selling beef

[txshowmom]

Most of the time people don't keep steers untill they are fat and ready to eat. They sell them as weaned calves at the auction barn. Now if they are selling for 1.00 a pound and you take them to the auction when they weight 500# you make 500.00 less deductions. If you keep the steer and feed him for another 6 months and he weights 1200 pounds and he brings 73 cents a pound at the auction barn then you make 876 less deductions. But you have to remember you fed that steer for 6 months to get him to 1200 and your feed bill is probably around 350 bucks so after you take out the feed you only made 526 on a calf that was worth 500 6 months ago. That means you fed out a calf for 26 bucks. If you were to sell that same steer 1.00 a pound @1200# = 1200 bucks minus 350 feed=850 minus the 500 bucks the calf was worth at weaning means you made 350 buck for feeding out a calf for someone else to butcher. That 58 dollars a month. Less than 2.00 dollars a day. Now I would never cheat a family member but <2.00 a day to feed and care for a steer for them to butcher is not asking too much. My time IS worth something. If they just want any ole steer then send them to the auction to by a steer to butcher and let them wonder with every bite they eat "was this steer fed any drugs that had a withdrawl time? What WAS this steer fed? Did it come from a farm with good herd health?" Peace of mind IS worth something for my family.

 

[ChrisB]

I understand now. We are kind of talking about 2 different things. We finish all ours out, so we are not feeding any special pens. They are all fed the same weather they are sent to a packer or we have them butchered ourselves. If it was an extra burden for me, I would also want a 'fair' price.

Thanks for helping me understand your point of view. I never thought of it that way.

 

[sillco]

Hi all... finally got rain here in the Ozarks really nice coloring in the hills. My ? is i'am about ready to send a couple of beefs to the butchers for family members, first time for us to do this... How do i charge them and be fair about it to all. I'am only gonna have about 45 days grain in them and they will pay proccessing price..... thanks PEB

I buy and grass feed steers during the summer. I sell my steers by the pound "hanging". That is the way the processor bills me. I offer my customers quarters, halves or whole. The bill rate is the hanging weight times the per pound weight I chose to charge. I pay for everything out of my billed rate, feed, fertilizer, harvest charge, and processing. I offer a one stop shop at $3.50 per pound for young, tender, grass fed beef. No growth hormones, or antibiotics. A well educated customer will pay the price.

 

[calpat]

True that most processors inspect anyway, but you aren't required if you sell it on the hoof. We do quite a few that way. It is just like raising your own to our city friends except they don't have to eat a "friend". We get them close to the size wanted & finish 30-60 days, then deliver to processing plant. They pay us for live weight & pay their own processing and are able to choose how it is cut & wrapped. With beef prices so high this year $1.00 isn't too high. I have gotten that for several years for the longhorn steers