Is it profitable to become a meat packer or processor?

[OhioRiver]

If you own your own cattle...is it profitable at all to be able to take cattle from the field to the slaughterhouse to the meat processor and be all of those under the same cattle farm?

I do not know anything about a slaughterhouse so is that wrong to say to slaughter them yourself and then cut them up and pack them your self or am I blowing smoke up my behind?

How would I know how much it would cost to become a meat processor? Must you slaughter the cows your self to make any money? Would other farms bring theirs to me for processing?

 

[Frankie]

If you own your own cattle...is it profitable at all to be able to take cattle from the field to the slaughterhouse to the meat processor and be all of those under the same cattle farm?

I do not know anything about a slaughterhouse so is that wrong to say to slaughter them yourself and then cut them up and pack them your self or am I blowing smoke up my behind?

How would I know how much it would cost to become a meat processor? Must you slaughter the cows your self to make any money? Would other farms bring theirs to me for processing?

Selling meat is strictly regulated. Your state probably has requirements and the USDA regulates interstate sales.

 

[larryshoat]

To slaughter cattle for retail sales in Ohio you must be under federal inspection. I bet Indiana is not much different.

Larry

 

[OhioRiver]

How much does it cost to take one cow for processing and have it packaged?

To slaughter cattle for retail sales in Ohio you must be under federal inspection. I bet Indiana is not much different.

Larry

 

[Calman]

I'm not going to say it wouldn't be profitable,after a number of years BUT hold on to your wallet. To build a processing plant would be very expensive. Then you have a mater of time until you establish a name an an ongoing buisness. Then you would have to have several employes to keep the buisness going which would envolve,wages,insurance, and some type of retirement for your employes.And last but not least you would have Federal regs,state regs,and county Regs.
I have a friend who processes deer.hog, and beef for people around the area.His setup would withstand a federal inspection.
But he's not under fed insp because he don't sell meat. He only sells his labor doing the processing.He bought a meat market's equipment that was going out of buisness,and built a new building for the processing. Took him 2 years to show a profit.He makes more money at this than his regular job.

Cal

 

[grannysoo]

We have several slaughterhouses in our area. Of these, none sell meat. All they sell is their service of slaughter, process and wrap.

When we sell cows going to the slaughterhouse, we sell either half or whole cows. Our customer is charged .40 - .45 per pound for their service but MUST buy the cow from me like this. Can't buy just t-bones from the slaughterhouse.......

This greatly reduces the amount of regulations.

 

[lineman-up]

ohio i think it would take more than a while to show a profit. the equipment would be a large investment. you also need on heck of a refridgeration unit and a building. there are some pretty strict regulations on processing plants. do you cut any of your own meat now? it would be a nice deal if you could make it profitable though!!

 

[angie2]

OK, friends of mine, Jane and Joe had a butcher shop. It belonged to Joe's dad, but he wanted to quit, too old he said. So Jane and Joe took over. The shop was right in Joe's dads yard. They went to the farm and shot and quartered there, like we have ours done. Then they would bring it back to their shop. Cut, grind and package. They also did hogs and deer. They were inspected and licensed. They worked together so they had no employee costs. They did not have their own cattle.

(BUT, you can sell your own if you follow regs and have it inspected. Neighbors do this and sell at farmers market. Make big bucks advertising it as natural. )

Back to Jane and Joe. Yes, they did very well and enjoyed being self employed. They did not have a big set up but enough to pay their bills and then some. They could have expanded, but chose not too.

They got out only after Joe's siblings caught on to how well they were doing and started family feud.

So ~ if you want to do it, do it. See my signature line? JMO

 

[ETF]

I talked to someone a couple of weeks ago that's building his own processing facility in south Georgia. He's running 600 cows plus several hundred stockers. He said it was going to cost $1.5 million and would be USDA approved. I assume the numbers looked good enough for him to jump in like that. Of course, he's selling grassfed, certified humane, ground beef at $6 per pound. :shock:

 

[angie2]

Of course, he's selling grassfed, certified humane, ground beef at $6 per pound. :shock:

Yes this is what neighbors are doing. This is the price they are getting. They cannot keep up with demand. Theirs is not certified humane ~ I'd imagine that ups the ante.

 

[OhioRiver]

how can they not keep up with demand. are the local farmers markets moving that much angus beef that is local home grown that fast.

Of course, he's selling grassfed, certified humane, ground beef at $6 per pound. :shock:

Yes this is what neighbors are doing. This is the price they are getting. They cannot keep up with demand. Theirs is not certified humane ~ I'd imagine that ups the ante.

 

[john250]

If you own your own cattle...is it profitable at all to be able to take cattle from the field to the slaughterhouse to the meat processor and be all of those under the same cattle farm?

I do not know anything about a slaughterhouse so is that wrong to say to slaughter them yourself and then cut them up and pack them your self or am I blowing smoke up my behind?

How would I know how much it would cost to become a meat processor? Must you slaughter the cows your self to make any money? Would other farms bring theirs to me for processing?

The Senate version of the new farm bill would not permit this. It says packers can't own cattle more than 14 days before slaughter.
You would need a daunting amount of money to do this.
There was a recent round of meetings in Indiana about establishing multi-species slaughterhouses. Feasibility. Regulation. Etc. Seems the state might be interested in jump-starting some of these facilities. That would be good, I think.
http://farmworldonline.com/News/NewsArt ... ewsid=5169

 

[angie2]

how can they not keep up with demand. are the local farmers markets moving that much angus beef that is local home grown that fast.

Of course, he's selling grassfed, certified humane, ground beef at $6 per pound. :shock:

Yes this is what neighbors are doing. This is the price they are getting. They cannot keep up with demand. Theirs is not certified humane ~ I'd imagine that ups the ante.

Angus?! Who said anything about angus? It is Hereford beef. And yes, it moves that fast.

 

[andybob]

When we decided to direct seel, we built an approved butchery, and had the cattle and pigs slaughtered at an existing approved abattoir. The meat is matured in an old trailer unit, and I initially did all the cutting and sausage making. The dry salting and smoking of the bacon was initially contracted out, and as all our meat was sold as free range high welfare at premium prices, we also sold organic eggs and chickens for a neighbour, we initially bought grass fed lamb from another neighbour who grazed a local landmark under an agreement with the owners, just before I left, we took over the grazing lease and bought the flock.
We brought in a retired butcher to help part time, and a few months before I left, I trained a new employee to cut and make sausages. The farm shop has grown, with the eggs also being produced on the farm, and the herd has tripled, and the outdoor piggery doubled to meet the demand. With hard work and dedication, this kind of marketing does work.

 

[somn]

They went to the farm and shot and quartered there

How did they get the inspector to come to the farm to watch the slaughter? Here the slaughter facility must also pass a inspection along with the carcass at the time of slaughter. Seems odd that the inspector would just go from farm to farm to watch the slaughter.

 

[angie2]

They went to the farm and shot and quartered there

How did they get the inspector to come to the farm to watch the slaughter? Here the slaughter facility must also pass a inspection along with the carcass at the time of slaughter. Seems odd that the inspector would just go from farm to farm to watch the slaughter.

I am not sure how this works. I just know that our own cattle are slaughtered on our farm and taken to the locker in quarters for $50 a head, still and now. I also know that when they ran the butcher shop ~ they went to farmers house, shot and quartered cattle and brought to the shop. They did this with hogs as well. I would call and ask them but it is 9:00, the witching hour at their house. I will check and get back to you if you want to know.

 

[Bluestem]

They went to the farm and shot and quartered there

How did they get the inspector to come to the farm to watch the slaughter? Here the slaughter facility must also pass a inspection along with the carcass at the time of slaughter. Seems odd that the inspector would just go from farm to farm to watch the slaughter.

Here is one way its done. http://www.lopezclt.org/sard/mpu

 

[Rich]

Your getting by cheap Angie.

Last farm slaughter I did they loaded the entire carcass into the back of the pickup and took it into town to the cooler to get processed.

I merely took it from a hanging complete animal to a carcass ready to be split and quartered and put in the cooler and got 50 dollars.

Of course, I had to drive 15 miles as well and the facilities......well, I'd never done one hanging upside down the whole time before. That was challenging.

Used thier Knives too. I showed up with know how and did it and left.

 

[angie2]

Very cheap!! I made him a big breakfast! He used his own knives and was as fast as anything. He drove about 10 miles to get here. Is an awesome guy. Does this on the side. Very professional and decent.

 

[shorty]

If you already had facilities and equipment that would pass federal inspection it could be profitable, but if you have to start with all new facilities and equipment the cost would probably eat up the profits for quite awhile.