meat shortage?

[Wrangler13]

I work at a small slaughter house in the north east. We are killing/cutting 40 beef or 120 hogs a day. We used to have a few weeks to months of inventory in the cooler and freezer now everything is shipping as soon as it’s packed. Most all customers have switched away from primal cuts and bulk. Everything is shipping in 1lb portions so ground beef, pork, bacon, sausage, steaks.

 

[5MilesBack]

Here in Nebraska my family has some beef ready to kill, but the packing plants and butchers are experiencing longer than average wait times to kill.

Well, we've all broken animals down in the field from hunting........why not beef?

 

[trazerr]

Just got back from Safeway. I figured it would be packed as it was 9am on a Saturday. It was quite the opposite. All meat was loaded. Chicken, pork, beef, seafood, etc. They were even doing half off some meats and still had the shelves full of it. Even pasta and TP was full. Makes it 3rd week in a row with shelves being full here.

Only change from the last two times was the lack of people wearing masks. Last two times probably 75-85% of the people were wearing them. Today it was maybe 30-40%. Mainly just the workers this time. I even saw a few pretty old people who could barely get around not wearing masks. I guess people are over this thing here in OR.

 

[Scrappy]

I have to confess I found out my wife is hording Costco bacon. She has one of the big packages in the fridge and I found two in the freezer. I had no idea she was a secret bacon horder.

I did give her a hard time about it while eating breakfast of bacon and eggs.

 

[ozyclint]

 

[roadrunner]

I really haven’t worried about this entire virus thing until I hear about this.

JBS in Greeley Colorado is big time. Long term closures of plants like this is worst case scenario. Not only are ranchers/cattlemen going to be in big trouble, the price of meat will skyrocket. It’s things like this, that can bring total disruption to food markets and down the line impacts could be even worse.

I hope this ends soon.

It's things like this that the crisis management "experts" do not fully understand when they say things like 'hunker down a little bit longer' or 'not quite ready yet to open back up'

Each week you stay down, add two more minimum to get rolling again. Each month, add two more to get rolling again. If we were to start things May 1, it would be Sept before things were halfway back to normal. Maybe...

 

[silasbowhunter]

Well, we've all broken animals down in the field from hunting........why not beef?

To sell to a consumer you have to have it USDA inspected, so you have to use certain slaughterhouses. My dads college buddy owns a butcher place and we’ve done a few in the pasture lol


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[silasbowhunter]

It's things like this that the crisis management "experts" do not fully understand when they say things like 'hunker down a little bit longer' or 'not quite ready yet to open back up'

Each week you stay down, add two more minimum to get rolling again. Each month, add two more to get rolling again. If we were to start things May 1, it would be Sept before things were halfway back to normal. Maybe...

I agree with this so much. It’s gonna be awhile before anything is back to “normal”


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[EastMT]

To sell to a consumer you have to have it USDA inspected, so you have to use certain slaughterhouses. My dads college buddy owns a butcher place and we’ve done a few in the pasture lol


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You can do Custom slaughter uninspected as long as it’s sold “on the hoof”. For example, you and a buddy buy 1/2 a beef each from a plant as long as it hasn’t already been killed prior to listing it for sale. They just don’t want un-inspected product sold retail so it has to be packaged NFS labeled (not for sale).

Technically done this way you are purchasing a live cow, then the plant is killing and cutting it for you, no inspection necessary. Or you can talk to a farmer who will let you do your own field slaughter, I don’t know how many would let you do this though.

A mobile slaughter is also a possibility, they can be inspected or not depending on the set up, end user of the product.

 

[unclericco]

If anyone somewhat close to NV has a beef ready for slaughter with no butcher, I believe I can handle the slaughter myself but I'm not paying anywhere close to top dollar...

 

[silasbowhunter]

You can do Custom slaughter uninspected as long as it’s sold “on the hoof”. For example, you and a buddy buy 1/2 a beef each from a plant as long as it hasn’t already been killed prior to listing it for sale. They just don’t want un-inspected product sold retail so it has to be packaged NFS labeled (not for sale).

Technically done this way you are purchasing a live cow, then the plant is killing and cutting it for you, no inspection necessary. Or you can talk to a farmer who will let you do your own field slaughter, I don’t know how many would let you do this though.

A mobile slaughter is also a possibility, they can be inspected or not depending on the set up, end user of the product.

You’re exactly right. Most people selling beef don’t do this, as they don’t capture the premium of selling their beef usually. Just get a little bit over market usually haha


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[roadrunner]

You can do Custom slaughter uninspected as long as it’s sold “on the hoof”. For example, you and a buddy buy 1/2 a beef each from a plant as long as it hasn’t already been killed prior to listing it for sale. They just don’t want un-inspected product sold retail so it has to be packaged NFS labeled (not for sale).

Technically done this way you are purchasing a live cow, then the plant is killing and cutting it for you, no inspection necessary. Or you can talk to a farmer who will let you do your own field slaughter, I don’t know how many would let you do this though.

A mobile slaughter is also a possibility, they can be inspected or not depending on the set up, end user of the product.

The one thing you need to be aware of with this is to make sure everything is handled properly as far as brand and a state brand inspector is concerned.

If you do you own farm kill, you have to bring in a butchered carcass, ready to put on the rail and into the cooler.

 

[5MilesBack]

If you do you own farm kill, you have to bring in a butchered carcass, ready to put on the rail and into the cooler.

What if you debone it in the field after putting a broadhead through it? I mean, I could buy one on the hoof and transport it to my house and drop it there, but I'm not sure how that would go over in my neighborhood........better to do it in a field.

I would think in tough times, the ranchers would take what they could get for them. Pretty sure I could have done this on my uncle's ranch a few years ago, but now they sell direct to consumer online these days. Just too many regulations these days for just getting it done.

 

[EastMT]

What if you debone it in the field after putting a broadhead through it? I mean, I could buy one on the hoof and transport it to my house and drop it there, but I'm not sure how that would go over in my neighborhood........better to do it in a field.

I would think in tough times, the ranchers would take what they could get for them. Pretty sure I could have done this on my uncle's ranch a few years ago, but now they sell direct to consumer online these days. Just too many regulations these days for just getting it done.

In my opinion if you can get a farmer to deliver it to the slaughter house it’s well worth it. Most are $100 and under to kill, quarter, hang in the cooler.

You can take deboned meat anywhere that does custom legally, and have them handle it for you.
They tend to not like it that way because it’s a pain to store vs hanging the sides of beef on a rail. I would call a small local butcher, they are usually pretty decent to work with.

Dad raises beef, I spend a week every year cutting up a few beef for him and the family that they drop off at a custom slaughter plant and pick up a full 8’ truck bed of quarters.

Most pathology that the USDA inspects for is not going to hurt anyone, the main thing is E. coli. E. coli is fecal based. The ones we have killed at a custom plant are noticeably dirtier than at a USDA inspected facility. This is not all customs, I’ve seen some stellar custom plants that are amazing. We see specks of poop, small smear here and there. We trim any areas that look a bit dirty and it’s fine (because dad get them killed and skinned for $45!)

In a USDA plant, every head, tongue, eye, cheek muscle, lymph node, liver, heart, lungs, kidney, spleen, gall bladder, stomach, intestine, diaphragm, and even the esophagus are inspected, cut or palpated. Every single carcass is inspected for any signs of fecal material to verify the plant kept it clean.

In a custom there isn’t anyone checking the carcasses, so stuff gets missed sometimes.

 

[roadrunner]

What if you debone it in the field after putting a broadhead through it? I mean, I could buy one on the hoof and transport it to my house and drop it there, but I'm not sure how that would go over in my neighborhood........better to do it in a field.

I would think in tough times, the ranchers would take what they could get for them. Pretty sure I could have done this on my uncle's ranch a few years ago, but now they sell direct to consumer online these days. Just too many regulations these days for just getting it done.

In order for a processor to kill it, the animal has to be mobile in a manner it can walk on it's own to a knocking box, if equipped.

You bring it in however dead is up to you...

 

[5MilesBack]

In my opinion if you can get a farmer to deliver it to the slaughter house it’s well worth it. Most are $100 and under to kill, quarter, hang in the cooler.

You can take deboned meat anywhere that does custom legally, and have them handle it for you.

It seems that the processors are the bottle neck right now. So if I had to do it myself, it appears all I have to do is find a willing rancher and then process it myself.........just like I do elk.