Goals

[JSCATTLE]

How many pot loads do the buyers have to yank the hide off of before you start getting more money for more imput cost ? I will buy a 3000 dollar bull that will sire a beefy calf before I buy a 10k dollar bull for tenderness .

 

[HammondCreekRanch]

I am with Dun on that statment, why raise low quiality caves

You get one shot at your reputation.
Never want to eat beef that tastes like water buffalo either.

Don't need a full pot if you go in with some one else.Here there is a good market for top grading beef.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Takes all kind of beef to make our market system work. There is more hamburger sold in this country than steak. If you all want to become like hog farmers just get ever one to raise same kind of cattle.

 

[dun]

How many pot loads do the buyers have to yank the hide off of before you start getting more money for more imput cost ? I will buy a 3000 dollar bull that will sire a beefy calf before I buy a 10k dollar bull for tenderness .

So would I, but you can still get a bull that sires high quality grade (tenderness isn;t part of quality grade) for the same money. I have't seen the high quality grading sired calves that aren;t also good beef producers.
But what do I know other then that when the owner of the local sale barn who also owns a feedlot wanted to buy a couple of bulls he came to us and bought or only 2 bulls that we had kept back for our own use.

 

[3waycross]

In southwest missouri one of the top producing cattle regions in the country you wont find very many brahman. You very rarly see a herford bull.

Texas has almost 3 times the cattle as Missouri . And mostly brahman influenced . It's regional !! I want to produce pounds because that's what pays . I've learned there is no premium at the sale barn for meat quality . That is a pure bred breeders line of bs to sell a bull . Frame score and thickness bring a premium .

30% of the US cattle herd is Brahman influenced.

and if i had to guess i would say it accounts for close to 75% of the no roll beef and burger sold in this country

I have het to see a premium beef program witha spec that includes ear or hump

 

[JSCATTLE]

I'm not advocating for eared cattle . I think the original question was producing the best calf for a consumer or pounds . I choose pounds because that's what I get paid on . Grade one calves are grade one calves even though some may grade better when finished . I don't retain ownership so I want the heavest on sale day . I really like Bradford cows Charolais bulls . Saw some sale last weekend as 6 weights bring 1.85 lb

 

[VanC]

Speaking strictly from a comsumer standpoint, I like the variety of cuts and prices you get from beef. If I'm gonna have burgers on the grill I'm not gonna go out and buy ribeyes at 10 bucks a pound and have them ground up. Nope, I'm gonna buy ground beef at 3 bucks a pound and those burgers will be delicious. On the other hand, if I'm gonna grill some ribeyes I expect them to be well marbled, tasty, and tender. If they're not, I'm going to be disappointed and, trust me, I'm not gonna give a rip how much that calf weighed.

As RBB said, there is a market for all beef. If a person is making money selling pounds, with no eye towards quality, that's fine by me. I'll be eating some of your beef at some point, but don't expect me to pay as much for it as I would the higher end cuts. On the flip side, I think those that make an effort to raise higher quality beef should be rewarded for it. I'll gladly pay more for it, and I hope some of that ends up in your pocket. To each his own.

 

[Anonymous]

Sad thing is most consumers don't really know good quality beef from lower quality beef. and them top it with the fact that the only thing the majority look at is price. I really don't think he average consumer gives a darn if it's the best or not as long as its middle of the road and cheap.
But there isn't any reason someone can't raise the best beef they can while also raising the best producing beef they can.

 

[cow pollinater]

This is the first time I've ever seen eared cattle sell without a discount and almost without exception they're headed to Texas. :nod:

I try to balance quality and growth. I like a little ear on my cows as they do a little better in my country and they're good mommas but somebody is going to eat that calf and I want them to come back for more. I think with the genetics that we have in place we can select for pounds and quality at the same time even if we have tough country as even brangus has carcass quality data.

 

[highgrit]

A good steak needs no steak sauce, or ketchup. I am proud of my cows and calves. There the best we can produce and still make a dollar or 2.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Does anyone here raise beef cattle with the goal of giving the consumer the best meat they can buy or is your goal just to raise the biggest calf because thats how you get paid ?

Yes to both. We run a small operation, so our plan/goal is different than those that are shooting for good weight market calves at weaning time -- we have them a lot longer than that. We try to both raise very good beef for our few private beef buyers AND get a good finish on them by slaughter. We don't haul anything to market.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Sad thing is most consumers don't really know good quality beef from lower quality beef. and them top it with the fact that the only thing the majority look at is price. I really don't think he average consumer gives a darn if it's the best or not as long as its middle of the road and cheap.
But there isn't any reason someone can't raise the best beef they can while also raising the best producing beef they can.

Hook, what you say is true, because most beef consumers buy at the grocery store; they aren't dealing with a small producer. But we have been amazed, once word got around, at the demand for our home-grown butcher beef. The first 2 we did we had to feed an extra 30 days because one of the half-buyers backed out. Then we started requiring a deposit -- not a bunch, but just enough to spank if they backed out. The next year 3 steers; this year 5, all pre-sold with deposits paid. I don't think I'm going to push our luck with 5 for next year -- some folks can make a half last more than a year. But even with 5 this year, there were people that wanted in when all were spoken for. Those customers don't ever want to buy store-bought beef again -- they know the difference now.

 

[Caustic Burno]

This is richer than three feet up a bull's ass as 99% couldn't tell the difference in one breed from the other.
If that calf is gaining he is going to be tender, losing tough. You and I are a speck of fly shyt on the market it is about price. Do you think these guy's are looking for pounds or CAB.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/wa_ls421.txt

 

[KNERSIE]

Does anyone here raise beef cattle with the goal of giving the consumer the best meat they can buy or is your goal just to raise the biggest calf because thats how you get paid ?

If you're goal is giving the best best beef to freezer beef customers you must consider raising and selling baby beeves. Relatively easy system to manage on a smaller scale and I'm sure you'll never sit with your product.

 

[Mid South Guy]

...Those customers don't ever want to buy store-bought beef again -- they know the difference now.

I have often wondered this of the people that, "know the difference." How much of that knowledge is a real difference and how much is a percieved difference caused by physiological factors? I don't know. What I mean is, freezer beef customers usally have a vested interest earlier in the outcome of the finished product. They know, like, and respect the producer, they know the animal and how it was raised, and they know the processor who will customize the product for them. Having this knowledge and time and money invested in the outcome, they, "know" the product is much better than what they can get from the, "factory produced" beef at the grocery store. I know the perception is real. You see ads all the time using the phrases, "locally grown", "farm raised", etc. and people respond to them positively, and there are many people sucessfully raising and marketing there cattle based upon it, but is there a real difference? Like I said, I don't know. I have ate a lot of beef that I have raised, purchased from freezer beef producers, and purchased from grocery stores, and IMO a choice steak is a choice steak reguardless of the source. Taste, tenderness, and quaility is influenced far more by how the meat is prepared and cooked than by how the animal was raised. By all means, if one wants to start, or has a sucessful freezer beef business going, keep it up. Because, we all know, "perception is reality."

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

What I mean is, freezer beef customers usally have a vested interest earlier in the outcome of the finished product. They know, like, and respect the producer, they know the animal and how it was raised, and they know the processor who will customize the product for them. Having this knowledge and time and money invested in the outcome, they, "know" the product is much better than what they can get from the, "factory produced" beef at the grocery store. I know the perception is real.

MidSouthGuy - What you said is a huge thing with our regular beef customers -- and we have some new ones this year via word of mouth. They know where the cattle come from, they know how they're taken care of, they know there are no hormones or junk or "additives" -- they trust us. "Trust" is huge no matter what business you are in, but when it's what their families consume (literally), and they feel safe about that, they don't want to go back to the grocery store for meat. Few of our customers want to come out and see the beef on the hoof -- most still have some discomfort in coming out to look the animal in the eye and eat him later. (I think they'd prefer to think steak packages grow on trees, but at least they know which tree they came from!) But the offer is always open to them.