Beef prices going up????

[NDSportsman]

For my quarter I paid the rancher directly for the hanging weight based on current markets and paid the locker plant for the processing.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

. Also I've got two trips to the slaughter barn. One to haul the animal there and another to pick it up. Then I might have to put the boxes of meat in a deep freeze at home if said buyer isn't ready to get it when he said he would. Its just kind of a pain in the ass and don't really make much money. I also used to fatten some animals for a couple of guys, they would come and I'd shoot them, they'd gut em and take em home to cut up themselves. That worked ok for awhile, then as the market started to come up and I asked for a higher price, they haggled on me to get them cheaper, I gave in and thought this is the last time I'm fattening a steer for anyone but myself.
I do know of two ranches that are fattening their own cattle, having them slaughtered at a federally inspected barn, then selling the meat direct to consumers and one is even selling to a couple of restuarants. I'm glad it works for them but I doubt they're making much. Hauling them animals in to be slaughtered and then back to pick up the meat, storing it on farm, then hauling it all over to sell it sounds like a heck of alot of work when my day is already filled up with chores, fixing, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with owning cattle.

If they are taking it home to cut it up themselves, you cannot assist. However, if they are taking it to an inspected plant, you can shoot it, gut it, pick it up with a loader tractor and put it in their truck.

Our State meat inspection laws mirror federal. It's a stupid law but it is the law.

On farm slaughter is a great thing. The monopolists would like to ban it making all products pass through their plants.

 

[Rowdie]

The SCOTUS needs to weigh in on laws that smell this unconstitutional

 

[Traxion]

My beef guy keeps tabs on my general need date. He’s got windows during the year when critters are available and has his spots lined up at the local butcher months in advance. They call me a week before with cutting instructions. Once the ehole lot is ready, he puts all the meat in coolers and delivers to my house along with other customers in the geographic area. I write one check to him, he shows hanging weight and butchering costs. The price I pay is as good as any other local source and it’s the best beef I’ve ever gotten. He runs cutters in pretty desolate areas of WY and finishes them very intentionally. We’re talking to the point of knowing the caloric value of his finishing feed and what his gains will be from pasture to butcher down to the tenths of a percent. He’s a summer calver, doesn’t screw around with weather. And markets when he knows there is butchering capacity. He’s built crazy demand and does well. I think it’s tough to do a few here and there without experiencing the problems noted above. All in direct or just keep selling to the barn.

 

[Obi-Wan]

years back I used to buy a 1/2 from West Dakota meats here in Bismarck and at that time I believe the animal came directly from his brother in the Rugby area. Now with the new owner their “smoked meat” takes on a whole new meaning

 

[Davy Crockett]

Question for some of you young bucks that are handy with a knife, what would be a fair trade if you provided labor to butcher a beef or pork on a farm with a tractor and loader in trade for some of the meat ?

 

[JMF]

Question for some of you young bucks that are handy with a knife, what would be a fair trade if you provided labor to butcher a beef or pork on a farm with a tractor and loader in trade for some of the meat ?

When you say butcher, do you mean to kill, skin and quarter? Or complete break down and package? Hutterites near us charge $75 to kill, skin and half a pork. $150 to kill, skin and quarter a beef.

 

[AaronJ]

Curious how much should be made off a full beef. Like after its all said and done how much should the rancher put in his pocket? Asking because i have zero idea about beef/raising/selling/prices etc.

I had this discussion this fall with a friend that is a producer. Around 450 head in western SD. He averages 2200-2500 profit per head. I was mind blown at the multitude of factors that play into this number.

 

[JMF]

I had this discussion this fall with a friend that is a producer. Around 450 head in western SD. He averages 2200-2500 profit per head. I was mind blown at the multitude of factors that play into this number.

You're going to have to further explain the 2200-2500 profit number. Is he saying he is making $2200-2500 off of each of those 450 head? If so, he needs to teach a class.

 

[Bacon]

You're going to have to further explain the 2200-2500 profit number. Is he saying he is making $2200-2500 off of each of those 450 head? If so, he needs to teach a class.

No shit. He must be one of those guys with a magic calculator.

 

[woodduck30]

Last beef i bought last spring was about $3k for a 2000 lb animal. Hanging weight was roughly 1200 lbs and finish product was 650 lb. Another $1,200 for the processing. $4,200 total bill. Which was about $1,000 higher than 15 months prior. This is corn fed beef, excellent marbling. Bowden area rancher. Never a complaint about his beef.

I have seen ranchers market 100% grass fed beef and charge quite a bit more than my corn fed. To me if they can market it that way and people bite, good for them. Way less over head for a nasty tasting beef (in my opinion) and make way more $$$$. I wouldn't pay a buck a pound for 100% grass fed beef.

 

[KDM]

If I want grass fed meat, I'll eat venison. Grass fed beef is just a big deer IMO.

 

[AaronJ]

You're going to have to further explain the 2200-2500 profit number. Is he saying he is making $2200-2500 off of each of those 450 head? If so, he needs to teach a class.

I cant explain it other than alot of numbers, regulations, and background was shared. No way for this non-farm boy to remember it all. He does have alot of ground so I think his input (extra feeding) costs are nil and he calves in early fall. He said vaccinating was less than $100/animal and had very few $$ into each after that. And, I dont know what breed of animal he has either.

 

[Duckslayer100]

So what's stopping Average Joe Schmo from opening up a Mom & Pop packing plant to just process beef/pork, etc. straight from the farm? I mean, I get that the packing plants have a monopoly and they're the ones screwing over everyone else. So what would happen if, say, I decided to hell with it, I'm going to take custom orders and process beef and charge 1-2 pounds per less than the grocery story? I assume there's red tape up the wazoo to stop?

Speaking of which: Do meat markets not process their own beef? If so, why are they often even more expensive that the grocer if they don't have the packers chewing up profits?

This coming from a completely naive east-sider, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[NDSportsman]

First of all you'd have a bunch of startup costs not to mention all the licensing and testing to get certified. You'd have to sell a lot of meat before breaking even I'd imagine.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Im getting a half from a friend for $3.65/lb hanging weight + processing, goes up every year, which I kinda expect. Not sure how that compares to what others are paying or charging out there but its good beef, consistently, which is nice.

 

[JMF]

I cant explain it other than alot of numbers, regulations, and background was shared. No way for this non-farm boy to remember it all. He does have alot of ground so I think his input (extra feeding) costs are nil and he calves in early fall. He said vaccinating was less than $100/animal and had very few $$ into each after that. And, I dont know what breed of animal he has either.

I would believe he sold his calves for an average of $2200-2500 this year, but I cannot fathom how his profit on each calf would be that high. The cost of raising a calf for 6 months is cheap, the expense is in keeping its mother.

 

[KDM]

My neighbor sold 3 steers and a heifer angus/holstein crosses for 3500 each at the sale barn a couple months back. Each weighed about 1100 lbs giver take a hundo. Not the best beef cattle so to speak, but I would guess that his profit margin was over 2 grand each. Great for him I say, but WOW for sticker shock if I was the buyer.

 

[Bacon]

I would believe he sold his calves for an average of $2200-2500 this year, but I cannot fathom how his profit on each calf would be that high. The cost of raising a calf for 6 months is cheap, the expense is in keeping its mother.

Gotta love the creative math some ranchers have. It costs roughly $1000 to raise a 6 weight calf. Some a bit more, some less. If he thinks it’s free to raise cattle, he is not figuring any where near his actual costs. Even if you own all your land free and clear, if you didn’t have cattle you could rent that land out. That is a cost. Not to mention land taxes, insurance, machinery expense, interest, vet supplies family living. And some things I’m probably forgetting off the top of my head.

 

[Rowdie]

There's some inventive costs. Since you have to eat to survive, how is that a business cost?