day different from that in which the trailer contains the animal. When I did this, and compared it to the certified scale at the meat plant, the coop scale was up to 200 lb off. When I did the weigh in on the same day, with and without the critter, they were only a pound off. I also was very careful to fill up with fuel before going to the coop both with and without the critter , so that the weight of the fuel was not an issue.

You can see the gory details of our beef purchase plan on our website http://www.sellfarm.com

Billy :cboy:
 
Billy, that is a very well done website! What's more, you sure have a lovely farm and have done great things with it! Really enjoyed the page on Flapper herding the sheep, as well as the page on the dogs (not your everyday breeds and congratulations on the UD, a real challenge!).

Hope everyone looks at this. I say Wow! You're an inspiration.
 
Well thank you all for your very nice comments. We do work at it, a LOT. and we truly enjoy every minute of it.

Once I figure out how to get the pictures, I will put some up of another herding bull that trys to keep the ladies from going out to the winter grazing pasture - and that is not funny- he just heads them off and drives them back. UGH!!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays to everyone.

Billy
 
Hello, I really enjoyed your site! We have come the the Georgia National Fair in Perry for the past three years. We have some PAUS members in Georgia and one of the Michigan bulls got sold to Woolsey Creek Farm in Milner in 2003. It is a beautiful area.
 

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