my costs for finished beef

[CottageFarm]

cottage you must have forgot all the profit in the first $2.47. Well I've tried to get any of you too look thru the window from the other side of the glass. Didn't work

I have tried to look thru your side and but it's foggy. You still have not explained what is so wrong with selling a product to retail consumers at 40-50% less than retail prices. You're trying to compare apples to walnuts and expect us to somehow make sense of the anaysis.


Hook, those steaks look mighty fine. I ain't never seen 'em look that good at Whole Foods!

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

cottage you must have forgot all the profit in the first $2.47. Well I've tried to get any of you too look thru the window from the other side of the glass. Didn't work

I have tried to look thru your side and but it's foggy. You still have not explained what is so wrong with selling a product to retail consumers at 40-50% less than retail prices. You're trying to compare apples to walnuts and expect us to somehow make sense of the anaysis.


Hook, those steaks look mighty fine. I ain't never seen 'em look that good at Whole Foods!

CF, I'm thinking you meant to say 40-50% less to "private party buyers" vs. "retail prices." That's part of the equation our buyers think about!

 

[Anonymous]

Ma belly hurts..that was 2 clubs and a sirloin (probably close to 3 lbs), all cut at 2".....I almost finished the sirloin myself. I'm gonna shyt a pilgrim tomorrow

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Ma belly hurts..that was 2 clubs and a sirloin (probably close to 3 lbs), all cut at 2".....I almost finished the sirloin myself. I'm gonna shyt a pilgrim tomorrow

I hope you do! And I hope you groan and moan, and have to use your stool softener to get your pilgrims out, Hook! I'm just a little jealous -- we have to wait a few weeks . . . .

 

[Anonymous]

That was the last of our beef til jan when booger and the 3 little pigs have an appointment

 

[Nesikep]

Well, I don't think it's wrong to charge more for a higher quality product... I am selling my finished steer next fall for approximately what retail price is today, the difference is that I'm offering a grass fed organic and 'humanely raised' animal, the people I'm selling it to have pet him and gotten licked, and with his temperament, he won't have any transit stress when he's shipped. I we'd be better off if all charged a bit more, particularly now that sale barn prices are going up. Last year we were charged $400 to ship our calves to the barn, this year it was $650... so I say no one else is shy to charge, why should we?

 

[CottageFarm]

cottage you must have forgot all the profit in the first $2.47. Well I've tried to get any of you too look thru the window from the other side of the glass. Didn't work

I have tried to look thru your side and but it's foggy. You still have not explained what is so wrong with selling a product to retail consumers at 40-50% less than retail prices. You're trying to compare apples to walnuts and expect us to somehow make sense of the anaysis.


Hook, those steaks look mighty fine. I ain't never seen 'em look that good at Whole Foods!

CF, I'm thinking you meant to say 40-50% less to "private party buyers" vs. "retail prices." That's part of the equation our buyers think about!

Kathie, I understand the discinction you're making, but no, that's not what I meant. Many of the people who are buying beef this way are retail consumers', comparing what we're selling them to full retail prices. It's no longer just people who are looking to fill their freezer cheaply. There is a strong movement toward knowing more about where your food is coming from and how it was raised. Including buying from small, local producers, with the full knowledge that they may pay more for some items because they don't have a problem with their neighbors making a fair living.
Like I said earlier, you can calculate a 20-25% discount from retail for the bulk purchase, and even if you don't add any premium $ for better quality, the consumer is still way ahead.
I guess some of the problems here may be geographical. I'm located near enough to Urban areas to have a market segment that is strongly influenced by the local food movement. They're willing to pay higher prices for naturally grown produce than what they pay at the grocery stores, as well as my beef, pork, poultry and eggs at a price that nearly makes it worth my time. (I figure I make about .60 an hour but I'm hoping to raise it to 75 cents next year )

 

[Carpenter2n]

Those look great. I'll have mine rare.
Wife says those're $9-$10/lb steaks

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

CF -- I think we're on the same page as far as what our customers want, and what we try to provide. Maybe we're not marketing the same way because of either restrictions or just how we run our operations. We can really only sell pre-ordered beef -- halves on the rail -- the buyers can take those halves home and cut them up themselves, if they want to. We can't sell chicken eggs without a special "egg washing certification," but some of ours go away via "donation."

I always enjoy hearing from you!

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Well, I don't think it's wrong to charge more for a higher quality product... I am selling my finished steer next fall for approximately what retail price is today, the difference is that I'm offering a grass fed organic and 'humanely raised' animal, the people I'm selling it to have pet him and gotten licked, and with his temperament, he won't have any transit stress when he's shipped. I we'd be better off if all charged a bit more, particularly now that sale barn prices are going up. Last year we were charged $400 to ship our calves to the barn, this year it was $650... so I say no one else is shy to charge, why should we?

Let's see . . . . do you want to get paid minimum wage for any work you do, or a decent wage for the hard work you do and the good product you produce? Yes, let's get paid for what we really do!

 

[Nesikep]

Around here we're sick of everyone asking for handouts (food banks, cancer foundations, etc etc etc) but no one would ever ask if we needed a hand... we often have extra fruits, etc we'd give away for the picking, but it'll be a cold day in hell before we pick it while our town has about 60% unemployment and we're busting our butts

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Around here we're sick of everyone asking for handouts (food banks, cancer foundations, etc etc etc) but no one would ever ask if we needed a hand... we often have extra fruits, etc we'd give away for the picking, but it'll be a cold day in be nice before we pick it while our town has about 60% unemployment and we're busting our butts

We contribute to our food bank -- because/when we want to. Had some free apples (not sprayed) on Craigslist recently -- they weren't "pristine" so apparently not good apples for the general CL people. Just reposted them for hogs or livestock and I don't care where they go. Right now, the deer are trying to climb the trees to get to them. If someone can use them, GREAT!

And no one offers much of a hand here -- we get some neighborly advice, but we way pay to have work done -- no neighborhood work parties (one for you, one for me, one for the next guy). Correction: We do have a neighbor that is good about loaning the back-hoe.

Times are different now . . . . way different from when we were young. I could get into the political crap about who could be working, but won't, but I won't.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

To the people I sell to, who also know me well btw, yes. My word is worth far more.

Inbred ,it looks like we're dealing with the smartest,Im better than you,best cattle feeder in the USA,Even though my costs are double everyone elses & I pass it on to my customer. It has to be ...... Barrack "Hookline" Obama !!!!!!!! :banana: :clap: :wave:

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

Good. I'm still below Whole Foods cost of 4.99 for ground beef..I've got room to charge more

That has to be for organic beef. Your's is not organic ,they way you have described it .Kroger is selling ground chuck up here for $2.77 a lb.

 

[inbredredneck]

It really doesn't matter to me what anyone charges. I was just trying to help them understand the very exact same product could be bought for 30% less money.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

See that's where you're not understanding...my costs are fixed. My profit isn't. Looking at my original post. I profit 350 based on 1000# live weight. That's not taking into acct the costs I don't have hard #s on.
I have told them they could get it cheaper...they don't want cheaper they want to know exactly what they are getting. They see the calf raised, usually as soon as I get it, or its born.
Yes, I would have and still have their trust. In fact, I can call 2 of them right now, get their permission to have you call them and you can tell them your self. I know what they'll say...

Hook, that's what our buyers want, too -- they want to know source, history, humane care, no extra drugs, no crap in the feed. We've had these steers since they were 500 lbs. or so -- one came with his mama, we had to buy the other two. We fed them through last winter (feed costs + time/labor), they grazed through the summer and are now in dry lot with plenty of room to roam around for 60 days on alf, plus COB and rolled corn (8 lbs. day COB and 6 lbs. corn). Ours on the rail this year will be $2.75/lb. I'm hoping that 2 of the steers will be at 1,000 lbs. end November when we slaughter; the 3rd, a Jersey won't run that heavy. All our buyers except 2 are taking a full half; 2 others are splitting a half. All have pd. $125 deposit, no matter what they're getting. They will reimburse us for $75 per animal kill fee, and they'll pay the cutter directly at 47 cents/lb. to cut/wrap. By the time all that's done, they'll have put out just over $3.25/lb. when they take the white packages home. But X-lean burger costs more than that!

Hay prices here are huge -- most is export quality. If you want just plain, garden variety, decent hay, then you have to drive 75-150 miles to get it .

For us (small), figure an average of about 40 minutes a day doing chores--which doesn't count cleaning out the shelter areas, frozen water issues in the winter, transporting/off-loading hay, irrigating, costs of spraying for weed control, etc. -- I don't see a problem with your pricing. Our buyers are welcome to come out and look at the steers, our set-up, etc. -- most don't want to. They don't want to look into those big brown eyes and think about eating the rest of him later.

I sure hope you're not going to charge like that for the Jersey,that meat is not very good.....

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

Inbred, I still don't understand your point. Even using your cost numbers, at the price that Hook is selling his product, he would be averaging a little under 30% Gross margin. I'm not sure what you do for a living, but in any business that's at the low end a perfect gross %. He is providing a high quality product to retail customers for 40-50% less than retail. I simply cannot understand your, as well as some others, problem with this.

And while there may be a very few people around actually willing to buy a live animal at a sale barn & send it to the processor, it's RARE. So I call :bs: on your post about lots of average beef consumers doing it that way.
I'm pretty sure that's how grocery stores manage to stay in business.

As an aside, it sure would be nice if we had a processor around here that only charged .45/lb.
I knew some prices were higher here but I'm paying .65 for beef & .70 for pork

Cottage, you are INSANE if you think hook is saving his customers 40-50% over retail. Having an order buyer get you a steer & send to butcher has happened for years aroud here.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

Sorry, ill be back in a bit. Grilling these beauties right now

Two pork chops & some kind of mystery steak, Hook ?

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

To the people I sell to, who also know me well btw, yes. My word is worth far more.

Inbred ,it looks like we're dealing with the smartest,Im better than you,best cattle feeder in the USA,Even though my costs are double everyone elses & I pass it on to my customer. It has to be ...... Barrack Obama !!!!!!!! :banana: :clap: :wave:

Hereford Roadhog, I should post the entire idiotic, racist private email you sent me the other day. If you live by what you sent, maybe that's how you keep your costs down -- "everyone should own a few." Wooo haw, big banana clap.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

To the people I sell to, who also know me well btw, yes. My word is worth far more.

Inbred ,it looks like we're dealing with the smartest,Im better than you,best cattle feeder in the USA,Even though my costs are double everyone elses & I pass it on to my customer. It has to be ...... Barrack Obama !!!!!!!! :banana: :clap: :wave:

Hereford Roadhog, I should post the entire idiotic, racist private email you sent me the other day. If you live by what you sent, maybe that's how you keep your costs down -- "everyone should own a few." Wooo haw, big banana clap.

Nice try KATHIE, but I have never E-mailed anyone on this forum. So go ahead & post it .Put your money where your BIG mouth is.We can get the site administrator involved if you'd like.