Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?

[68TriShield]

See if you have a local place like this.You should be able to find beef in the burbs...
http://www.wagnersmeats.com/

[forgop]

Originally Posted by 68TriShield

See if you have a local place like this.You should be able to find beef in the burbs...
http://www.wagnersmeats.com/

My issue buying direct from the processor is that you're paying a mark up on the beef. Buying straight from the farmer, I know my price is $1.80/lb and know how I'll be charged by the processor and pay them directly for the butchering. Your odds of getting it at the price they paid are slim to none.

[WyoBob]

Some odds and ends:

As an example, with a live weight of 1,200 lbs., a steer at $1.10/lb with yield of 63% (average yield, at least in the old days) would give you a hanging carcass weight of 756 lbs. for a cost, before any processing (with attendant bone wt. loss) of $1.75/lb.

If buying quarters, the rear half has higher quality cuts.

After processing a quarter or half, you'll end up with way less meat than you were expecting and you'll have lots of hamburger.

If you get a bad one, it will be a long way to the bottom of your freezer!!!

I was in the cattle business for 35 years and we fed around 20-25,000 head per year. I rode into a pen of fats and cut out a nice fat one every once-in-awhile for various family member's and employee's so got to pick the best finished animals in the pen. Most of these animals graded prime with a few high choice (this was before the grading standards were "dumbed down") and they were exceptional eating but I do have vivid recollections of one steer that just wasn't very good. Don't have any idea why but it was a long way to the bottom of the freezer, that's for sure. BTW, we always aged our beef for 21 days.

There's a lot of trust involved when buying cattle from locals, on the hoof.

The "organic" label means nothing.

Grass fed beef doesn't taste very good. (That is, to say, it sucks when compared to corn fed beef.)

We eat very little beef, anymore. I never could get used to supermarket beef, especially around here. We eat lost of chicken and pork. When we buy good beef, we buy it in Valentine, NE (wife is from there and we go back to visit her dad) and freeze it and haul it back here.

I think you're better off to find a good meat market and establish a relationship with them than to buy from an unknown, especially on the hoof unless you have recommendations from friends. (And, if they're good friends, you'll have a chance to eat their beef before you "buy in".) A good meat market will stand behind their product if you get some bad cuts and make some "adjustments".

WyoBob

[timj219]

Originally Posted by WyoBob

The "organic" label means nothing.

Grass fed beef doesn't taste very good. (That is, to say, it sucks when compared to corn fed beef.)

I'm not sure what standards have to be met to put "organic" on the label. But IMO eating meat with no hormones and minimal antibiotics is just common sense. I have to respectfully disagree on the taste. Grass fed and grain fed taste different and it may not be for everyone but I like the grass fed flavor just as much as the grain fed. And I think the evidence shows that it's healthier with more omega-3 and beta carotene and CLA and less saturated fat.

[WyoBob]

Originally Posted by timj219

I'm not sure what standards have to be met to put "organic" on the label. But IMO eating meat with no hormones and minimal antibiotics is just common sense. I have to respectfully disagree on the taste. Grass fed and grain fed taste different and it may not be for everyone but I like the grass fed flavor just as much as the grain fed. And I think the evidence shows that it's healthier with more omega-3 and beta carotene and CLA and less saturated fat.

The last I knew, there were no standards for "organic" beef.

Unless you test for it, you'll never know if the animal had antibiotics at a "therapeutic" level in the feed or injections (to save a $1,300-$1,400 investment.)

I say, if you like grass fed beef, that's what you should eat. Some folks will supplement their range beef with cracked corn to put a little "finish" on them. Of course, when corn is around $6.40/bushel, you'll certainly be paying for it. (I think the highest corn prices got when I was feeding were around $3.75/bu. Possibly, if you adjust for inflation, I suppose that figure would be close to $6-7.00/bushel, though).

Most folks eat grass fed beef on a regular basis. It's called "hamburger" and is made mostly out of cows (that's a female bovine who's had a calf) who have outlived their usefulness (either dairy cows or range cows used for beef production). The beef is ground up and mixed with fat trimmed from finished beef.

I ate grass feed beef a few times when, over the years, we had a couple of yearling steers on grass break their legs. I shot them and loaded them into a trailer and hauled the carcass to an employee's house and he helped me butcher and wrap the meat. (I hate that work and would gladly have paid our local butcher to process the animal but animals must pass over their threshold under their own power and I wouldn't harass an animal in pain by loading them into a trailer and hauling them to town.)

As far as the health benefits of grass fed over finished, I'm hoping my 40 years of chewing Skoal, 20 years of cigars, several years of pipe smoking and Scotch & beer drinking will offset the negative aspects of eating corn fed beef

WyoBob

[14holestogie]

Originally Posted by WyoBob

If buying quarters, the rear half has higher quality cuts.

After processing a quarter or half, you'll end up with way less meat than you were expecting and you'll have lots of hamburger.

If you get a bad one, it will be a long way to the bottom of your freezer!!!

There's a lot of trust involved when buying cattle from locals, on the hoof.

I think you're better off to find a good meat market and establish a relationship with them than to buy from an unknown, especially on the hoof unless you have recommendations from friends.
WyoBob

Bob is wise. I've lived through all of these. Got a bowling buddy I buy from now who I know will stand behind the deal.