Hi all,
My wife's brother and father have been raising and selling beef cattle for many years. From a taste perspective their beef has always been okay, not great, not bad. Last year we embarked on our first year of raising and selling our own beef. We bought 2 yearlings that arrived in March, and we processed them in late October. Although we worked very hard on pasture grasses over several years before the cattle arrived, our pasture grass quality was nominal as we live on sand, and we had a bad draught. Between the pasture grass issue, and the fact that my wife and kids viewed the cattle as pets, we fed them like kings. Aside from grazing, there was always a round bale out, and they got corn, oats, and sweet mix twice daily. We probably started feeding them this way in June, so this wasn't finishing, but many months. The hanging weight average between the two head was 872lbs. From my limited knowledge and perspective, they were FAT. When they ambled to the feed trough, they almost looked uncomfortable walking. We sold 2 halves and kept one whole for ourselves (family of 5, plus giving a lot of meat away to parents and other siblings). We paid for processing and charged the 2 customers per lb based on the hanging weight. We broke even on the whole thing, including the cost of feed. Most importantly, both the other people that bought the beef are raving about how good it is, and they have already asked to be included next year, and if they could get meat for other family members and friends next year. We feel like we might have stumbled onto something. Rather than focus on low cost, perhaps we can focus on high quality beef. Next year we are planning on doing 4 head. What are your thoughts on this? Most importantly, I'm wondering if I scaled back the feed for a few months until the last few weeks and focused on finishing, would I have the same results?
My wife's brother and father have been raising and selling beef cattle for many years. From a taste perspective their beef has always been okay, not great, not bad. Last year we embarked on our first year of raising and selling our own beef. We bought 2 yearlings that arrived in March, and we processed them in late October. Although we worked very hard on pasture grasses over several years before the cattle arrived, our pasture grass quality was nominal as we live on sand, and we had a bad draught. Between the pasture grass issue, and the fact that my wife and kids viewed the cattle as pets, we fed them like kings. Aside from grazing, there was always a round bale out, and they got corn, oats, and sweet mix twice daily. We probably started feeding them this way in June, so this wasn't finishing, but many months. The hanging weight average between the two head was 872lbs. From my limited knowledge and perspective, they were FAT. When they ambled to the feed trough, they almost looked uncomfortable walking. We sold 2 halves and kept one whole for ourselves (family of 5, plus giving a lot of meat away to parents and other siblings). We paid for processing and charged the 2 customers per lb based on the hanging weight. We broke even on the whole thing, including the cost of feed. Most importantly, both the other people that bought the beef are raving about how good it is, and they have already asked to be included next year, and if they could get meat for other family members and friends next year. We feel like we might have stumbled onto something. Rather than focus on low cost, perhaps we can focus on high quality beef. Next year we are planning on doing 4 head. What are your thoughts on this? Most importantly, I'm wondering if I scaled back the feed for a few months until the last few weeks and focused on finishing, would I have the same results?
