Do you flash freeze the beef for your customers?

I wish I lived near you, Annie! Why do you sell so cheap? Is that the going rate where you live?

One local meat processing market has these prices:

Sides of beef - $2.12/lb.
Split Sides of beef - $2.16/lb.
Beef Front Quarters - $1.82/lb.
Beef Hind Quarters - $2.32
Sides of pork - $1.44/lb.

Includes cutting and wrapping to your specifications. Ham, bacon and picnic cured.

I can get better prices from individuals and have the meat processed at a local meat packing plant.

What we've found important to do is to vacuum-seal the meat with a FoodSaver (bags) for longer freezer-life (no freezer burn waste). Some packers still paper wrap the meat. Word of caution if you do use a FoodSaver to vacuum-seal the meat, do a little at a time. You can burn the motor out if you do a long stretch of vacuum-sealing.

-Grainlady

HOLEY MOLEY Grainlady and Annie...I wish it was that cheap!!!!!!! a half goes around here for $800.

I paid $260 I think for the half pig I got it was 62lbs hanging.

Maybe it's Carl I need..LOL Annie, does he charge more for cut and wrap of pork than beef?

This is the guy..I think it was 1.19lb for cut and wrap. And I paid the "farmer" 2.19lb for the pig.

Looks like I need to just go to his "market" and get some meat. LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Del Fox Meats

Here's my other "local" choice.

They are about the same distance to drive for me. About an hour 15 minutes one way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silvana Meats

I priced one local farm and they were sort of expensive compared to what I've read here. The hanging weight of a side was quoted at about 350lb at $3 a pound, $1050. If you think about 25% of that lost in butchering you have 262.5 lbs at $1050, so about $4 a pound.

kandm, since I have just a few cattle, I don't freeze anything. Carl's brother, Dallas, comes to the farm and kills and hangs whatever animals I point out. He transports them to the packing "plant", which is big enough to hang 6 cattle, LOL. Carl lets them hang for about a week to 10 days, depending on the age of the animal, older ones hang longer because it makes them a bit more tender. Carl then cuts, shrink wraps, labels and flash freezes the beef and the customer picks their meat up directly from Carl.

Hardly anyone here uses that white freezer paper, nearly everyone does the vacumn/shrink wrapped stuff. The price of packaging went up this year because the heavy duty plastic that's used in the vacumn sealing machine is more expensive.

Why do I sell so cheap? Because of the dam*ed federal government who is trying so hard to control everything we put in our mouths and run the small farmer out of business so that agribusiness can take over. Pah! Because I refuse to register the farm and microchip all my animals "for the safety of the food supply" (although they want me to microchip my horse which I do not intend to eat), I can't run animal animals through a commercial sale. Mind you, participation in the National Animal Identification System is "voluntary", but you can't enter an animal in 4H, you can't buy or sell at the livestock auction, and you can't sell "commercially", you're allowed to sell a couple directly to the "consumer". If I register the farm, I pay for registration, I pay for microchips and I pay for the vet to come out and implant the chips. Every cow, horse and chicken on the place and I pay individually. Then, if I want to eat one of those chickens I have to notify the government 24 hours in advance and get permission. Yeah, not in my lifetime....

If I were "big" agribusiness, I could get a cut rate on registration and only have to chip selected animals and not get permission to slaughter since that's what they do for a living. Yeah. Another big break for agribusiness and that's why they spend so much time and money lobbying for NAIS. So, you all are ready to pay my bail for civil disobedience when they make it mandatory?

So, I raise a couple extra and I sell them to friends and neighbors at a rate that makes a bit of money but not much, and I raise my own and the safety of MY food supply is assured by the way I raise and care for my stock.

Going rate here for a side of beef is a bit over $2 a pound, plus packaging, so I'm about 50 cents a pound cheaper than the "big guys" but I can tell you exactly what that animal ate, where they were and what they were "exposed to" for their entire lives.

Annie

......."so I'm about 50 cents a pound cheaper than the "big guys" but I can tell you exactly what that animal ate, where they were and what they were "exposed to" for their entire lives."

Amen!

Annie, I would love to be able to buy some of your beef...that is a great price for sure. I have said this more than once...I REALLY wish my parents or aunts and uncles would have kept the family farms that they grew up on. I have vague memories of them but think I would have been more than happy working the land given the chance or opportunity.

David

David, I wish you were closer. I'd either make a farmer out of you or you'd decide you hated it entirely, LOL. There is no middle ground for farming, you love it or you don't.

In a perfect world, I could make a living farming. The reality is that a small farmer can't really make a profit, we do it for ourselves, for our families, and because we truly love it. My girls tease me and tell me it's just my way of "playing in the dirt". They're mostly right.

Annie

Annie, I was all tucked into my bed and reading when it hit me that my "Amen" comment above might have seemed sarcastic.

It was not.

I wish there were more people like you out there and I wish that the feds could just get over the catering to the big boys thing.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I was agreeing with you and not being snitty. I just now realized that it could have come across that way. I'm sorry.

trsinc, I didn't take it as snitty at all. I also know that not everyone agrees with my belief that we should treat our animals humanely, even lovingly, no matter that we do intend to eat them.

The government will never get over catering to the big boys because there's just too much money in it, big business can "donate" a lot more than small guys like I ever could, and so they get taken care of.

I think getting back to a more local food supply would be better, cheaper, healthier. I also don't think it's ever going to happen.

Annie

Annie, if I wanted to find someone like you in my area, how would I even start?

Who should I ask, and what should I ask for? What should I look out for?

I'm afraid to go out in my area and someone might think, "Oh goody, this woman knows nothing about buying local beef. Let's rip her off!"

Can you give us a "Buying Organic Beef 101" ???

http://www.eatwild.com/ - Has a database of farms that sell grass fed beef

John StosselÂs Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics, Part 5 (This oneÂs on farm subsidies that are given to huge farms at the expense of the little guys)

One more link, to the article I was reading about one person's experience buying a side of beef. "100 Pounds of Leftovers Buying and eating an entire side of beef By Jason Krause" http://www.chow.com/stories/10185

Here is a link that might be useful: John Stossels Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics

Which side should I buy? Who's side are we on? Should we always side with beef? Does it really taste just like chicken?

LOL!... not even drinking and I feel goofy.

Don't forget to consider freezer space. I skip buying large cow chunks because I don't have or want a chest freezer. What I save in electricity buys a couple steaks each month. Right now I can buy whole NY strips for about $50... good for a dozen steaks. I get 5lb "eye of round", boneless and mostly fatless, for about $12 on sale. Sort of a step between packaged and buying everything but the moo.

I get free "parts" from my sister. Sis has a family so they eat a cow and a pig each year. I get lots of parts they don't know what to do with... hearts, tounges, kidneys, and liver. Great eating but you can't be shy and need to find dishes that you will eat them in. Shameful but sometimes I treat Dolly with a pound of frozen liver on a hot summer day, outside of course. She spends a good hour licking it down and chewing on it. I just can't eat 10lbs of liver in a year's time... and that much organ meat is not good for you. Hearts and tounges make the best pickled snack meat a going.

So anyways... I'm running late for work...

: )
lyra

Annie,
Do you have enough grass for the cattle, or do you have to buy hay and cubes sometimes? What kind of cattle are they?

Lyra, whose side are you on? Why MY side, of course. LOLOL

Politics aside, I still always promote buying locally.

Kathy, this is a very "low tech" way of doing things but if I were looking for some beef I'd drive around and find a field full of beef cattle. Not Holsteins or Jerseys, common milk cows, but Angus or Hereford, something clearly meant for beef.

Then I'd knock on that farmer's door and explain that you are interested in buying local beef, hopefully organic or grassfed or humanely raised or whatever you're looking for. Could they help you or point you in the right direction? Most farmers love to talk about cattle, give "amateurs" pointers about cattle, expound on the wonderful qualities of their particular favorite breed, LOL.

If you're too shy to knock on doors, find a farmer's coop or feed mill in a nearby small town, walk in and tell the proprietor what you're looking for, they usually know every darned farmer in the area, what they raise, what they sell, what they sell it for. Be sure you check on locally raised beef and see what your "going" price per pound is so you can be prepared, although most small farmers are pretty honest because they'd like you to be a happy and returning customer and because you are doing business directly with them and not a big corporation.

I'd be looking for a green pasture with some happy cattle grazing, not packed into a feedlot somewhere. That's always a good place to start. Oh, and if you stand by the fence, cows will always come and stare at you because they are snoopy. Not the smartest animals on earth, mind you, but very inquisitive. The whole herd will eventually just stand and look at you. Just a warning, LOL.

Annie

Annie, what are your opinions on cattle raised 4-5 months on milk and grass, then later fed soy grain, cotton seed and grass and finished on wheat? I've read that straight grass fed meat is a lot leaner than those finished on wheat, personally I like some marbling in my steak.

kandm, my cattle are raised for 4-5 months on milk and grass, then finished with grass and hay. In my opinion, grain is grain and I don't care whether it's wheat, soy or corn. It's not a natural food for cattle, they are ruminants and should be eating grasses and green forage.

That said, I know farmers who harvest wheat or sorghum, etc., then let their cattle graze on the stalks and I think that's a judicious use of a resources that would otherwise be wasted, and provides a cheap food source for those cattle.

I started raising grass fed beef for Dad after his first bypass, and so I have been purposely raising ultra-lean beef fit for a heart patient and approved by Dad's cardiologist in controlled amounts. Yes, strictly grass fed beef is leaner than beef finished on any type of grain. Grain creates fat, thus the marbling of a tender steak. It's also saturated fat, something I try to avoid with my high cholesterol and which I tried to avoid for Dad with all his heart issues.

So, if you don't have those health issues, or if you eat very little beef so that the fat level is negligible, it's probably not that bad for you and certainly better than that feedlot grown, antibiotic and growth hormone treated commercial beef. Although the grain is not a natural food for cattle, a little bit to finish off the beef and make it a bit more "well marbled" probably isn't harmful to the cattle's digestive system and they love it. Even I've been known to give my "ladies" a handful of the horses' sweet feed as a treat and they'd follow me for 20 miles for it, mixed grains and sweet molasses. (grin)

Annie

Annie, brings up a very good point about the cattle loving the grains and sweet stuff. Just because it's NOT GOOD FOR THEM..doesn't mean they don't love it...sound familar...LOL Humans have that problem too....
I found the same issues with my grass/veg eater tortoise..She loves LOVES Loves tomatoes..but they can be deadly. So as soon as she became mine, all foods not good for her are no longer offered..her one "sweet" treat and she only gets it this time of year..pumpkin...a few nibbles over the next week or so.
kandm, I will say that if you are sold on grain fed beef, or "finished" beef, you might want to buy a little grass feed..it's not the same flavor at all. You might be disappointed if you put out all that money and didn't like the taste of the beef.

Yes, don't we all love what's bad for us, LOL.

Grass fed beef does have a different flavor, a different texture, and a different color. Mine is almost purple, not that artificial "red" color of grocery store beef.

Annie

I am in northern calif and just paid 730.00 for a 1/4 of a steer that I got 137 lbs of meat from. I feel very ripped off and would not pay this again. Yes the meat is superior and healthier than from a supermarket, but the cost is breaking the budget.

Here is a link to the closest place to me. These prices are per pound. Too rich for my blood although I'd love to buy a side of beef.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas cows

Holy Rump roast, Batman! I'm struggling to sell beef at $1.60 a pound hanging and you are all telling me that other places are charging $20 a pound. And they are apparently selling it.

I wish I lived closer to some people here, I have a beef in my barn right now that will be for sale in halves next year, and I'll struggle to sell it, I'm sure.

Annie

To find local beef try looking in small town papers and those little free bargin rags that are all advertisments. At least a dozen people around here selling local beef. A couple even market the "angus" breed... LOL a cow is not always just a cow. Price is about 2.25 cut and frozen... last I looked. We have a guy that posts beef for sale on our company bulletin board. Local party/grocery store has a couple ads on its board and just started facilitating purchases.

Always on your side Annie.

: )
lyra

Annie, what is the difference between hanging weight and cut rate? Is there a big gap betweent the two?

Should I expect the person I buy from to butcher, cut, and wrap the beef?

Annie, my Grandparents bought their farms way back in the mid 1920's and the other side would have been in the 40's. They raised their kids and retired off the farm and did fairly well for themselves. I'm thinking the big guys must have started buying them out in the early 70's....that's when they retired off the farm. I know I detasseled corn for Green Giant back in the mid 70's when I was 13/14....maybe that was when it all started. A sad state of affairs for sure.

Anyway, your pics of the farm bring back the vague memories that I have of that era...thanks for sharing them with us.

I did do a check for hanging price here for grass feed beef and it runs around $2.50 per pound. Would love to buy some of your beef at the price you offer it for.

David

David, figure out a way to ship it, LOL, or maybe I'll have to put a hitch on the jeep and bring one live steer to you in the stock trailer. (grin)

Kathy, hanging weight is what the animal weighs after it's been slaughtered, skinned and dressed. You won't get that much in finished product because there is suet, bones, etc. I usually figure that if I have a 1,000 pound animal "on the hoof", it's going to be about 60% that weight by the time it's "hanging" and you'll get about 2/3 of that weight "finished".

My 1,000 pound steer became 590 pounds "hanging" and will be about 450 lbs "finished". Of course, I take the soup bones, the oxtails and the heart/tongue/liver, so that makes a bigger yield. I do have them trim the shortribs and grind that into the burger, and I have the arm and neck roasts ground to burger too, which gets rid of some of the weight in bones. I'm amazed at the number of people who don't even want the soupbones. Heck, soupbones are $3 a pound here in the store and they are so well trimmed that they are exactly that, bones, with nearly no beef left on them at all.

Annie

David... I loved detasseling corn! I was young enough the farmer was concerned but he hired me anyways. Old enough to smoke cigarettes as I recall. I remember getting a raise to two bucks an hour! Herd of probably 20 of us kids would ride to the field standing in the back of a farm truck... no seats much less seatbelts. I see the kids ride old school buses today. My second year I spent the whole summer's pay on a Colt revolver... cowboy Lyra.

Hmm... can I buy just the top half of that beef?

; )
lyra

Hey guys I detasseled too, for Libby's. Actually an independent farmer but his crop contract was with Libby's. In Kent County (Ontario) on my uncle's neighbour's farm. Made $1 an hour, that was ten years before Big Guy was doing it! Sh!t I'm old! LOL

My Uncle didn't do corn he did cattle. Which reminds me of the time my older male cousin told me, during dinner, I was eating the calf I had named Valentino when he was born! I upchucked my whole meal! LOL

See, Chase, that's why I name mine things like "Chuck", and "Hamilton Burger", it's "Ham Burger" for short. I try to remember that they are dinner, and tell my kids not to play with their food.

It doesn't stop any of us from scratching them, petting them, feeding them carrots. I just can't be there when Dallas comes to "do the deed".

Annie

LOL Annie, with the fuel charges they are adding these days I dont' think that would work. If I still lived at the lake I could have used my neighbors pasture but then there is that fuel cost again. I remember DGM going out in the yard to fetch a chicken or two for dinner though.

Former detasselers unite! Lyra, I think I made around two bucks an hour too. We took an old school bus to the fields and if it was hot they would come out and spray us down with water from the back of truck. I spent my money on new roller skates, music(8tracks or alblums back then..lol), and the pinball machines at the bowling alley..LOL Pinball Wizard... Sharon, I'm trying hard, very hard to catch up to you and Woodie...y'all just run to fast for this guy...LOL!

David

bonjo, that works out to $5.38 a pound for all the cuts. Around here that is a great price for grass fed and finished beef.

Annie, as usual I will join you on your soapbox on this one. I pay more for my meat, help the farmers who live int he area to make a living by doing so and... I have discovered I actually save money on groceries because of it. June through March I have a CSA for veggies and most of my meat is bought in bulk and stored in my freezer. So long as I keep a stock of spices and other staples I don't go to the grocery store as much and save money but redusicing impulse purchases.

-Robin

I'm in Maine and the nearest listing on Eatwild.com is about about 1 1/2 hours away, not too far. They list a half carcass of Scottish Highland at $3.65 per pounds DH and I could split it with my father and sister (3 ways). I wonder if they allow you to choose how the cuts are done...I'll have to check (or actually have Dad check, since he'd sound like less of an idiot than me since he used to raise a few steers at a time).

What do you think of $3.65 per pound for hanging weight? "All cuts will be cryo-vac packaged, which means that the meat is flash frozen and then vacuum sealed in a plastic wrap."

Sue, that is a better price then my current favorite farm for meat. I would bet that if you requested it you could choose how the cuts are done. If you needed it there is a pdf for cutting instructions on several of my local farmers pages. Some here who would say it is expensive, however the meat is healthier for you and the animals, and supports a farmer. How much should that cost? We are eating somewhat smaller meat portions here and healthier that way as well.

-Robin

I always specify how I want my beef cut and Carl is happy to cut to my specifications, including thickness of steaks, whether I want the round cuts "cubed", how large or small I want the soupbones. He even used to cut the leg bones specifically for the Wonderweiner.

Does that $3.65 include packaging? If so, I think it's a darned good deal. If not, it's still a pretty good deal from what I've heard here.

Annie

My reading of it is the price includes the packaging. However, there is waste, right? Because they weigh it before they butcher it you pay for all the stuff that ends up on the floor (or in hotdogs, wherever it ends up). Based on the quick research I did, the loss is typically 25-30%, although 1 website said 40%. What do you think the loss % is? Re: the pricing, the website says "Half Carcass (avg. HCW 275lb): $3.65 per lb."
My father is coming for a visit tomorrow and I think I'll discuss this with him, either for this fall (if they still have some) or next year. He has a huge chest freezer from when he raised Angus, so I think he'd be open to it. I'd have to buy a freezer, but I've been planning to do that anyway. My father would know how he wants it cut.

This is exciting. Maybe you could post picks of all that meat before you guys divide it among you.

I just got an e-mail from a local rancher for grass fed,no hormone etc. beef. $2.50 a pound hanging weight for 1/2 a beef of approx. 300 lbs. $.45 per lb for processing and you will end up with with about 170-200 lbs. of meat. This is from the Flint Hills area of south central,Kansas.

If you have never had grass fed beef you will be amazed at how good real beef tastes. You can taste a piece of cooked corn fed beef and grass fed beef side by side and certainly tell the difference. Plus the grass fed has less saturated fat.

I've been doing this for years and years, now. I also buy whole hogs and free-range chickens. I just LOVE sailing past the meat counter at the grocery stores, especially since so much of what's there is nasty, injected, hormone-laced junk.

IF you buy locally (try Local Harvest or Eat Wild, on the web, for farmers in your region) you can find excellent deals. I buy natural--no antibiotics or hormones--beef, grass-raised and corn-finished, by the side. I got one in September and I only paid around $450 ?? (maybe closer to $500; can't remember) dollars for a side of beef: that's hundreds of pounds of healthy steaks,prime rib, pot roasts, stew meant, ground meat, etc.

My pig went to market this week. I'm getting about 125--140 pounds of pork chops, roasts, tenderloin, sausage, summer sausage, ground pork, ribs, hocks, hams and bacon for a total cost of about $260. AND it's the same quality pork (non-confinement, natural, hormone/antiobiotic-free, milk-feed) as sold by fancy-schmancy places like Niman Ranch, for a fraction of the cost.

I have two freezers in my basement and also rent a locker from the butcher who processes the meat for overflow. That only costs me an additional $5 a month.

Additionally, I have the satisfaction of dealing directly with the good folks who work hard to feed our families, and they actually make *more* selling directly to consumers in many cases, than they would dealing with big Agri-Business.

It's the ONLY way to go, now, in my opinion.

Plus, I just adore that "Little House on the Prairie"/all stocked up for the winter feeling of security.

Sorry to dredge up this old thread but I'm still on the search for some beef. I have a contact that will sell me grass fed beef but will only sell the whole steer. I have a very large upright freezer but I'm not sure if the whole thing will fit or if I could get thru a whole cow before it got freezer burn. It's just hubby and me eating it (kiddo is at the non-meat eating picky toddler stage). We are restarting our high protein/low carb diet so we do eat a lot of meat and want it to be healthy meat. Does this sound like way too much?

D, that's a LOT of beef. My daughter's family of four eats a whole beef, but I sure wouldn't.

Whether the meat would all fit depends on how big the "large" freezer is. I used to get a whole beef in my big upright, but I sure didn't have room for anything else.

Find the size of your freezer. One cubic foot will hold between 35-40 lbs of cut and packaged beef. The "average" for a whole carcass, finished/packed/in the freezer is 450-500 lbs, so you need a freezer at least 12.85 cubic feet.

And, even with two of you eating beef, remember that's about a pound and a quarter a day for two of you, or about 10 ounces of beef. That's if you eat beef EVERY SINGLE DAY.

That said, there is some amount that will be soup bones and ground beef, so you could get rid of quite a few pounds of it just by making stock.

Annie

Thanks Annie. I think I'll try to get the price out of him and then see if anyone in Houston wants half. I'd like to still have room for some chicken and pork in my freezer. I believe I have around 20 cu.ft. freezer.

Good luck with that beef. If you can't get anyone to buy half, maybe you could get it all and then resell it by the package for some outrageous price like the stores do that sell the grassfed beef. (grin) Just kidding.....

Annie

Annie

My prediction is, that with all the recalls that we keep having every so often with food, people are going to get sick and tired of the "big boys" and start buying more local food. I think the pendulum will start swinging back the other way and put small farmers back in business and the big ones will go down. I don't think it will happen over night, but I do think it will happen. I think people are starting to realize more and more how bad the "mass marketed" food is. I know in my area there is becoming a new interest in locally grown products, so you just never know, you may have more people come knocking on your door wanting to buy your beef.

I also think the big manufacturers better start paying attention or they are going to be caught in a bad situation. (Of course, they will just stand in line with their hands out waiting on a bailout!)

Well, I found someone that will sell me a side. I found them on Craigslist. What questions should I ask. They said it would be $3.60/lb if I want it vacuum sealed/shrink wrapped. They said it would be custom cut to my specs. They didn't provide any other info.

First I'd ask if it was grass fed or grain fed and whether it was antibiotic or hormone free. Then I'd ask them how big the animal was so I'd get an approximate idea of how much beef I'd be getting. I'd probably ask the age of the animal (younger can be leaner and still be tender) and whether it came from a cow/calf operation or from a feed lot.

If it came from a cow/calf operation, it was born on the place. If not, it was purchased from where ever, which doesn't make it bad or good, just an unknown.

As for custom cuts, I always get t-bones, porterhouse, sirloin, rib and round steaks. If you want the tenderloin cut whole, you'll have to give up the porterhouse. I get the chuck roasts cut and ask for the brisket, then everthing else gets ground to burger.

I don't care for beef ribs, they are greasy no matter how I cook them, so those get trimmed and added into the burger. I always take all my soup bones and make broth to can.

It depends on what you like. If you eat a lot of roast, you're probably going to want some of the roasts like round and sirloin tip and fewer steaks. If you don't use much burger, you might want the trimmings to be stew meat. It depends on your own needs, likes and way of cooking and eating.

Good luck, I hope you find a good supplier with an outstanding product.

Annie

Thanks Annie. I'll contact them again to ask more questions.

We like steaks and lean ground beef--we're not that hip on roasts. Would I end up with too much ground beef if I told them no roasts? I don't like the beef ribs either--only pork. So I'll get them trimmed as well. This is what their ad said:

"limited amount of grassfed beef for sale raised on our all natural, sustainable farm. No exposure to herbicides or pesticides and no hormones or antibiotics used.

dktrahan, it sounds to me like a small cow/calf pasture operation, sort of like mine.

Again, my only question would be the size and age of the beef. If they are selling young steers, 2 years old or so, you're going to get some darned nice beef.

If you have the roasts ground, you're going to get quite a lot of ground beef. My steer was 1200 pounds standing, after cutting and packing my half was somewhere around 300 pounds. More than 100 lbs. was burger, so I'd figure that 1/3 of whatever amount you get will be ground beef. I think the next time I'll get the roasts and then just cut them into chunks for stew meat, or have Carl cut them and package them that way. I still want the briskets, though.

Annie