Ordering 1/2 or whole cow...

[Billy Goat]

I didn't know you could buy beef at a store.

 

[Dos Perros]

My SIL married into a ranching family. They always butcher for the family in later summer/early fall when I'm still optimistic I'll kill something.

 

[Billy Goat]

My SIL married into a ranching family. They always butcher for the family in later summer/early fall when I'm still optimistic I'll kill something.

Haven't you heard?? Full freezer is the best way to kill something.

 

[JPD350]

Enjoyed all your pics in the garden thread!

I run 40 angus and black baldy cow/calf pairs. I keep about ten weaned calves every fall to feed out for another year and sell as finished beef. I have had nothing but positive feed back on the beef I’ve sold and my customer base seems to grow every year. I sell a half beef for about $800 and processing costs another $300ish. I tell everyone that you’ll get about 180 to 200lbs of wrapped meat for about $1100, comes out to around $6 per lb average from prime cuts to ground and everything in between. I love when someone texts me and tells me how much they enjoyed their meat.

It’s kind of funny but we don’t eat much beef. As long as we have elk in the freezer, which has been the case for quite a few years now, we don’t keep a beef for ourselves. My son raises 4-H pigs and we do keep one and have it butchered for ourselves every year so between the pig and a couple elk we are usually in good shape for meat. My wife also has a Jersey cow she milks everyday and makes butter, cheese, yogurt, etc. We are pretty self sufficient for the most part around here. Right now we are taking care of 40 cows, 7 pigs, about 60 chickens(broilers and eggers), 4 lambs, 7 horses, and the garden. Makes for a very busy life but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I recently got a 1/2 a grass only fed cow from a ranch down by Aragon NM and it is good but it was expensive at 8$ a lb. Unless you already have a line of people wanting beef and depending on how my hunts go I may be interested in picking up another load later in the year. Like you my first choice is wild game and usually I have a freezer load but sometimes the freezer goes bare.
What area does your cattle roam, all grass fed? who butchers your beef for you, 300ish is a good price. If you want to send me your contact info I would appreciate it, always looking to have a local backup plan to keep the freezer stocked.
JP

 

[spur60]

I put money down on my next 1/2 but my buddy can't get his next cattle processed at the locker we prefer until February. 21 days hanging, all cut & grind to order and vacuum sealed. I'm stuck buying costco beef or paying a premium for local independent sellers until then.

 

[SonnyDay]

Yeah, we've shared a half cow with my mom for a few years now. Cheaper, better, and I like supporting local ranchers. Those pics made me hungry!

 

[Ucsdryder]

Are you guys paying for the weight on the hoof or packaged and ready to eat? When you say you’re buying half a beef are you paying for 500 pounds of a 1000 pound animal? Is it butchered and cut up for you? If so, what are you paying?

 

[Stonebear]

If anyone reading this is on the fence about it... Do it. I was gifted half of a cow and there's no going back. I'll echo everyone else and say there is noticeable difference in quality and total cost.

If you're still not convinced by the other posts in this thread, do a quick search on carbon monoxide and beef. A lot of grocery stores have their meat gassed to make it look red (fresh) longer. There's other ways to do it and it's done to multiple varieties of meat, but gassing is the most common.

 

[Rob5589]

Are you guys paying for the weight on the hoof or packaged and ready to eat? When you say you’re buying half a beef are you paying for 500 pounds of a 1000 pound animal? Is it butchered and cut up for you? If so, what are you paying?

I believe I pay for how much the butcher processes. I actually deal with the rancher as far as how much I want.

 

[butcherboy]

I’ve been in the commercial processing business for 30+ years. Definitely the way to go. I don’t necessarily think grass fed is any better. You still need the right grass in the pasture. I prefer grain fed beef. Nothing more natural than oats, corn, barley, and wheat. All corn will give the fat a yellow mushy color and texture. White is the color you want in fat. Anything hanging past 18 days will be better. I like 21+ dry aged. $3-$4 per pound is about right on the hanging weight then add in the processor’s price. $6-$8 per pound should include the processor’s price. If it’s not vacuum sealed then look for the wrapping to be in a plastic film first then polyethylene (plastic) coated freezer paper. I do a combo of some products vacuum sealed and most fresh meat is wrapped in plastic then freezer paper.

 

[SonnyDay]

Are you guys paying for the weight on the hoof or packaged and ready to eat? When you say you’re buying half a beef are you paying for 500 pounds of a 1000 pound animal? Is it butchered and cut up for you? If so, what are you paying?

We pay about $7/lb for fully-processed and vacuum-sealed cuts. Lots of ground, and then an assortment of roasts, steaks, ribs, etc. Optional organ meats/tongue (I like that stuff but the family is working out their issues ).

In any case, we buy grass-fed (generally healthier for those of us whose cholesterol counts aren't where the doctor would like them to be). You can easily pay $8-$10/lb for grass fed ground beef at the store... and much more for almost every other cut you get beyond the ground if you buy a cow portion.

Hope that helps.

 

[String&stick]

Man. . . Maybe it's just the perks of living in Nebraska but I'd eat chicken before paying $3 or $4 hanging weight. Average is about $2.25 around me for hanging weight right now, and that's with the Corona virus factor.

You can even buy live weight from a few local produces at $.05 over market.

 

[Panhandler80]

Just heard from wife, who handled the whole thing. We paid $900 for 330 pounds including processing. That tells me the 330# had to have been hanging weight, not final product. All decent cuts / roasts were kept whole and rest was ground. Butcher paper for steaks (which I'm really okay with... I actually prefer it to a cheap vaccupack that looses seal) and ground was stuffed into 2# cylinders / sleeves. So that's on average $2.72 / pound HANGING weight INCLUDING processing. I'm not sure how hanging weight translates to finished product. I'm guessing about 3/4 or maybe a bit more.

Hopefully folks here don't catch on. Sounds like I paid a good bit less than some of you guys.

 

[ChrisA]

Calling a fat heifer or steer a cow is like calling a magazine a clip.

I don't know of a single locker that isn't booked solid until next February. At least this covid deal taught some folks that meat isn't grown in Walmart's coolers.

 

[Evol]

How big of a freezer is needed for say a 1/2 or 1/4?

 

[WCB]

How big of a freezer is needed for say a 1/2 or 1/4?

About 1/2 to 3/4 less than for a full....

 

[Billy Goat]

Hope y'all understand the difference in grass raised and grass finished.

Seems the whole grass raised stuff is pretty popular now. Most have been doing it for ever, just somebody has been able to market it now. If you are concerned about the finish you might ask a few questions. You can finish beef on grass the same as grain, just takes longer. Nobody is going to tell the difference between a USDA Prime cut from grass or grain finished. But you will tell a big difference between a Prime cut of grain finished versus Select cut of grass "fed". Most cattle are raised on grass, then sent to feed lots for finishing. Pretty common around here for someone to hold back 5-10 to finish out and sell. It's also not uncommon for someone to get dairy calves and raise them on pasture and then sell halves. Big difference.

Point being animals should be in slaughter condition to get the best quality. I don't care if it's grass or grain finished, as long as it's finished out.

 

[Panhandler80]

Calling a fat heifer or steer a cow is like calling a magazine a clip.

I don't know of a single locker that isn't booked solid until next February. At least this covid deal taught some folks that meat isn't grown in Walmart's coolers.

So sue me!

 

[Squirrels]

COVID is affecting what I call private beef market (where individuals are buying from local growers who will deliver to a local processor) for sure. My good friend that I normally get from can have me a kill date within 2-3 months at the longest. He is now saying the processor has no available dates for the next year. Only way to squeeze in is if they have a cancellation.

 

[Badseed]

I have a small ranch and raise a few steers each for beef. My family and I eat a whole beef each year. I am able to buy prime steers at 8wks of age and raise them on my property with native grasses and a mineral block. After about a year I start to supplement them with some sweet cob and and finish them out in 60-90 days. Hands down the best meat I have ever tasted anywhere. Everyone who has tried it says the same thing and now I have a handful of people that buy quarters and halves from us. It works out to about a $5 a pound processed and everyone is happy. Due to the “beef shortage” this year we couldn’t get our steers butchered when we were scheduled so we ended up running out of beef. I bought one pack of store beef and decided to eat chicken until our beef was ready. Luckily my freezer is full again and enjoying some homegrown beef!


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