i've got a beef

[Engineer]

....... about beef.   >:(

Got the sale flyer from a local supermarket chain, largest in the area, they have a decent (but not great) butcher shop and fair prices that tend to reflect the market rate.   So they are advertising angus filet mignon/tenderloin (an admittedly expensive cut) but the stuff is $17 bucks a pound!  What gives?  I've got a big family and it seems to be the trend for meat prices to have gone through the roof lately.  It's hard even to do hamburger, we get the sales as often as we can but that is just ridiculous.  Used to be that we held crab legs, lobster and scallops as sacred, treat them right, cook them right because of the price, but now I'm afraid to buy a good steak for fear I'm gonna mess it up.  To make it worse, my wife likes steak well done, and I ain't gonna do that to a good steak.   :(  Lobster is cheaper by a long shot. 

I guess what I'm getting to is - what's the advantages and disadvantages to raising your own?  I've got some land I can clear for a couple cows, maybe.  We are already planning on raising chickens this summer, and I can't imagine that raising a cow would be that hard.  Anyone here do this, one or two heads of livestock for your own use?  Sheep, goats, cows, whatever?   I'm gonna be reduced to eating tree bark and beans if these prices keep going up like they do.

[moosehunter]

We have a good friend that raises a dozen or so head a year. Strickly grass(hay) and good feed. We buy a halve a beef every year and know the butcher well so we get it cut the way we want it. Cost is just over $2.00 per lb total, grown,butchered,wrapped. I know where it comes from, what it eats and who processes it. AND I don't have to take care of the animal thru the year.
Works well for us.
Find a local hobby farmer and let them do the work!

[SwampDonkey]

chicken breast or turkey is around $4.30-$5.00 a pound here, in Maine it's $0.49-$1.29 a pound.   Grain can't be that cheap in Maine. :

[sawguy21]

My dad 'beefed' about this in the 60's and with a friend bought a steer to fatten over the summer and butcher. The 2 acre pasture was not enough so we had to buy feed and we were tied down. He was a teacher and had the summer off.  By the time all was said and done, they figured it was no cheaper than buying a side.

[Patty]

We buy a cow a year from a friend who raises beef they way we like it. He even hauls it to the butcher for us to be processed. We have the butcher quarter it for us, and then we process it from there. It takes us 2 solid days of hard work to cut it , grind the hamburger, and package the whole cow. I guarantee we pay less than $17 a pound for it, but it is hard work, and you need to have the knives, grinder, paper, and freezer space ready to tackle such a project.

[Murf]

Like Moose says, find a local farmer who does direct sales.

You get cheaper (and likely a bunch better) beef, and you support a local farmer.

To put it in perspective, about the best price a farmer will get right now for a 800+ pound steer at the sale is about $100. That is an animal that is normally sold to be fed until it reaches "ideal" slaughter weight.

Even if that animal wasn't kept any longer, fed any further, and just butchered right then, based on the average yeild of the kind of meat you take home, versus the "on the hoof" weight of about 50%, that animal would give about 400 pounds of meat.

Now there's lot's of handling, transport and labour involved too, but at $0.25, never mind the "value added" products, I think there's a bit of profit in there for the "local supermarket chain".......  :

[leweee]

I think your seeing the "trickal down effect" from "mad cow". Small producers have more rules & regs.(like ear tags before they can be transported for slaughter.)
These added hassles for (hobby farmers) are forcing more to abandon the effort. :
As more little producers are forced out there is no competition . >:(

[treebucker]

There's some good points here. Do you plan on buying a new calf and bottle feeding it? At the moment, around here you can buy bull calves from dairy farmers cheaper than anything else. It also helps to know some beef ranchers. They sometimes have cows that die after giving birth. Many of them will knock the calf in the head because they don't want to hand feed it. Simply give them your number and tell them to call you if they have one.  Simply castrate them (ring or clamp) to reduce their aggression and improve the flavor. Get advice from the farmer/rancher on castration.

Hand raising a calf requires a pen, bottle, milk replacer, sweet feed trough, sweet feed, hay and storage. When the calf gets 3-4 weeks old it will start to nibble at grass. Do you have a pasture? You'll need 1-3 acres depending on the quality of the pasture. It can by weened off the bottle at 6-12 weeks. Keeping it on the bottle longer cost more but puts on the pounds faster. Through the summer months it can graze without supplements. But this fall (3-6 weeks before slaughter time) you'll want to take it off the pasture and feed it sweet feed and hay to tenderize the meat and improve the flavor. With luck you'll end up with a slaughter weight of 800-1000 lbs. BTW - they typically dress out at 50% waste.

Working out the logistics and cost of slaughter can be a deal killer. Not many slaughter houses around here still doing it. And the cost can be high. If you know how to do it yourself, have cool secure place to hang it while it ages, meat bandsaw and grinder, and ample freezer space then you're way ahead.

It used to be common around here to skip most of the above, buy a beef in the fall, sweet feed it for a few weeks, take it to the slaughter house then return in a few days to pick up the cut, wrapped and chilled or frozen beef. People would often split the cost with their neighbors.  But I guess the regulations have closed most of the small slaughterhouses and we are left with supermarkets.  When I was growing up we raised, killed and aged our own. We then took it to my uncle's house (he was a butcher) to be cut, ground and wrapped.

[slowzuki]

Local butcher still takes animals here, we had a ram (sheep) slaughtered in the fall for a not bad price.  We used to buy a side of beef from the local farmer, let me think, it was about 300 lbs of meat, about 600$, I think.  The same butcher processed it.

[SwampDonkey]

Local, small butcher shop beef is no cheaper than store bought beef here. But, usually you have a good idea how the animal was raised if you know the butcher. There are a handful of people that raise 4 or 6 animals for sale in the fall. Usually sold by the side. They are becoming more rare though. Since Mad Cow in 2003, a lot of beef farmers have quit and sold their animals at a great loss, while the prices from the processor remained high or higher. Not because of supply, (and there was an over supply) but because they can do as they wish.

[LT40HDD51]

Heres an idea my dad used to use in his small farmin days. He had a gurnsey for milk and had er bred every year (always threw a bull calf  ). Hed take an old axle out of a big rear differential, slip a collar around it with a ring welded to it to attach a chain so it can turn, and drive the axle into the ground. Give the little bugger 25' of chain and he can do a 50' circle of grass. Then put an old bathtub where it can just be reached between 2 of these axles, and run a garden hose to it. Once a day turn the tap on for a couple minutes and hes fed and watered for the day. Go check once in a while to make sure hes not tangled up... ;D. With a quick connect on the end of the chain its nothing to unhook him and move to another axle when needed. No fences and easy pasture rotation...

[CLL]

Right now a 800# feeder steer is about 85 cents a pound. Assuming you butcher him soon, he should dress out at about 58%, thats 464# of beef. Cost for slaughter is $25.00 and .25 cents a pound to cut and wrap. That should make the price per pound about $1.77 per pound. The middlemen get all money. I red in a farmers book the meat has 3-5 people adding to the original price before we get it. Naturally everyone adds their precentage to it. Same with bread, farmers get 13 cents for the wheat in a loaf of $1.59 bread.

[DR Buck]

Do you know what it cost to feed a cow these days?       When they're on pasture, it's not much of an issue except for the cost to maintain pasture grass, and this is very high as well.   But this time of year when feeding hay and grain is the only way to keep them from going hungary the cost is UNBELIEVABLE!       The hay I buy is cheep at $30 a round bale.  Some farmers are getting upwards to $50 a bale.   I feed 18 breeders and one bull.  I go through 1 round bale per day from early November through the end of March.   

The last batch of steer calves I sold went for $1.39 lb on the hoof and the heifer calves for about $1.15 lb.  Anything lower and I start to loose money.   These were between 500 and 600 lbs.   The feed lots that buy them at auction run them up to slaughter weight and send them on to market.   That's where the price starts to climb. And, that's where I get my meat.

We don't eat any of our own.   It works out better to sell them at auction, take the profits and buy the meat cuts we want and pocket the extra cash.    When I sell at auction, I get paid for the whole animal.   If I was to slaughter for myself, all the extra stuff (guts, hide, bone, etc) is is lost $$ and I end up with a lot of meat I wouldn't normally buy anyway. 

I just came from COSTCO at lunch time where I bought NY strips for $7.15lb and round roast for $4.38lb.

[Engineer]

It sounds to me like the best way to go is buying a side?  There's a small farm abotu a half-mile up the road that raises some beef for sale and Morgan horses as well.  I don't really have much for pasture, I guess I could clear some but that's a LOT of work for what's there.  There's several farms around that raise beef, I guess I could buy a calf and have a farmer raise it, but that probably will be expensive by the time it's slaughtered.

Even three bucks a pound for a whole side is reasonable, no matter what the cut.  Plus a side will get me cuts that I normally don't buy, either for price or because they're unavailable locally.  Like tri-tip or short ribs.   Or a good porterhouse.

I gotta think about this.   ??? :P

[Ianab]

Having to feed an animal with bought in food is the deal killer really.
In NZ it's possible to grass feed all year round, although a bit of hay would be used to get them through the winter if you are running normal stocking rates. Thats why the US looks at NZ beef and dairy and thinks it must be subsidised, it's not, it's just so much cheaper to run cattle.

The other hassle is that it takes almost as much time to look after 2 cattle as it does a herd of 100. They still need to be checked regularly, watered, fenced, moved to new pasture, fed their hay etc.

Unless you want to actually be a farmer / fencer / vet etc , buy a beast and find a local butcher to kill and cut it up.  At least you cut a couple of middlemen out of the loop  ;)

Cheers

Ian

[treebucker]

The hay I buy is cheep at $30 a round bale.  Some farmers are getting upwards to $50 a bale.  

Wow. Where are you located. Around here 1000# bales of hay run $10-20.00 a bale. The farmers are leaving it in the fields unharvested. They are taking one or two cuttings on mixed hay when they could get two to three. We've had bumper crops 4 out of the last 5 years. But alfalfa is still prized.

[SwampDonkey]

@  Ianab

Most practical advice a guy could give.  ;) ;D

[SwampDonkey]

$50 a bale for good hey is probably closer to the actual cost of production. $20 seems low. Since I know hey was selling here for $2 a bale for a 50 # bale 20 years ago. In recent years all I see being grown around here is weeds and trash, mostly for hobby farms. However, I do know of a couple farms producing good hey as they manage their ground for good hey production. I don't know how people can sell weeds for cattle feed.  :

[Mooseherder]

Not familiar with your Market area and amount of competition, but that is the same Retail we have on Tenderloin down here. The Grocery industry averages less than 5 cent return net profit after all the bills get paid. Most chains average less than that.
The power bill for a Supermarket every month is 30 grand.  Alot can go wrong in a short amount of time to lose any profit you have made for the year.
Instead of buying large quantities, you may be better off shopping the ads of competitors. We have a rotation ad that is pretty predictable. The ad is a break even proposition to get you in the store.1 Week it is Porterhouse and T-Bone. I buy the Porterhouse with the Big Fillet. The womenzes eat the fillet, the guys eat the top part (Strip). Then Strips are on Sale the next week. Strip is just the top section of a Porterhouse or T-Bone. Next week it is Rib Eyes, most times Boneless, sometimes Bone In. Next week Boneless Sirloins. Then the cycle rotates back to something like a London Broil (Top Round in the south) (Shoulder steak in da Nord)

If your chain doesn't follow this kinda rotation all you gotta do is throw in a few competitors. If you have a Costco in your area, they have good Beef and do a good Job with it.  I also compete with them here and they are a worthy competitor and I admire their business model.

There are also some cheaper cuts of Beef that are tender with great flavor.
Top Blade Steaks, also known as a flat Iron Steak is the Second most tender piece of Beef behind the Fillet.  Chuck Eyes live right next door to the Rib Eye and are great cheap steaks. Problem is, there are only 4 Steaks per Steer, 2 on each side.  Another cut, not available everywhere is shoulder tenders. Most shops just use this piece off the top of the shoulder for cube steaks.
I think buy shopping the ads you will be further ahead in getting stuff you actually want to eat.

[SwampDonkey]

I buy cross rib roasts. No bone, very little fat. Tender meat when slow cooked. $2.49/lb on sale. It's cut from the shoulder, also known as 'Boston cut' or 'Chuck Shoulder Pot Roast'.

[Mooseherder]

That makes a great roast SD. 
I also buy those or Bnls chuck underblade roast and have it ground up for Hamburger.
Depends what is on sale that week. ;D
It makes delicious burgers. ;)

[farmerdoug]

Murf,  At 100 dollars a head you should have a freezer full of beef.  Around here feeder steer are over a dollar a pound on the hoof.  No wonder Canada wants to sell the USA more beef.

Like it was said you can save some money buying or raising a beef and butchering it but you will have a freezer full of meat.  Unless you are feeding an army you better get a good vacuum sealer or you will loss some to freezer burn.

Farmerdoug

[Mooseherder]

Some of the best Beef I ever tasted was at my BIL Uncles house in Quebec. These folks also had a very large Maple Sugar operation shipping truckloads across the country. They also had a Dairy Farm. Yep, dat Canadian Beef was mmmmm  mmmm good.

[WDH]

I "order" five deer each year from my nephews (and provide land for them to hunt).  I process the meat myself into ground venison and cubed steak as "staples".  That way, I have ground meat, no fat, for use in a variety of foods and the "un-ground" meat for country fried steak, stews, stir fry, etc.  That way, when I shop the sales and buy steak for grilling, the cost impact is not so bad.

I have come to three inviolable conclusions:  1).  If you want all purpose meat to prepare a number of dishes, lean venison is superior.  2).  If you want sausage, you cannot beat hogmeat.  3).  If you want grilled steak, beef is the only way to go.

I am prepared for the backlash from the the Forum members to what will be perceived as a flawed strategy, so bring on the reprimands 8) 8).

[Dave Shepard]

I personally would try to buy a side locally, and get to know the farmer. You, and the farmer, will be better off with locally grown food. I strongly support local agriculture as it used to be. I think there will be a day soon when it won't be feasible to truck food cross country, or fly it in from south america. Why send your hard earned dollars to another part of the world, spend it locally on your neighbors, a healthy community is invaluable to all. Except perhaps to the very people who are driving prices of everything we buy through the roof.


Dave

[SwampDonkey]

I agree with you Dave. But when some places advertize local produce, it could be 18 hours drive away. My folks can remember that the only time of year we got citrus was at Christmas. Most people lived off root crops, cabbage and their own local farms. They had winter apples as well that would last 'til april in the root cellar. Some even dried the apples for cooking. Squash kept 'til Christmas or January. Everything changed pace with new technology after WWII.

[isawlogs]

 Murf .. I think you best go look into those numbers again ....  If those numbers where true ... there would be no beef farmer left out there ....  Check agin mon ami ... ;)  $$$$$   

[Bro. Noble]

We sold some old fat cull dairy cows last week.  Two brought over $900,  course they weighed about 1800 lbs :D :D  They were bound for the golden arches ;)

Baby bull calves bring from $35 to $200 at the local sale barns now.  The cheaper ones being Jerseys and the higher end Holstine or holstine/beef crosses.  You gotta remember that when raising babies,  they start out as simple stomached animals and can't use hay or pasture well until they are a few months old. You will be buying a lot of high priced feed even if you have plenty of good hay and pasture.  After farming all our lives,  we have gone to buying replacement cows because it's more economical for us than spending the time and money to raise our own replacements.  Baby dairy heifers sell for $500-600 for holstines.

Over the years we have butchered our own beef,  bought halves and quarters from the packing house,  hauled our own in to be slaughtered and butchered,  and had the packing house send a man out to slaughter and then take the animal in to process.  If you do your own,  It's really hard to do your own and get the quality of meat that the packing house does.  The meat needs to hang for two or three weeks (if it has sufficient fat cover) at around 40 degrees.  After it is cut and wrapped,  it needs to be frozen immediately.  You cannot do this in a home freezer.

If the packing house is equipped to kill your animal on the farm,  this is the best way.  Hauling the animal gets them nervous which affects the quality of the meat.  If you buy dressed meat,  I would reccomend a hind quarter,  unless you are fond of the lower quality cuts like blade stakes and roasts,  and neck bones :D :D

In our old age,  we eat less meat,  but are more selective in what we eat.  We have a good meat department at our local grocers and buy what we want.  Mostly lean hamburger, rump roasts, round and serloin steaks,  and ocassionally a KC strip.

Having raised all kinds of farm products,  I'll guarantee you that what you pay for food is a bargain.  If you enjoy raising your own,  it will likely cost you more than you could buy it.  There's no better way to spend your time and money, however,  especially if children are involved.  

[wiam]

There are not many slaughter houses in VT.  If you want something butchered in the fall you should schedule it by about next week.  My last 4 have been slaughtered at home and taken to a state inspected custom cutter.  They hang for 7-10 days when he has room.  He is now vacuum packing everything.  I think he charges $ .50/lb hanging wt.  He cannot legally kill.  Most are charging around $50 to kill.  The slaughterhouse 10 miles from me charges gets about $ .65/lb to cut and wrap if you want it USDA inspected. 

Will

[Mooseherder]

Another inexpensive but great cut for a roast is a Bone in Blade Roast.
This is the same section where the Chuck Eyes come from. (Chuck eyes look similiar to Rib Eyes.)
The Blade Section is part of the Front Qtr. that is next to the Large end of the Rib Eye. Rib Roast sells for 7-9 dollars a pound. Blade Roasts sells for 2-2.50 lb.
The cuts generated from this piece get marketed by the Butcher when they bone it out as Top Blade Steak, Chuck eyes, Underblade Roast or Bnls. Chuck Roast, Short Rib, Flanken, Stew and Hamburger. It has some waste/fat in between sections of the different muscles but is just as good as a Rib Roast for a Third of the price.  ;)

[Dana]

Treebucker, if you can get a calf up to 800 -1000 lb in nine months I am impressed. ??? : Eighteen months would be a more realistic goal and if conditions aren't optimal, 24 plus months. ;)

[treebucker]

Treebucker, if you can get a calf up to 800 -1000 lb in nine months I am impressed. ??? : Eighteen months would be a more realistic goal and if conditions aren't optimal, 24 plus months. ;)

Obviously, I left out many details. I grew up around alot of cattle men and we allways had one or two herds. The knowledge you gain from that is hard to communicate. Some of these cattle men are still around and have become world-class in their profession. What is normal depends on your experience, methods, and your local resources.  I've got a neighbor that averages over 1000 lbs on his fall calves. He inherited the farm from his daddy who was also a good cattle man. He told me it took years to get the herd's breeding to this level. He embraces high-tech - except hormones, artificial insemination,  and embryo implants. He takes good care of his herd, keeps his pastures in good condition and supplements the calves diet with sweet feeds. His hay quality is typically good but, suprisingly, it's mainly grass hay.

Contrast this to a certain other neighbor of mine. He uses the laissez-faire method. He doesn't use any high tech. His hay and pasture are typically poor. He does not use sweet feeds. He does not give his herd any shots. His herd's breeding cycles have been random with most of the calves born late winter to early spring. But he has at least 20% born throughout the summer. This runs his average fall weight down around 4-500 pounds...with his largest around 800 pounds.

I guess it's what you're used to. Admittedly, we are blessed with what may be the best hay/pasture growing region in the world. Often times, when I see what passes as pasture land in other parts of the country/world on TV, I can't see the pasture. It looks like scrub land or desert.  I wonder how come their cattle aren't starving to death. I've been to Michigan. Your pasture lands look good to me. The main difference I see is simply the shorter growing season. But there are many that insist (locals and non-locals) that there is something special about the soil in Kentucky when it comes to raising grasses, cattle and horses.

[Dana]

Treebucker I'm putting you on the spot here, but as you said in your sawdust in the soil thread, "I find this a bit nebulous. I'm looking for more details. Has anybody got any links to real scientific studies?"
I am very interested in this as I will apply your principals and if they work become a very rich consultant to the beef industry.

[Norm]

We've butchered our own for the last few years and finally quit this year. Problems I've had are it's tons of work, you are eating frozen beef most of the times and you get plenty of beef that you don't really like that well.

Mooseherder has given some great advice, nothing like getting it from someone who does it for a living. My favorite cuts lately have been shoulder tenders and flat iron steak on the grill. Much better than any sirloin or t cut steak I can buy for alot higher in costs. Now I watch the sales from the two different meat counters here and do pretty much as he's suggested. Also I tend to bargain with the meat counter guys, for example they had chuck roasts on sale the other day. I bought 60 pounds and had them grind it for hamburger, boy you can't beat it on the grill. We still raise and hunt plenty of our meat but for beef you can't beat going this way.

[treebucker]

Treebucker I'm putting you on the spot here, but as you said in your sawdust in the soil thread, "I find this a bit nebulous. I'm looking for more details. Has anybody got any links to real scientific studies?"
I am very interested in this as I will apply your principals and if they work become a very rich consultant to the beef industry.

It is well known that Kentucky has a world-class horse industry and less well-known beef industry. The limestone soils are usually cited as the reason.  But a certain part of the reality behind the horse phenomenon is more mundane. I know why they excell and the soil is only part of it. I won't give away their other secrets. The soil story is more lore than fact but there is no doubt that you can see this with your own eyes. There has been many attempts to prove this in the past. There is something there but isolating a particular substance is probably futile. It seems reasonable that there are several factors that come to play in making this area as productive as it is.

I've lived, worked and traveled in the surrounding states. Some places had crop yields that averaged better than here and I could see why. Their soil looked astonishing.  It was dark and looked much richer. The top soil was much deeper than here. Another factor was that many of those areas were flatter than what is typical around here...holding nutrients better than the rolling hills that are common here. But I saw that their grassland didn't look any better than here and didn't seem to produce as well. I couldn't make sense of this. There had to be something unique back in Kentucky.  I'm sorry I can't cite specific studies. This lore has been discussed by farmers here many times, and by Kentucky horse industry advocates, and it has been cited by others outside Kentucky who work in the horse and beef industry and are familiar with Kentucky.  So, I've been exposed to this most of my life but proving it to an outsider who has never heard of it before would require them to be exposed to the circles of people who are familiar with this knowledge. It also exist in print. I've seen it many times. But it was allways when I wasn't looking for it.

[Murf]

Murf .. I think you best go look into those numbers again ....  If those numbers where true ... there would be no beef farmer left out there ....  Check agin mon ami ... ;)  $$$$$   

Mea Culpa, tryin' ta do too much stuff at once.  :P

That'll teach me ta try ta chew gum an type at da same time huh?   :D  :D  :D

I meant to say $100 / cwt (hundred weight, or 100 pounds) which is of course about the same as what my friend Doug from obber der in Michygan gets fer his beasties too.

Da bottom line doesn't change though, you still can't feed a cow for nearly two years and sell it fer a profit anymore.  :

[Dana]

Until I see some age and slaughter weight data from Kentucky, I will have to agree its just folklore. :D

[johncinquo]

I bought my god-daughters 4H projects for several years.  Knew where it was raised, what is was fed, and sometimes its name.  Now they dont raise any for projects, but they still have 2-3 a year to sell off.  I end up about $2.00 a pound no matter how you slice it.  $2 hanburger is kinda high, but $2 sirloins, ribeyes, T Bones makes up for it.  Its all vacuum packed and labeled when it arrives to me, usually delivered with a hug and kiss.  Ask at your local 4H or FFA and you can find who is raising some for sale.  I also asked the local Veterinarian.  He knows everyone around and what they are or are not using on their animals, and what types of feed and conditions they are in.  I got a great hook up on his recomendation. 
We get either a whole or 1/2 beef, and a hog as well each year.  Lifes too short to eat bad food!

[stonebroke]

Last week Moyers( big packer) down in penn. was paying 1.49$ (carcass wt.) for choice steers. God only knows what they were getting for it. At this price the farmers are only losing 1 to 2 hundred dollars a head.

Stonebroke

[SwampDonkey]

I ain't seen hamburgh for less than $1.99 /lb in years and that's on sale. Usually $3.50/lb.

[Mooseherder]

The Company I work for supports the 4H kids projects thru-out the Southeast at their Cattle Auctions. Great thing to spend the Companies money on. ;) We have over 50 of these Auctions we attend every year. There are alot of Counties in 5 States. :D  We got 2 coming up Sat the 17th.
Okeechobee and Vero. I'll be at the Vero auction with a budget of 10 grand. ;D
We use to spend alot more at these Auctions but you know corporations have tightened up for good reasons.
We are mainly there to make sure the kids get a good price for their Steers. Once the bids get high enough, I 'll let the other bidder get em. If'n nobody is bidding, we are there as a safety net. The kids have been getting good money for their Steers the last couple years. Last year average price after the Champion and Reserve Champion were gone was over 3.00 a lb. the kids do okay with that.
We then sell it back to the rail for slaughter and get about a buck a pound.
The kids feed us good with a Steak Dinner before the Auction and really appreciate us being there. Gives me a warm feeling. It is a great time for the Community to get behind kids doing the right thing, staying out of trouble and off the Street. We need to encourage and get behind these kind of events more often. If you have never attended a 4-H auction, it is a great event to be at. Check them out. And bring your Checkbook. You can write it off and eat good.

[thurlow]

I was in the beef cattle business for 47 years........commercial cow/calf operation, i.e., I was in the business of selling feeder calves.  Usually ran around 275 head of mama cows and back-grounded a couple of hundred head of calves through the winter.  Enjoyed reading the above posts and agreed with most of them. (1000 # calf in 9 months is VERY IMPRESSIVE)  I doubt that anyone can buy a calf, purchase feed and then pay to have it slaughtered and come out ahead, money wise.  Obviously, there are some intangible benefits, other than just the money.  You may or may not can find a farmer willing to sell you a slaughter-ready calf or half.  Maybe a retired or part-timer;  anyone in the business to make a living is probably not gonna want to fool with one calf.  Every once in a while, somebody would come by and want to buy a few feeders, usually 1--6 head;  when I'd price 'em, they'd always decide to just go to the sale barn and buy something thru the ring.  When my parents were alive and my sisters were married and we had seveal employees, we slaughtered one or two per year;  the quality was great, but those days are gone; now-a-days, a 1200 pounder would last us 5 years.

[Murf]

This thread reminds me of the joke about the old farmer that won the big lottery.  :

A TV reporter asked him what he was going to do now that he was a millionaire, change anything, do anything different, travel maybe?

The farmer ne'er batted an eyelash before replying, "Nope, just keep farming til the moneys' all gone......" 

:D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

[tlooney]

Look out I saw in the paper today that with the ethanol boom going on there is not going to be enough corn for fuel and feed so the price of beef, and chickens are going up. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17537212/

[Woodcarver]

An article in a local farm paper indicated that vegetable prices may be affected, too.  Growers are getting higher contract offers from processors concerned that acreage will be switched to corn.