Direct Marketing Beef

[VaCowman]

Hoping you can let me know the pitfalls of direct marketing beef to the public.
I live about 30 minutes from a pretty big town (120K) I have grass fed/finished beef.

2019 is the year of The Weed, with some looking at marketing Hemp fed pork in select locations.
Maybe you can start an ultra niche market with a value added GRASS fed grass/finished beef.

:lol: :lol:

 

[VaCowman]

If you are worried about inspection, just sell the animal on live weight basis. If you sell halves, just have two buyers "go in together" on the whole beef on live basis. They can kill and cut in their backyard or take to a inspected processor. Retail cuts, simply put, no way to get around inspection. I trust your ( and my ) facilities are probably clean prior to cutting, but not everyone puts as much thought into cleanliness and contaminants as some. Regulations suck, but this one could possibly save direct marketers (large or small) from a disaster. IMHO.

 

[Hpacres440p]

To sell beef to the general public, the beef has to be processed at a facility that is USDA inspected.

You can sell the animal by hanging weight to individuals by the quarter, half or whole as long as it is processed in a locker. The lockers are USDA inspected for approval to do the processing, but the carcass is not USDA inspected.

I saw in the USDA rules that if a person sells quarters, etc, the processing fee has to be paid directly to the processor. How does that work if you have a group of people who want to buy smaller batches-like 1/8? I can't imagine a local processor wants to deal with 8 separate people with payments and pickup for one animal...
I'm asking because we will be butchering 2 soon, and one of them is being split among coworkers wanting to buy meat.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I only sell 1/2's, so anyone that can't take that much has to find someone else they want to share with or I will put two together - but - I make them order and pay, then split after they pick up.

 

[mayesfarm]

Do any of you that sell whole or halves require deposits ?

 

[sassafras manor]

We always required a $150 deposit for a half or a $300 deposit for a whole beef. There's nothing worse than having an animal hanging or packaged and the seller backs out. We got burned once and then implemented the deposit.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I have not, but it is definitely a good idea. We have only sold 2-3 animals. This year will be 4.

 

[mayesfarm]

Do any of you that sell whole/halves require deposits ?