Has anyone had any experience working with these groups that sell beef this way?
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- Thread starter Stonewall Joe
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greybeard
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No, but 420lbs (a whole beef) cut and packaged, $3950 (grass fed and finished) or $3850 (grass fed corn finished) local pickup only comes out to 9.40/lb and 9.16/lb. Seems a bit expensive as so much of it is ground beef..
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OP
OP
I think the packaging, the marketing and message has a lot to do with it. I agree the price seems pretty high, but it looks like someone has found a market that is willing to pay for it. I just don't know how much is being sold. It does look like the "prepper" market is getting stronger and their willingness to buy this and similar products is strong.
Mark Reynolds
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@Stonewall Joe and @greybeard, I don't have experience with them, but this is a classic example of a 'niche market' much the same (which it seems they are actually doing in part anyway) an 'all natural' or 'organic' market is. Niche markets like this add a few constraints to the producer to comply with the 'selling points' of the niche, but the returns as you can see by the $9.00/lb plus average market price of the product more than compensates for the added compliance (usually, as certified 'organic' actually gets the government involved which results in more hoops than what some producers want to deal with, but 'all natural' has very few regulations). These niche markets have an added benefit in that they are much more stable than the comodity market and do not have near the swings of selling price per pound. Add to that, demand for the product always (never heard of a surplus anyway) exceeds supply. I'd say it would be a good thing to get into/be involved with. They are difficult to break into sometimes and/or get started though as they are often localized and/or take a little time to build a client base. It requires marketing skill that a lot/most producers don't have or don't want to put time into......or aren't located in an area where it can work.
GoWyo
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If I had retained any steers to feed, I would have priced them at $3.50/# hot carcass weight. An 800# carcass would be $2800 for the beef. Processing around here is $1.25-1.30/# of carcass weight. So the processing would be $1040. Makes a whole processed beef $3,840. It isn't worth it toe to do it for any less.
RustyTub
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It's freeze-dried or cooked. That brings a whole new reason as to why it's so pricey.
OP
OP
I understand that it's processed in one manner or the other, and I sure don't claim to be an expert on that but it looks as if there's a great bit more profit in getting hooked up into that venue (however that is done) than loading steers on a trailer and going to the sale barn with others selling a similar product at wholesale pricing
Mark Reynolds
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You got it. Profit and stability (lack of market swings) with a niche market.
Fairly priced IMO. For all parties involved.
In high population areas I see people selling their grass finished beef for 8 to 12 bucks per carcass pound. And supposedly they sell out rather easily. I'd have trouble charging that much myself. I sold mine for 5.50 hanging pound and it was well received. Just got to get the length of time it takes to get one to finished weight worked out. Grazing annual mixes has been on my mind. Have read of 3+ pound per day gains on yearling grazing summer mixes. I imagine cool season mixes would do the same?
I do think direct marketing, if you can do the marketing side effectively, is the best way to make a profit with cattle right now. My corn finished are 4.50 plus processing. That comes out to about $3,375 on an 750 lb carcass to me. Processing here is about $1 per hanging pound. Jeanne's recipe for a13 month timeline to finished weight is a home run.
Figuring what a steer is worth lately, plus inputs and feed and all that, time/labor, I'd have every bit of 2500 or 2800 in a finished beef. Might even say 3000 depending on feed costs. Corn is $13 per 50# bag at our local coop.
In high population areas I see people selling their grass finished beef for 8 to 12 bucks per carcass pound. And supposedly they sell out rather easily. I'd have trouble charging that much myself. I sold mine for 5.50 hanging pound and it was well received. Just got to get the length of time it takes to get one to finished weight worked out. Grazing annual mixes has been on my mind. Have read of 3+ pound per day gains on yearling grazing summer mixes. I imagine cool season mixes would do the same?
I do think direct marketing, if you can do the marketing side effectively, is the best way to make a profit with cattle right now. My corn finished are 4.50 plus processing. That comes out to about $3,375 on an 750 lb carcass to me. Processing here is about $1 per hanging pound. Jeanne's recipe for a13 month timeline to finished weight is a home run.
Figuring what a steer is worth lately, plus inputs and feed and all that, time/labor, I'd have every bit of 2500 or 2800 in a finished beef. Might even say 3000 depending on feed costs. Corn is $13 per 50# bag at our local coop.
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mwj
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How many lbs of saleable beef would that kind of processing yield? I would guess the processing cost alone would make a person weak in the knees!
Mark Reynolds
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CSG annual mixes undoubtedly will add accelerated gains. Animals have more maintenance requirements over the winter so I'd expect the gains to be somewhat less. WSG annual mixes can produce some pretty phenomenal results, but over 3 lbs per day? That doesn't seem quite possible to me. If you are weighing animals one day and then weighing them the next, there is a whole variety of factors that could appear to show weight gain is that, but they aren't reflective of actual growth. Water intake, slight dehydration and gut fill come to mind. I've heard of over 2 with summer annuals which is phenomenal of itself (2.3-2.5), but over 3?
I haven't seen it first hand. Just heard on some podcasts of people getting yearlings gaining like that on warm season mixes. I'd be tickled to death with 2.5.
Mark Reynolds
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Anyone should be. I just think over 3 is 'pie in the sky'.
Mark Reynolds
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BTW, the more species in the mix, the better your results will be. I'm talking 7-11 way mixes, not 2-3. They do exist and are planted. They are phenomenal.
kenny thomas
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The first thing you should do is to soil test. Dont start planting and wonder why your not getting 3lb per day.
Also once the soil is how it needs to be realize that there is a limit to how productive your soil might be. Some soils not far from you won't even grow weeds. Yours is better than that but has a limit.
Start with soil testing and looking at the NRCS soils maps. It will show you the best soils and spend on those first.
Definitely. I'd considered going ahead and planting cool and warm season stuff together in one go if I try this.
From some of the info I've consumed, seems the soil magic happens when you're using 10 or more species. I'd definitely be throwing all kinds of stuff in.
Haven't had the best luck planting stuff here, but haven't had a prepared bed either. It's been drilling into pasture. Not going to try that again, it was pissing money into the wind.
@Mark Reynolds
www.bestforage.com
At the bottom of their page it says "not uncommon for gains of 3+ pounds per day." Given... they're trying to sell something. But seems it's possible. All ducks would need to be in that row.
Still, 2.5 would be fine too. But 3 pounds would sure be awesome.
Summer Grazing Mix - Best Forage
Summer Grazing Mix is a warm season, annual mix of BMR sorghum x sudangrass, cowpeas, mung beans, hybrid pearl millet, buckwheat, annual sweetclover, sunn hemp, forage turnip, and sunflower. Suggested seeding rate is 35 lbs./acre. Available in a 50 lb. bag Seed will be shipped by late March...
At the bottom of their page it says "not uncommon for gains of 3+ pounds per day." Given... they're trying to sell something. But seems it's possible. All ducks would need to be in that row.
Still, 2.5 would be fine too. But 3 pounds would sure be awesome.
greybeard
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Their website (on the checkout/deposit page says it would be between 400-440 lbs for a whole beef.
2 ways to look at it.
1. From producer's side which most here are commenting on.
2. from the consumer's side.
Most consumers wouldn't have any idea how to fill out a cut list anyway and would undoubtedly need to be walked thru it, assuming they have freezer space for 400+ lbs of beef.
As I'm now a non-producer and 100% consumer, it looks a bit expensive to me.
I've seen these things before that just state xx # of 'steaks', x number of 'roasts', xx 1lb packs of grind, xx packs of 'stew meat' and other vague descriptive terms. (some even include so many packs of hot dogs, balogna etc , some chicken thrown in etc.
I would like to know how the carcass grades, see how the packs break down, that is, how many lbs of 80/20gb, how many lbs of good steaks, how much is roasts, how much is variety meats, how many lbs of 'stew meat' etc.
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Jeanne - Simme Valley
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How are you guys getting any info off of this page? I don't find anything other than their MOTTO: What does that mean????
That's our motto as the only freeze-dried beef supplier in America that provides high-quality Ribeye, NY Strip, and premium beef chunks for long-term storage
That's our motto as the only freeze-dried beef supplier in America that provides high-quality Ribeye, NY Strip, and premium beef chunks for long-term storage
A friend's wife delivers "grass fed beef" to big metropolitan areas in Texas. The business owner owns no land and doesn't feed any cows. He buys from a local sale barn by order, delivers to custom processing and picks up the "grass fed beef" for delivery having never touched a cow! They have no problem selling all they can deliver. I guess it was "grass fed" and the niche market expects low marbling and less tenderness! I couldn't sleep well doing business this way!
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