The price of beef ??

[BigAl]

I just paid $1.92 a pound for a hind quarter of grass fed beef that a neighbor friend raised here in Idaho . How's that compare to your area ?

This next year I decided to put a couple calves on the ranch . We have so much grass feed I will only have to grain them before we butcher .

 

[loboloco]

Al, we raise and have slaughtered several beef a year. We generally sell ours for 1.75# hanging weight. With kill fee and packing this comes out to abt 2.21#. Sounds like you got a generally good price from what I have heard from others.
Are you going to buy yearlings and raise out, or younger and keep longer?
Remember, 18-22 months is considered the prime kill range. We generally catch ours around the 18 month range so the meat is more tender.

 

[BigAl]

Al, we raise and have slaughtered several beef a year. We generally sell ours for 1.75# hanging weight. With kill fee and packing this comes out to abt 2.21#. Sounds like you got a generally good price from what I have heard from others.
Are you going to buy yearlings and raise out, or younger and keep longer?
Remember, 18-22 months is considered the prime kill range. We generally catch ours around the 18 month range so the meat is more tender.

I like nice tender beef .
We have a sale yard about 75 miles from us in Idaho . I think i'll pick up a couple of yearlings early spring and butcher late fall . The out of state guys I hunt with will buy the calves and all i have to do is supply the land to graze them on . I been lettin the neighbor range his cows on my place as it helps to keep fire danger down , so I might as well throw a few critters on it . We had a beautiful young Angus Bull running with the cows all summer , that we had no idea where it came from . He just showed up one day , Turns out he is off the other lease hold down the road and like the looks of our cows more than his .
The rancher picked him up this week and will haul him down river for the winter . Elk City is just too damn cold to keep animals in the winter .

 

[muleman]

Funny you post this tonight. I just sold 3 halves of beef 20 minutes ago. I charged $2.05 lb. plus $35 a half for kill and hang for 11 days. The one guy had his cut , vacumn sealed and froze for an additional .45 a lb. They were british whites that I bought this spring at about 1 year old and the halves ran about 250 lbs. each. They are grained and fed pasture and hay all the time I raise them. All 3 guys have already ordered for next year. They also bought from me last year.

 

[BigAl]

Funny you post this tonight. I just sold 3 halves of beef 20 minutes ago. I charged $2.05 lb. plus $35 a half for kill and hang for 11 days. The one guy had his cut , vacumn sealed and froze for an additional .45 a lb. They were british whites that I bought this spring at about 1 year old and the halves ran about 250 lbs. each. They are grained and fed pasture and hay all the time I raise them. All 3 guys have already ordered for next year. They also bought from me last year.

How important is the graining before butcher and how long should it be done ??

 

[muleman]

I grain them the whole time they are here. It lets you have cows you can be around instead of skittish range cows and helps to marble the meat for better flavor. I don't feed like a feedlot does but the 2 cows get about 100 lbs a week plus plenty of hay as well as pasture. Plenty of water is very important as well. Most of my feed is just ground cob corn and a small amount of mineralized feed mill feed. I also have 50lb. trace mineral salt blocks available to them at all times. This is important for good health and promotes drinking which helps them grow better. They almost double their size and weight in 7-8 months.

 

[BigAl]

I grain them the whole time they are here. It lets you have cows you can be around instead of skittish range cows and helps to marble the meat for better flavor. I don't feed like a feedlot does but the 2 cows get about 100 lbs a week plus plenty of hay as well as pasture. Plenty of water is very important as well. Most of my feed is just ground cob corn and a small amount of mineralized feed mill feed. I also have 50lb. trace mineral salt blocks available to them at all times. This is important for good health and promotes drinking which helps them grow better. They almost double their size and weight in 7-8 months.

Thanks for the infor . I have not been around the farm since I was about 12 or 13 years old . Wish I had paid more attention to what Dad did back then . Been around Horses my whole like ,but that just ain't the same .

 

[loboloco]

Al, we usually grain ours abt 4-6 wks prior to slaughter. Otherwise we grass and hay feed with an occasional superblock thrown in. Of course, we use a lot of hay for winter feed and ours are born on the farm. We use a mix of range feed and sweet feed for our feed out. As Mule said, feeding them a little along helps keep them tamer. My brother feeds once a week with a range checker, usually about a qt scoop per head.

 

[Cowboy]

I just paid $1.92 a pound for a hind quarter of grass fed beef that a neighbor friend raised here in Idaho . How's that compare to your area ?

This next year I decided to put a couple calves on the ranch . We have so much grass feed I will only have to grain them before we butcher .

With your access to Elk Al , I,m surprised you even want to eat beef

 

[bczoom]

Around me, raising, graining and slaughter prices are about what Bill (Muleman) has.

Last winter, I picked up (pricing includes kill ($20 per cow?), hung for 3 weeks, cut, wrapped, frozen)
1/2 for $2.65
1/2 for $2.10

At those prices, neither of the growers/farmers made any money. The kill/hang/cut/wrapped/frozen was 35 or 40 cents/lb, hanging.

 

[EastTexFrank]

We don't grain ours, just grass, hay, blocks and cubes. The cubes keep them friendly.

We sell ours on the hoof at about 18 months. For personal use and depending on freezer space, we take a couple to the packing plant every year and let them do the work, so I have no idea on prices.