Hello! And ??? On Selling Beef to Consumers

[Squanny]

Hey, from NW Louisiana! I have some questions on selling steers (to be processed) to consumers… If I'm in the wrong thread please redirect me!

Are you charging per lb hanging weight?

What age are you having them processed?

Do you charge an upfront fee if someone is buying a whole steer?

How do you determine what to charge?

If you're hauling to the processor and then delivering to the customer do you charge for that?

If a customer is having a whole or half processed do you let them pick out the cuts they want (steak thickness, etc…)

Do you strictly grass feed, or finish out the last 3 months, if so, what are you feeding?

Sorry for the question overload! We've had a cow/calf operation since the 1940's, but have never sold steers to be processed. Always straight to the auction barn. We raise black angus. I'm holding back 5 or 6 steers this year to try something different. A couple are already spoken for. I'd really appreciate anyone's input or advice if you have experience in this area!

 

[StrojanHerefords]

Welcome, the first thing that comes to my mind is to feed out either barren heifers or first calf cows that come open. A few months on feed will get them finished.

 

[Travlr]

Hey, from NW Louisiana! I have some questions on selling steers (to be processed) to consumers… If I'm in the wrong thread please redirect me!

Are you charging per lb hanging weight?

What age are you having them processed?

Do you charge an upfront fee if someone is buying a whole steer?

How do you determine what to charge?

If you're hauling to the processor and then delivering to the customer do you charge for that?

If a customer is having a whole or half processed do you let them pick out the cuts they want (steak thickness, etc…)

Do you strictly grass feed, or finish out the last 3 months, if so, what are you feeding?

Sorry for the question overload! We've had a cow/calf operation since the 1940's, but have never sold steers to be processed. Always straight to the auction barn. We raise black angus. I'm holding back 5 or 6 steers this year to try something different. A couple are already spoken for. I'd really appreciate anyone's input or advice if you have experience in this area!

Welcome to the forum... I haven't sold beef halves for a while but I think my experience hasn't aged beyond being useful.

Are you charging per lb hanging weight? I charged by the live animal weight. But that was dependent on me knowing what my animals would yield. Carcass percentage and yield grade.

What age are you having them processed? We sold "baby beef" so it was more about weight than age. Close to a thousand pounds live weight.

Do you charge an upfront fee if someone is buying a whole steer? I charged up front for what I sold. No refunds since it was a perishable commodity.

How do you determine what to charge? Weigh the animal, get paid, deliver to the processor. I'd have a processor I would recommend but if they wanted a whole animal they could choose their own processor. This way they are responsible for processing on their own regardless of where the animal was processed.

If you're hauling to the processor and then delivering to the customer do you charge for that? I'd charge to haul to the processor if it was farther than the processor I recommended by enough to justify a charge, and the customer was responsible for picking up their own processed beef.

If a customer is having a whole or half processed do you let them pick out the cuts they want (steak thickness, etc…) That's between them and the processor. I sold halves only.

Do you strictly grass feed, or finish out the last 3 months, if so, what are you feeding? I kept my calves confined in a fairly small area from weaning until they went to slaughter, and fed them good alfalfa and not a lot of grain. Usually the supplemental grain was 16% dairy mash, a sweetened feed. At the most it would be perhaps ten pounds a day the last month or so. A couple of large coffee cans a day. My animals were easy keepers bred to lay on a fat cover early.

 

[ClinchValley86]

lots of questions. I'll try to answer best I can.

1 - As per USDA rules it's simplest to charge live weight. Also easier for consumers to understand. Myself though, I charge based off hang weight.

2 - To keep my prices low as possible I try to beef 2 to 5 year old cull females. I also finish steers but they are becoming too valuable as weanlings and yearlings. Target carcass weight for us is 650 to 825 pounds... depends on the animal and degree of finished. I don't like them "packer fat" as it's wasteful for both myself and the consumer. That fat gets wasted. It's a dance.

3 - If I don't know someone, I require a deposit, regardless of the amount they want. $250 (processing costs are covered with deposit) per quarter beef... non refundable. (I'll refund it most likely if given time to get it moved to someone else)

4 - Figure out what expense you'll have in a finished and delivered animal, add what you want to profit. Then divide by average hanging weight average live weight. There's your price. You have to remain competitive or you'll price yourself out the market.

5 - Figure it in to the per hanging weight price. I figure its part of it. Majority of customers don't have means for transport. I'll even pick up and deliver the packaged beef occasionally.

6 - I have a "standard butcher's cut" for quarters. You better allow for custom cut because most everyone else does. Having a standard cut option will be handy too. Some get bogged down when trying to fill out a cut sheet.

7 - If a grasses finished animal, I will harvest them in late Fall. They've had a full grow season to get fat and happy. I do corn finished year round. I'm not good with planting forages, maybe that'd give much more flexibility in the harvest window dept.

I sell much more corn fed beef than I do forage finished. But the forage finished demand is growing, for sure. East TN is pretty preferable to some corn fed beef.

We live in a time where convenience is everything to consumers. I bend over backwards trying to make things easy and understandable. People will pay for convenience.

Also, it's a confusing ordeal for a new consumer. Half of them, at first, are on guard thinking they're going to get hoodoo'd. Very first thing I do is explain live to hanging weight and hanging to packaged weights using industry averages. And I always always always leave a good margin for error. I assume you lose 40% twice.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I would never sell older animals to a customer.
Sell by hanging weight. Explain they will put about 2/3 that weight in freezer.
They choose the cuts on half or whole.
Both 1/4"s have to be cut same way, so you decide or get a "blend" from both parties.
I only feed out fall born steers..about 650#. Feed to finish in October at 12-13 months old - avg carcass wt 750#. The younger. The more tender.

 

[Squanny]

Appreciate all the feedback!

 

[Little Joe]

I sell by hanging weight. If they buy a half or whole they get to decide how it's cut, on quarters they have 2 options nd I match with a quarter cut the same. I get a $200 deposit per quarter until someone becomes a regular customer and I have never had issues getting money out of them. If they're a regular customer and I have had issues getting money from them or they've ever been wish washy, I still make them pay deposits. I've left on grass and only grain last 90 or so days but I find I like it better giving them grain from weaning until butcher, may be only 5 lbs/ day until closer to end. I've had a couple of issues feeding heavy last 90 days so I'd rather feed them a little along and not have to push them as hard. I try to butcher between 16-20 months old.

 

[ClinchValley86]

I wouldn't sell older animals to them either.

 

[Dave]

The best I can figure or remember I sold my first beef in 1960-61. Dad bought me a calf when I was 8. I raised it up and sold it hanging. As a high school senior / graduate I sold about 20 steers in 1969. At times since then I have sold a lot of beef. I always sold by hanging weight. I generally researched what others were selling it for and sold for a touch above the average. I have done both grass and grain fed. Although I never poured as much grain to them as others on here do. Grass fed I did some what older and always processed in late spring/early summer with them coming off the best grass of the year. I always let the customer decide how they want the meat cut. They would contact the meat cutter and give him cutting instructions. I never charged to deliver the critter to the processor. And actually now the vast majority of WA and OR are doing farm kill. I have delivered meat to people but that is fairly rare.
Over the years I got out of selling beef this way a number of times. I would just raise some for myself and the kids. I would end up with an extra and sell it to the public. So I would do a few more and then more. Then I would have a bad year of dealing with the public and swear off ever doing it again. Where I live now it is a pretty tough market to sell beef so I don't even think about doing it any more.

 

[shaz]

I'm not selling due to processing costs. When I was though I would charge whatever live cattle futures were that particular day. Been telling customers just to shop the sales at the grocery store. I'm not going to lose money and they shouldn't either

 

[4hfarms]

Sell on the hoof per lb. Forage finished only. 750-1000lb 12-24 mo old
I deliver beef to processor of choice, within reason.
Notify customer of weight and approx pick up date.
Await payment...
Send the cut sheet to the buyer, they return it to me.
Processor notifies me when it's wrapped. If paid, I notified them beef is ready.
They pay processor for his service directly.
I have met customers at the processors for cash payment.
I would be willing to deliver for known people.

I raise cows for fun, just sell extras.

 

[Stickney94]

If you have a processor(s) in mind -- you may need to make sure they have openings. Processors in our region are booked out 1 year. Our processor has been out 2 years.

We sell by live weight. Prefer to send to processor at 14-16 months. Looking for 1200-1400 lb live weight. We have a lot of repeat buyers/referred buyers so we don't generally charge any upfront fees. I'd recommend charging for hauling/delivery. The cut list is usually handled by the processor and the buyer pays the processor fees. Our calves are given a ration of baleage, hay, corn stalks, and corn (whole and ground) from weaning until slaughter -- with more corn in the final 3-5 months.

 

[RDFF]

We sell only pure regeneratively pasture raised, grassfed and finished (no grain ever). Charge by hanging weight. Processed at up to about 24 months. Take a deposit of $250/quarter at booking, non-refundable. Price/# is determined by sale barn market price plus my premium margin because of grass-fed/finished. Customer determines how they want their "mixed quarter" cut. I haul to the processor (no additional fee for hauling... I'd have to haul it to the sale barn too), customer picks up their meat there, and pays processor when they pick it up.

You need to be "competitively priced" in the market segment that you're competing in. 100% Grass-fed takes longer to get them there, and should command a higher price per pound because it's a "specialty market", not "commodity", and because it's harder to get them where you want them as far as "finish". Some individuals will prefer a grain-finished animal, some will not want that at all, and will ONLY want a critter that's only seen grass... no grain. Different markets, different customer segment, different priced market. To each his own.

Grass-fed Prime, Less Feed, Less Time with Ken Hamilton