Grass fed pricing

[Alan]

The topic about grass fed beef got me doing some research on line. It appears most grass fed beef is priced @ $3/lb. finished product, for a 1/4 beef, $2.80/lb for whole beef (aprox average price).

So help me with the math... 1000lb steer live weight turns into 400 lbs of cut and wrapped tasty morcels. 400 lbs x $2.80=$1120. $1120 - processing fee ? $250 (just a guess)= $870.

1000lb steer at local sale yard last week avg. 75 cwt = $750.

My pricing on processing may be wrong, but I'm I missing something? For an additional $120 ($870-$750) I'm raising an animal for the additional months to reach 1000 lbs, wintering the steer.

For me it is not worth it to go this direction, seems like I may lose money by doing this, I get about $600 for a weaned calf sold locally in the fall. No hay fed just pasture.

Am I missing something?
Alan

 

[Bez?]

The topic about grass fed beef got me doing some research on line. It appears most grass fed beef is priced @ $3/lb. finished product, for a 1/4 beef, $2.80/lb for whole beef (aprox average price).

So help me with the math... 1000lb steer live weight turns into 400 lbs of cut and wrapped tasty morcels. 400 lbs x $2.80=$1120. $1120 - processing fee ? $250 (just a guess)= $870.

1000lb steer at local sale yard last week avg. 75 cwt = $750.

My pricing on processing may be wrong, but I'm I missing something? For an additional $120 ($870-$750) I'm raising an animal for the additional months to reach 1000 lbs, wintering the steer.

For me it is not worth it to go this direction, seems like I may lose money by doing this, I get about $600 for a weaned calf sold locally in the fall. No hay fed just pasture.

Am I missing something?
Alan

Ours go for the HANGING weight. NOT the finished weight. The customer takes or leaves the trim. His/her choice - most take it - for whatever reason.

So your 1000 pound steer hangs at about 600 pounds. Give or take and who cares for this example.

We NEVER sell by the quarter - ONLY by the half - and that means we NEVER kill until we have both halves sold. And if we do not know you REAL well, the money is upfront. Period!

Ours go for $2.50 per pound. So we sell our entire steer at around 1500 bucks - using your numbers - I think we come out ahead.

Kill comes to 25 bucks or thereabouts. Entire cut and wrap is around 240 bucks.

Our cost - for each steer 10 bucks to deliver the 5 miles or so to kill, 25 to kill and 240 to cut and wrap. Total is about 300 bucks if rounded off for ease of this discussion. Just rough numbers for this example.

We clear around 1200 bucks per animal - not counting our own feed, yardage and so on.

As well, if we sold a 1000 pound steer on the hoof he might bring - if we were real lucky - 900 bucks. Usually it is a lot less.

I think the difference is worth it for us. Each circumstance is different - you just gotta' do what works for you.

We moved our calving season so we only have to keep them as little guys over the winter - they are fed ONLY hay and mineral - just a sustainment feed - and they are weaned before we pen them up for winter - then they go on grass to die in late summer or early fall.

NOTHING full grown - except momma's stays on the place over the winter - dramatically reduces costs. And we NEVER allow a calf to suck over the winter - costs too much in extra feed.

Sharpen that pencil and think out of the box - it can make money if you work at it.

Bez?

 

[TxStateCowboy]

In my situation, I am a producer for a lean beef company http://www.banderagrassland.com

Since i'm working with longhorns, as I have been, I look for a niche or specialty market for my product. The local sale barn discounts hard for horns and hair color, and the local packer is a ground product only. The program I'm getting into works for me in that instead of getting $250-300 for a weaned calf at the salebarn, I can get a 20% premium on the daily mkt price on 1000 lb natural-fed(no anti-bio, hormones,etc.) steers taken to the certain packer that Bandera uses in the DFW area. Say the steer yields 50%, and the low select price/lb is 1.10, i receive 1.32/lb coming to $660 or double the local sale barn. Problem? getting a longhorn steer to 1000lb before age 2...pretty tough

Just a basic example but in my case, "letting it run" (given enough pasture and rain) can be beneficial hopefully. I'm still in the early stages though, I will see how it works out. Its hard to compare with you given our opposite regions, but where my cattle are if they don't have longhorn or brahma blood in them they have a rough time surviving or being productive.

But check out their website and try a sample pack, you will re-evaluate your ideas about "longhorn beef". There is nothing better than an aged steak that even your doctor would eat.