Entering Meat Market vs Barn sales

[skyhightree1]

We all know cattle sale prices are down at the barns so after thinking of talks I had with Kenny T and Toad I think im ready to get my feet wet some and sell some beef. I listed the fees below of the closest usda facility to me and if you know of one cheaper that's within 2 hours of me let me know Va folks. I don't know if their prices are inline or out of line. I am wanting to start sell beef halves. I am wintering steers this year some are over 700lbs and will keep and finish them out. Is anyone else besides Alan exploring this option? What do you all think of the craigslist ads? I may start doing this on a regular basis if I have good results.

PLEASE NOTE: CUT SHEETS ARE TO BE COMPLETELY FILLED OUT BY CUSTOMERS AND TURNED IN TO US AT DROP OFF. WE DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MISCOMMUNICATIONS IF CUT REQUESTS ARE SUPPLIED TO US IN ANY OTHER MANNER.

ALL ANIMALS SCHEDULED FOR SLAUGHTER MUST ARRIVE WITHIN AN HOUR OF THE AGREED UPON TIME. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO RESCHEDULE YOUR ANIMAL IF IT IS NOT PRESENTED WITHIN THAT TIME FRAME. THIS IS IN CONSIDERATION OF ALL OTHER GROWERS SCHEDULED FOR THAT DAY.

**Please note. Unless otherwise requested inspected product is packaged in average one pound packs (with the exception of roasts). If ground is expected to be in exact weights (such as one pound, exactly) we will charge an additional .50 per pound for all portion controlled items.

CUSTOM AND INSPECTED SLAUGHTER PRICING EFFECTIVE 1/1/16

• Beef Cattle Kill and Age $75.00 Each. Free aging up to 2 weeks. Country Road Meats keeps the hide as part of killing fee.

• Hogs Kill and Chill $50.00 Each. under 400 lbs. Over 400 lbs. $75.00 Each. We do not schedule boar hogs for slaughter under USDA inspection. Boar hogs cannot be dropped off for slaughter without prior approval by Louis.
•Scalding Fee is $ $80. No hog over 350 lbs can be scheduled for scald.

• Lambs & Goats Kill / Chill and process $125 each. $45 Kill and chill only.

Notice: All Animal(s) will be handled in a professional manner, according to all Humane Handling Laws.

All Custom Meat Cutting processed by trained meat cutters.

• The animal(s) is not our responsibility until it has been safely unloaded into our pens and secured. Customer will be responsible for any undue damage to pens caused by animal.
• Country Road Meats will provide a secure corral with water for your animal while it awaits slaughter.

• If your animal(s) becomes injured or falls or cannot rise from a recumbent position or that cannot walk, including but not limited to, those with broken appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, fractured vertebral column or metabolic conditions. These disabled animals shall be condemned. They cannot enter the slaughter establishment.

• If your animal(s) become sick, injured, or dies before slaughter,Country Road Meats and (or) its agents will not be held responsible.

CATTLE DETERMINED TO BE MORE THAN 30 MONTHS OF AGE WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL DISPOSAL FEES FOR SRMS.

• Cattle 30 months old or older may present a significant risk of BSE (Mad Cow Disease) if your cow is determined to be 30 months or older special handling and special charges will apply.

*An additional special handling charge of $50.00 will be charged for all cattle determined to be 30 months of age or older.

• ANIMAL(S) TO BE FREE FROM UNDESIRABLE RESIDUE.

PLEASE NOTE. STANDARD PROCESSING FEES ARE LISTED BELOW. WE MAY CHARGE ADDITIONAL FEES FOR REQUESTS WHICH DEVIATE FROM STANDARD TABLE CUTS.

Beef Processing Fees
• Deluxe Processing .80 lb. Based on hanging weight after slaughter. Steaks cut Bone-in or boneless, your thickness. Roast cut bone-in or boneless as big as you say hand tying on rumps and tips. Ground beef as lean as possible, stew beef extra lean. Any cuts you don't like put into ground beef. Vacuum sealed. All cuts labeled for your convenience. Vaccuum sealed and frozen no extra charge.

$.05 per pound for generic labeling ON INSPECTED PROCESSING.

$.15 per pound on finished weight for private labeling

$10 split fee per order if more than two splits per animal.

**There is limited deviation allowed on our inspected processing form. Clients who need a large number of specialty cuts with specialty packaging which require a great deal of extra time for processing will be charged a flat rate of $1.00 per pound on the hanging weight + labeling fees.

Custom processing is available for animal growers only. Pricing starts at $.70 per pound cut table choice. Includes roasts 3-4 lb, steaks 1". All cuts vacuum sealed in portions for an average family of four. Ground beef in 1.5 lb tubes. Any additional requests will incur time and material costs.


• Due to limited freezer space we ask that all orders be picked up within 48 hours of completion. We will work with you as best we can, but after 48 hours product will be boxed and the cost of boxing added to the invoice. We reserve the right to charge $1 per business day per tray for orders not picked up within after the second week after of processing. We are not responsible for any product after 45 days. WE WILL DONATE ORDERS NOT PICKED UP AFTER 60 DAYS TO THE LOCAL FOOD BANK OR LOCAL FAMILIES IN NEED OF HELP.

*Note: Minimum package weight 1 lb average.
**Please note that we have a minimum processing fee of $325 per animal on beef processing.
***If you ask for a beef to be aged only and picked up whole; bring the manpower to carry the animal from the rail and put it on your vehicle. If we are asked to load we will charge a minimum $50 load fee.

 

[skyhightree1]

I never thought with all this cattle knowledge and 100 + views this post is only hearing crickets :shock:

 

[goddy]

We've been selling grass finished beef here in Central Oregon for 6 years - selling 10 - 12 per year and are at the point where most of our buyers are repeats , if not each year then every second year. We maybe sell 1 each year on Craigslist but otherwise the repeats and word of mouth.

We do on farm killing to make sure there is no stress involved - makes no sense to me to do the job right on the animal for 16 to 18 months up only to stuff up your meat quality by hauling it a couple of hours into a strange facility.Much happier to let the carcase make the journey hanging on hooks. We have a USDA exempt packing plant that does the cutting and wrapping for our customers (plus they have the butchering service and trailer). We sell by liveweight ( we have electronic scales on the property ) so the 1/4 , 1/2 or whole actually belongs to the customer at the point of slaughter.

We slaughter as they finish with no set weight in mind just the degree of finish we are looking for and they are somewhere between 16 and 18 months at a liveweight of between 1200 and 1350 lbs.

I enjoy the client interaction and have enjoyed building up loyal and happy customer base. We are slowly building our numbers towards selling 20 per year or thereabouts.

Good luck with it.

Goddy

 

[ram]

We do on farm killing to make sure there is no stress involved - makes no sense to me to do the job right on the animal for 16 to 18 months up only to stuff up your meat quality by hauling it a couple of hours into a strange facility.Much happier to let the carcase make the journey hanging on hooks. We have a USDA exempt packing plant that does the cutting and wrapping for our customers (plus they have the butchering service and trailer). We sell by liveweight ( we have electronic scales on the property ) so the 1/4 , 1/2 or whole actually belongs to the customer at the point of slaughter.

That's an excellent way to sell a beef. Your liability is nil and you also have no issues with the weight of the finished product.

 

[JWBrahman]

There is a local registered Charolais breeder who will deliver his finished steers to the customer's choice of slaughterhouses. The customer pays him by the pound.

You may want to try that route before investing in a facility/freezers for beef you have already slaughtered.

 

[fenceman]

If you don't mind turning your house shop,whatever into a meat market.
Having customers come to your house. It might Work good for you. I,m a pretty private person at home , I wouldn't like it. I would also look hard at how far the government, health department etc. Is going to be up your a..
There's definitely some folks out there making it work.

 

[skyhightree1]

We do on farm killing to make sure there is no stress involved - makes no sense to me to do the job right on the animal for 16 to 18 months up only to stuff up your meat quality by hauling it a couple of hours into a strange facility.Much happier to let the carcase make the journey hanging on hooks. We have a USDA exempt packing plant that does the cutting and wrapping for our customers (plus they have the butchering service and trailer). We sell by liveweight ( we have electronic scales on the property ) so the 1/4 , 1/2 or whole actually belongs to the customer at the point of slaughter.

That's an excellent way to sell a beef. Your liability is nil and you also have no issues with the weight of the finished product.

Thats a great way to sell it however here we don't have a mobile butchering service

There is a local registered Charolais breeder who will deliver his finished steers to the customer's choice of slaughterhouses. The customer pays him by the pound.

You may want to try that route before investing in a facility/freezers for beef you have already slaughtered.

JW thats exactly what I want to do. I just basically want to be the " General Contractor " and arrange everything and charge them enough to pay for animal and the processing and put money in my pocket. I do not even want to deliver because I don't want any liability to come back and point at me for instance if they got sick. I want them to pick up straight from the facility.

If you don't mind turning your house shop,whatever into a meat market.
Having customers come to your house. It might Work good for you. I,m a pretty private person at home , I wouldn't like it. I would also look hard at how far the government, health department etc. Is going to be up your a..
There's definitely some folks out there making it work.

I am private as well and wouldn't want that either good thing is if I decided to build a facility or something It would be on my place that's a mile back in the woods and miles away from my house. Thats why I want to basically arrange it and drop the steer off and not process it I do not like the gov't

 

[Toad]

In Va you don't need to use a USDA inspected slaughterhouse if you are selling by the quarter or half. The prices you listed are a lot higher than I have been paying.

 

[Kell-inKY]

I don't see how there can be any other future in small farm cattle? I plan to do this next year if all goes well, here is how it has worked for us in the past as a buyer.

When we used to buy from a local farmer, he would organize a couple of people for a half each (word of mouth, or repeat customers). Then the (Amish) slaughterhouse would call when they received it and take our order for the cuts we wanted. When finished the slaughterhouse would call us, we go pick up AT the slaughterhouse and pay on the spot for the processing.

At some point during this the farmer would call us and tell us how much we owed him based on hanging weight and we would write a check to him. This guy didn't know us from Adam, and was very easy going, never seemed to worry that we would pay.

He had a good reputation, I can't see doing it the way he did though, I would need a deposit at least. A half a side with processing is a VERY large chunk of change. My biggest concern is people not realizing how much this is going to cost them. I suppose selling by quarter would be easier.

We have a whole lot of people wanting grass fed beef, there is definitely a large untapped market in my area. What concerns me is whether they are going to follow through when they see the bill? This is my wife's area though, she is a certified people person if you know what I mean, doesn't bother her to talk to any stranger or have anybody out at our place, she could sell anything too, a born salesman.

Good luck, sounds like an opportunity to do something good. I try to keep in mind that these people are NOT yuppies, citiots or any other derogatory term etc., these are people trying to feed their families healthy beef instead of that pink slime you buy at wally world.

 

[suzorse]

I sell by the 1/2 on the rail , and do ranch kill , they pay the processor , dose not need to be USDA
for a side of beef , only individual packages , I sell a lot and rarely ever see the person that purchases
my 1/2s , as they send me a non refundable deposit , before kill , and the rest is due as soon as I get
rail weight , they deal with the butcher on all cuts and pick up there , it is a 90.00 kill fee and .46 alb
cut and wrap on beef
Suzanne

 

[Toad]

I've never had any issue with not being able to sell quarters. I think I posted on facebook one time and now I have more customers than I can produce beef for. My customers are more concerned about health than they are about anything else. So no implants, antibiotics or feeds with antibiotics ect ect. With the number of people these days concerned about knowing what they are eating and buying local its easy to see beef. I simply tell them its grass fed all natural beef and they are willing to buy.

 

[skyhightree1]

In Va you don't need to use a USDA inspected slaughterhouse if you are selling by the quarter or half. The prices you listed are a lot higher than I have been paying.

I thought so do you use shrocks ? The closest facility to me is USDA inspected is why I mentioned it.

 

[Toad]

In Va you don't need to use a USDA inspected slaughterhouse if you are selling by the quarter or half. The prices you listed are a lot higher than I have been paying.

I thought so do you use shrocks ? The closest facility to me is USDA inspected is why I mentioned it.

Yes I use Schrocks. They both do custom and USDA at two different prices. http://schrockssh.com/custom-beef-slaug ... ssing.html

 

[skyhightree1]

In Va you don't need to use a USDA inspected slaughterhouse if you are selling by the quarter or half. The prices you listed are a lot higher than I have been paying.

I thought so do you use shrocks ? The closest facility to me is USDA inspected is why I mentioned it.

Yes I use Schrocks. They both do custom and USDA at two different prices. http://schrockssh.com/custom-beef-slaug ... ssing.html

Thanks I appreciate the info.

 

[skyhightree1]

This is facility closest to me
http://countryroadmeats.com/store.php?sc_page=43

 

[Dave]

The first beef I sold was from a day old Holstein bull calf my Dad gave me back when I was in second grade. That would have sometime in the late '50's. By my senior year of high school sold enough beef to pay for two years of college. Over the years I will fatten a couple for me and the kids. I will end up with an extra half or two to sell. It works well enough that I do it again, maybe add another steer or two. I work my way up to 12 -15 head. By then it becomes such a hassle dealing with the people that I swear off doing it. That happened again about 4 years ago. I remind myself that I raise cattle to get away from hassling with people, not to increase my stress level.

If you don't mind the hassle there is more money in it. My advise is figure out a program which works for you. Don't vary from it no matter what kind of a story the people want to tell you. Get the price agreed to in writing. Get as much money as you can up front.

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks Dave... Yep definately contract and a good portion down or I won't sell them. I also will not slaughter any till large deposit is put down.

 

[skyhightree1]

http://countryroadmeats.com/store.php?crn=222

Weekly Package
Co-Op Pricing

Average of $35 + tax per week per couple

Package Includes



Beef cut to order for 2 dinners

Pork cut to order for 1 dinner

Fresh ground chuck or round for 2 dinners

Chicken for 1 dinner

Sausage or bacon for 2 breakfasts






Summer Grilling Pkg. 1

$220 + tax

8 Rib Eyes 1" thick 2 pack of spare ribs
8 Charcoal Steaks 1" thick 8 lbs of ground beef with bacon patties
1 pack of short ribs
Summer Grilling Pkg. 2

$220 + tax

8 Porterhouse/T-bone 1" thick 2 pack of short ribs
8 Ranch Steaks 10 pound of ground beef
Gourmet Grilling

$240 + tax

8 New York Strip 1" thick 8 flat iron steaks
6 Tenderloin filets 1 1/2" thick 10 lb ground chuck
Whole Beef (Sold by rail weight)

Average Weight 650 lb

$4.05 per pound + tax

Cut to order. Includes Rib Eyes, T-bones, Porterhouse, Sirloin, assortment of Roasts; 10 lb stew beef and ground beef. All vacuum sealed.
1/2 Beef (Sold by rail Weight)

Average Weight 325 lb

$4.10 per pound + tax

Cut to order. Includes Rib Eyes, T-bones, Porterhouse, Sirloin, assortment of Roasts; 5 lb stew beef and ground beef. All vacuum sealed.
1/4 Beef (Sold by rail weight)

Average Weight 163 lb

$4.15 per pound + tax

Half of all cuts and ground from 1/2 of one steer.
Whole Hog

Average Rail Weight 205 lb

$2.75 per pound + tax

Includes Boston Butt, Picnic, Chops, Ham Roasts, Ham Steaks, Breakfast Sausage, and your choice of Chorizo, Italian Sausage or Bratwurst.
Half Hog (Scalded)

Average Rail Weight 100 lb

$2.80 lb + tax

Includes Boston Butt, Picnic, Chops, Ham Roast, Ham Steaks, Breakfast Sausage and 5 lb. of Brats
Hogs for Barbecue (when available) Rail Weight 150 lb and over $2.00 per pound
Rail Weight 100-150 lb $2.25 per pound
Rail Weight 51-99 lb $3.00 per pound
Rail Weight 25-50 lb $150
Rail Weight under 25 lb $125

 

[skyhightree1]

Looking at the closest butchers site I see they say average side is 325lbs @ $4.10 lb = $1,332.50 per half

$ 2,665.00 Per animal

I spoke with the owner and they informed me the average to kill and process is $ 700.00

$1,965 after kill and processing fee subtracted

If I bought this steer and raised him that may make it not worth fooling with and would be better off just selling when I normally sell around 500lbs. If I raised it from a calf born on the farm it would be pretty profitable with the prices being down.

That's just me figuring some stuff up.

Toad if I use your place shrocks its $300.00 cheaper to get processed

 

[SJB]

if a person wanted to do this and wanted to wind up getting the beef to grade as high as practical, at what point would you put them on feed in addition to grass?

I'm thinking about starting with a couple stockers and a couple feeders, butchering them together so I've got a sample of basically some yearlings and some year and half olds. Might even try letting one go to two just as a test to see what's better. I've got it in my head that I want to sell
Nothing but the best if I can help it.

If it was you, would you put them all on a grain ration day 1? Or is that just wasted feed and wait until they are 2-3 months away from slaughter and put them in a smaller lot and put them on a much higher ration of grain?