finishing steers

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Anonymous

Question for anyone selling finished steers for butcher. We sell quarters and halves. What price are you getting? We get $4.00 lb for hang wt plus butcher fee. We deliver to and pickup from butcher. With prices at the sale barn this high, not sure it's worth the hassle. May go up on next set.
 
That's what I was thinking of going to, $4.50 or at least $4.30. Don't want to over price but.... go to the grocery and price it out.
 
zirlottkim":23xlymph said:
That's what I was thinking of going to, $4.50 or at least $4.30. Don't want to over price but....
Click to expand...
LOL :lol2:

1300 lb steer x 1.60 live weight = $2080
62.25% hanging
1300 x 62.25% = 809 lbs
809 lbs x 4.30 = $3,479 divided by 1300 lbs = $2.67 lb Live Weight
$4.50 lb hanging = $2.80 lb Live Weight
$4.00 lb hanging = 2.49 lb live weight
3.50 lb = 2.18 lb live weight
3.00 lb = 1.87 lb live weight
2.75 lb = 1.71 lb live weight
2.50 lb = 1.55 lb live weight

$2.57 lb hanging = $1.60 Live Weight
USDA Boxed Beef Cutout Value on Sept. 5, 2014 for Choice 600-900 lb carcasses was $251.48 lb
$156.50 per hundred live weight

At local market last Monday 228 fed colored steers sold and only 4 steers out of the 228 brought 1.60 [extreme top]
top steers brought 1.58 with majority of the fed beef cattle selling for 1.54 - 1.57

1300 lbs x 1.54 = $2002
I don't want to over price but...I can't make any money selling a 1300 lb steer for $2,000...I've got to charge $3,236.00
[$4.00 lb hanging weight or 2.49 lb live weight] just to breakeven. :lol: :lol: :lol:

We're sitting on all time record high prices and greed knows no bounds. :2cents:

For family and friends we charge 2.49 lb hanging weight delivered to butcher of their choice.
[and we still come out about $5 ahead, because of no commission or yardage fees.]
2.79 lb hanging weight for long time customers.
2.99 lb hanging for new customers.
But I guess if it is too much of a hassle for you to deliver to and pick up meat from the butcher for an extra $1,230 per animal
then go ahead and ship 'em all to the sales barn.
 
Its absolutely amazing to me that people would pay $4.00 per lb hanging weight for beef by the quarter. But if people are willing to pay that much I can't blame you for charging that.
This spring the last steer I sold went for $2 per lb hanging weight and I made about the same money at that price as if I had hauled him to the sale. I always was under the impression that the reason people would buy by the quarter was to save money, evidently there are other factors in play.
 
zirlottkim":25zj87lk said:
Question for anyone selling finished steers for butcher. We sell quarters and halves. What price are you getting? We get $4.00 lb for hang wt plus butcher fee. We deliver to and pickup from butcher. With prices at the sale barn this high, not sure it's worth the hassle. May go up on next set.
Click to expand...
As long as you have customers and return customers it really doesn't make a dam what these folks think about your operation. You're doing something right, like "making money".
 
Oh I say if you can get it more power to ya. A farmer gotta make money when they can because lord knows there are plenty of times you are not making it. I just don't see why someone would buy a freezer full of beef for more then they could buy it by the lb in the store and then pay to run the freezer for the next year.
 
That's what I charge that includes me taking to get killed, packing cost, I go pick up the meat and take it to the customers house. Most of the time it seems as if they only dress out at 50% live weight and I usLy don't take them to 1300 lbs usaly to about 1000 lbs. I think it's a pretty good deal for the customer paying 4.50 lbs u can't hardly buy burger meat for that at Wally word.
 
I got ya, you are paying for everything and you just show up with the beef. Thats still $6 or $7 per lb and that is higher then any hamburger I've seen anywhere but its a lot closer. I was thinking you did $4.50 hanging plus all the cost.
 
Haven't checked back in here in a while so...
500 to 600 lb steers at Lucedale Livestock Producers= $2.00 to$2.45. 1000 steers lb =$1.80.
at sale barn 550 lb = $1225
at sale barn 1000 lb = $1800
difference = $575
I have been hauling to slaughter at 1000 lb.The last three averaged 575lb hung wt per animal.
575lb hang wt *$4.00 = $2300
difference slaughter vs sale =$500
I don't have a place to store bulk feed so I pay $280 per ton and feed from a Creep which I bought new. It was over $3000 by the way. Feed store is 1 hr there and back. Factor in mineral, and fly control. I do not use implant ,which is the first question asked by my customers. I've found putting wt on steers in South Al summer takes time also.Slaughter house I use is 5 hr drive round trip. Add the diesel for truck, plus the time eats up half of a days work. Another trip back to pick beef up. Load in my commercial freezer till costumers can come pick it up.
I'm sure large operations can produce beef a whole lot cheaper than me, but my question was not directed at large scale producers. My customers, which most are mostly repeat, like the flavor and quality of beef I produce. They are not buying to save money. They are buying because they can know the beef they are eating was born local, raised local, know what it ate and know where it was butchered. I'm not making a living off this but if I continue to do it, I see no reason not to at least try to turn a profit.
 
We sell by the half, mostly to repeat customers or referrals from them. This year, our fall butcher beef (5 head) will be $3.50 lb. hanging weight and customer pays cut/wrap plus his share of the $75 kill fee. One burger cow is also on the roster, and that meat will be $4.50/lb. freezer-ready, all costs inclusive. For the last few years, we've added one steer every year from the previous year, and we don't have to look for buyers. Deposits on our Fall beef were all paid in May; also have deposits up front on the burger cow -- we're estimating 400 lbs. of that, 50 lb. minimum orders, and have a waiting list if she nets out higher. Zirlottkim, our customer base is like yours -- they buy from us because they know exactly where the product is coming from and how it's been raised and cared for. We buy nothing from auctions; if we don't have enough bull calves born on the place, we buy at 6-7 mos. old from local cattle folks and raise 'em up. We aren't making a lot of $$, but we aren't losing any -- gives us some extra to keep up farm maintenance, make some improvements, and it gives the retired hubby something to do besides watch old Westerns all day.
 
We raised to $3.00/lb. hanging weight, plus .50/lb. processing this past spring. We will probably go up again this coming spring but havn't quite decided yet how much. We deliver to butcher but do not touch the animal after that.
 
torogmc81":10crwlpv said:
We raised to $3.00/lb. hanging weight, plus .50/lb. processing this past spring. We will probably go up again this coming spring but havn't quite decided yet how much. We deliver to butcher but do not touch the animal after that.
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Oh, this was something I was going to mention, but forgot to . . . . our guy comes out here and drops the steers right in the lot. We don't have to move them, they don't get stressed with moving. Start to finish happens here.
 
Ours are aged for at least 2 weeks. There is a total of10hrs driving time hauling/going back to pick up. I've been bringing 3 at time here lately to try cost average the time and fuel. If I took anymore than 3, I'ld have to rent a refrigerated truck to haul cut beef back to my freezer. I have an insulated fiberglass box that works perfect for 3. Fills it up and still frozen hard when I get back. Kathy, we do source a few head too but only from locals that we know personally.
Thanks for the input.
 
zirlottkim":1bdns429 said:
Ours are aged for at least 2 weeks. There is a total of10hrs driving time hauling/going back to pick up. I've been bringing 3 at time here lately to try cost average the time and fuel. If I took anymore than 3, I'ld have to rent a refrigerated truck to haul cut beef back to my freezer. I have an insulated fiberglass box that works perfect for 3. Fills it up and still frozen hard when I get back. Kathy, we do source a few head too but only from locals that we know personally.
Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...
Our carcasses hang in the cooler 2 wks., also. Not tooting a big horn, but our cutter told us he wished ours were hanging anytime someone walked into his shop -- he says they make him look good. Maybe he says that to everyone . . . .
 

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