# Sticky  Freezer Beef: What, Why & How



## Ken Scharabok

If you raise your own freezer beef, or purchase it in quantity, such as a side, what breed(s) do you prefer, why do you prefer it and how do you raise it (finishing diet and desired slaughtering weight)? If you purchase a side or so, what is your selection criteria?


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## Christina R.

We recently bought freezer beef for the first time. As far as the breed, I would assume it is hereford or angus as that is what most people in N. AZ run. We buy it from a person who gets the beef from a co-op of ranchers who run their beef, then send it to this one rancher for processing and distribution. The major factor is they are hormone and antibiotic free and are range fed. Price is about $4.00 per pound. The price isn't a criteria as I would be willing to pay more for hormone and antibiotic free meat.


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## tyusclan

We usually buy dairy bottle calves because they're cheap. I like to get Holsteins, but they have gotten more expensive lately. We just bought three Jersey bull calves for $35.00 each. We bottle them for about 6 weeks or until they're eating well. We give them all the grass or hay they will eat and supplement with a little grain until they're about a year old. Then start upping the grain a little at a time till they're about 16 months old. For the last 45 to 60 days we feed them all they'll eat. Usually wind up with about 900-1000 lbs. hanging weight at 18 months. I don't expect the Jerseys to do quite that well, though.


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## Christiaan

I raise Highland, usually only keep a quarter for ourselves. Sticktly grass and hay fed, butcher at 22 to 26 months. I sell it at $5.00/lb + c&w. Tender, tasty, and low fat.


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## a1cowmilker

we have raised our own beef for the last seven years. We have a limousine bull (sorry about the spelling) and the girls are part angus part bramer and who knows what. We separate the calves at about 7-8 months and agressively feed them for about 4-6 months. They get about 800-1000 pounds. We are pretty casual about when to butcher, honestly it's when we can get around to it. It is important to us that the meat hang at the processors for 3 weeks before it is processed. We use no chemicals on our cows other than wormer, and fly tags. We keep the whole calf and three families help eat it. That is only fair because they help raise them.
My favorite meat is jersey, if our jersey cow has a bull calf we will make it into a steer and finish it off. This will become harder, we are selling off all but three cows before the end of the year, it will not be as easy to raise beef. Oh well, we'll ejoy it while we can.


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## tresieg3

tyusclan said:


> We usually buy dairy bottle calves because they're cheap. I like to get Holsteins, but they have gotten more expensive lately. We just bought three Jersey bull calves for $35.00 each. We bottle them for about 6 weeks or until they're eating well. We give them all the grass or hay they will eat and supplement with a little grain until they're about a year old. Then start upping the grain a little at a time till they're about 16 months old. For the last 45 to 60 days we feed them all they'll eat. Usually wind up with about 900-1000 lbs. hanging weight at 18 months. I don't expect the Jerseys to do quite that well, though.


I AM IN FLORIDA AND WHERE DID YOU GET CALVES FOR $35 PLEASE LET ME KNOW I WOULD LIKE TO GET ONE.I WILL TRAVEL TO GET ONE AT THAT PRICE.


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## djuhnke

a1cowmilker said:


> we have raised our own beef for the last seven years. We have a limousine bull (sorry about the spelling) and the girls are part angus part bramer and who knows what. We separate the calves at about 7-8 months and agressively feed them for about 4-6 months. They get about 800-1000 pounds. We are pretty casual about when to butcher, honestly it's when we can get around to it. It is important to us that the meat hang at the processors for 3 weeks before it is processed. We use no chemicals on our cows other than wormer, and fly tags. We keep the whole calf and three families help eat it. That is only fair because they help raise them.
> My favorite meat is jersey, if our jersey cow has a bull calf we will make it into a steer and finish it off. This will become harder, we are selling off all but three cows before the end of the year, it will not be as easy to raise beef. Oh well, we'll ejoy it while we can.



I've heard jersey steers are harder & more expensive to raise up as beef cows because they eat but don't put on the weight (compared to a beef breed). Is this true?


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## tyusclan

djuhnke said:


> I've heard jersey steers are harder & more expensive to raise up as beef cows because they eat but don't put on the weight (compared to a beef breed). Is this true?


Jerseys are a little rawboned, but with good care and good feed they'll beef up nicely. May take a little longer than some others, but they'll do fine.

tresieg3, I pm'd you.


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## unioncreek

We run Longhorns and AI to either a Angus or Herfford. We wean them at 7 months, give the hay and about 2 pounds of grain until spring and then run them on grass for the summer. We then feed them for 90 days with full access to all the grain they can eat after getting them up to about 10 pounds of grain. Hanging weight is between 700 and 750 pounds on the rail. They grade out as "Choice". We have been getting $2.00/pd, but will be upping that next fall. Longhorn beef eat 80% of what English and Continental breeds eat and they have a healthier fatty acid profile with a lot less saturated fats.

Bobg


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## wheresdabeef

I am raising angus cross steers, usually 8-12 every year. They get weaned when my cow guy rounds up his herd of 35-40 cows w/calves for whatever reason and tells me to get up there and pick up calves! The calves have been castrated, and shots and will be anywhere in size btw 3-500lbs I have been a $1 a lb for the calves for the last couple years but we haggle every year. The calves get to my place where they are put on free choice grain, hay, water on about a two acre feed lot, no pasture. I will let these animals go until they are probably 12-1400 lbs, then off to the slaughterhouse. I don't have too much for sale since the people who have been buying from me seem to keep me sold out. I have been selling at $1.50lb hang weight, customer pays processing. The halves this year have been btw 400-450lbs for the most part. I usually put a whole steer in my freezer about every 6-7 months, the kids come over and get their meat from the freezer too which is why we started raising beef in the first place. Just good meat no weird stuff!!


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## Jennifer L.

I get a Black Angus steer from my neighbor every year. Even though I'm a dairy farmer and keep some steers around the place running on some 2 and 3 teat cows, I'd rather eat something I didn't have the raising of.  The Angus are grass raised, fed a little grain for the last month mainly to get them easier to load on the trailer as much as anything. Good eating. 

I'm raising up a freemartin Holstein this year for next year as an experiment. I've been told freemartins make the best beef.

Jennifer


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## cindyc

I buy natural meats from a farmer I trust that are grass-fed. Since the farmer that I work with is just setting up his pastures for the correct watering and grazing rotations, we didn't balk at a little feed of OP organically managed corn in the last few weeks, but next year we will not want that.
I can't buy "certified" organic. TOO expensive. I look for the middle of the road guy who offers me the healthiest thing I can get with the money I have to spend. This is a good market for farmers around here. There are several I work with. It isn't a feed lot animal that I get, but I am also not having to pay $5.00/lb for a certified organic grass fed beef. I know that I am getting something healthier than what I would get in a grocery store without the antibiotics and hormones. But, I take a risk by trusting the farmer that he is selling me what he says he is. I go and see the animals, see where they live and how the operation is structured and ask a LOT of questions. Still, because I am buying something that has no real regulation, I could be conned, and I know that. Worst case, though, on a family farm, I am getting an animal that gets sunshine and exercise, which beats your local X-mart anyway. 
I buy most of the food I eat this way (until I am able to move and grow/raise my own.)
Hope that helps,
Cindyc.


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## Ronney

Hi Jennifer,
Heifers always make for the best beef and all a freemartin is is an unbred cow so she will be as good as any other heifer you get. The fact that she has no ability to breed doesn't play any role in it. Friesian's make for good eating and although I personally prefer the Jersey or Jersey/Angus cross, I wouldn't screw my nose up at a Friesian either. 

I truely believe that the way they are brought up and handled right up to the second they fall over has a large part to play in how good the meat from any animal is. I don't know what your options are but over here we have the homekill guy come out to the farm. I try to ensure that everything is as normal as possible for the animal that is going and every time it has been head down, grits up eating grass when the bullet hits him. 

I think you will find your Friesian will be good and will be interested in your comments when the time comes.

Cheers,
Ronnie

(Added: Friesians are known as Holsteins in the U.S. A freemartin is the heifer half of a heifer/bull twin set something like 90% of the time. Both share the same pacenta. The bull develops sexually earlier than the heifer, so she get a dose of his hormones, causing her reproductive system to be under-developed, resulting in her being a non-breeder/sterile. - Ken S.)


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## Hovey Hollow

Ronney said:


> I truely believe that the way they are brought up and handled right up to the second they fall over has a large part to play in how good the meat from any animal is. I don't know what your options are but over here we have the homekill guy come out to the farm. I try to ensure that everything is as normal as possible for the animal that is going and every time it has been head down, grits up eating grass when the bullet hits him.


There have been studies done that prove that stress free slaughtering makes for more tender meat. The stress hormones (cortisol) that are produced by the animal when stressed by loading, hauling, unloading, feed-lot, etc. can greatly affect the meat. I plan on having the home-kill guy come out and do ours. I will know that calf had a good life up to the very minute he dies. You can't say that about most beef.


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## madoo

We butchered our first brangus this year. Excellent meat. One problem though the fat developed an odd taste and had to be removed from all cuts
after about a month in the freezer. Why???


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## tallpines

Our Holsteins were usually bred with a Angus for first time calf to make delivery easier.

Once a year bull from a Holstein-Angus cross was castrated to steer status.

He was raised with the other replacement calves for the dairy herd....fed the same stuff.

He'd spend his first year penned with the other young stock of the same age group.

His second summer he would be free ranged with the other 1 to 2 year olds......
Brought back into the barn in early fall and fed a high grain diet for about 6 weeks.

When the home bucthering unit arrived........he'd be shot where he stood in his pen--------and then dragged out into the yard where the local locker plant fellows hoisted him up on their special truck for gutting, skinning and quartering.

They'd remove the meat to the locker plant---where it'd hang for a week or so before being cut up.

The rest----the head, the guts---everything would be put into barrels and removed from our premises........excepting the heart, tongue and liver-----which we kept for our immediate enjoyment, or otherwise froze some for future use.

We loved having our own meat and knowing it was good quality.

Once when a free range heifer was injured, we slaughtered her.
Her meat all had a "funny" taste
Raised exactly the same as our annual steer but yet had an unusual taste.

The "funny taste"---was it caused by those afore mentioned "stress hormones" ---caused by her injury?
Another theory was that she probably was in "heat" when injured and "those" hormones affected the flavor of her meat.
Or---was it because she missed out on the finishing process of intense grain feeding for the last few weeks.

We never again, slaughtered a female for our home beef.

As part of an Economics class, I did a comparision of costs of beef.
Home raised beef, buying a side of beef, buying the exact cuts you want at sale prices, or buying the cuts you want on a weekly basis.

I got right down to the cost of the freezer, depreciation and cost to run the freezer.

I don't have the exact figures anymore----but, there was an obvious savings for the home raised beef.
And, you had the secure knowledge of knowing what your animal had eaten.

Purchasing a side of beef was not as great of savings--------however IF you knew your meat came from a good source-----that peace of mind was an asset.

Buying the exact cuts you want, in volume, at sale prices was a pretty good option. However, many times those "sale priced" meats are not the best quality. Most times the quality IS GOOD----but you never know until you've actually into cooking the meat....especially those meats bought from chain stores rather than your own local butcher.

35 years on the farm, I had the luxury of a freezer full of meat--------roasts, steaks, hamburger-----------but that time of year always came when the selection was down to soup bones and ribs. And, I'd feel obligated to use those rather than what I really wanted.

Now, in retirement, I am enjoying the option of buying in bulk when items are on sale. It's great to buy only what I want and not need to deal with the cuts that are less favorable.
However, now I am stymied by the occasional "off-flavor" meat---and then I truly miss our own farm raised, always dependable, meat.

And, where we use to have steak quite often, I very seldom buy it----even sale prices are too high for my thrifty ways.


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## astrocow

Madoo;

Sounds like the fat on your freezer beef went rancid from coming in contact with air.


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## Ken Scharabok

Admin. action.


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## marvella

glad it got bumped. it's exactly what i need to know right now.


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## francismilker

We've always enjoyed eating a fattened bottle calf. (either jersey or holstein doesn't matter) For the last three years though, we've been spoiled. My daughter has begun showing 4-H beef calves. (usually a crossbred calf with angus/simmental/maine breeding) 
This has absolutely spoiled us. The beef is graded by meat judges after the slaughter as this is part of the show competition process. Usually, the meat we've gotten to put in the freezer has been graded "choice +". The calf has been fed a good well balanced ration that is free of hormones and medicine. And, it puts the icing on the cake for all the care and labor that has went into the project. I've wondered though about my kids who have always chosen a name for the calf like: "T-bone, Brisket, or Sir-loin"! LOL


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## robin f

ok, a few of you say you prefer the jersey , jersey cross meat, ........ why,

this is the first time i have reared jersey bulls, so far so good, they are a little behind what the holstien would be at this age, in weight, about 15 lbs, but they on average were 11 lbs lighter at buying (about a week old), the feed is a little less, but not really worth mentioning as of yet, its going to be intresting to see, days to slaughter ( i like to slaugher between 5 and 600 lbs ( corn fed, red veal ), and conversion rate, and ofcourse $ per lb carcass wieght,, so far i don't see a lot of differance, i do know the jerseys are much more lively and REALLY like their food, lol, they have been real good drinkers and eaters from day one, ( and gone through some bitter cold weather)


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## genebo

I have grass fed Angus and Dexter beef in the freezer. The Dexter is far superior. Tenderer and tastes better. We save that for special occasions. We can get all the Angus beef we want.

Genebo
Paradise Farm


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## farm mom

We have been buying only grass fed beef from a friend but have found some of the cuts (like the steaks) taste really yucky. Very gamey and strong tasting. Some pieces you will only get a bite or two like this, others it is the whole piece of meat. These cows are Angus. I think they are only aged two weeks or so. What could cause this? We have been scared to buy grass fed beef again because some of it was just gross. Also, some of the meat that are usually quite tender were tough. Is there an optimal age to slaughter steers because I think there's are older?


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## sammyd

Other than what I may have bought in a store I have eaten holstein my whole life, many an older cull cow has been put in the freezer on the folks place. Mostly good for hamburger and roasts.
Since the wife and I moved out to our place we have only raised holsteins. Our first was a steer and the second was a heifer. We just did another steer but sold it.
The taste is excellent whether finished on a high corn diet or regular grass/grain.
The high corn ration really softened up the meat. Even an old toothless guy could've eaten it with no problem.
We have never had a problem with gamey taste, fat going bad, or tough stringy meat.

Holstein bull calves are usually cheap around here so we buy them as bottle calves. Steer them up as soon as I can and dehorn them for safety. We tether them out and let them run in a small pasture when the grass is on. During their last winter I keep them outside in a smaller lot with windbreaks and they do just fine. I feed 18% starter switch to 16% around 6 months and at 8 or so I switch to a 14% dairy mix. 4-6 pounds a day. In the winter they get the best hay I can find.
At 18 months we butcher them. I can get them up to 1200 pounds or so without a problem and 600 pounds of meat is plenty for us and we sell some to my folks.


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## Razorback21

Always been a Hereford guy myself, but we have raised Holsteins, (bottle calves, like everyone else!) and those are just as good. They don't dress out as well and do take longer to finish out.


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## GANGGREEN

I've been wanting to raise my own beef forever and finally got around to putting in fences, water, run in shed, etc.. I now have a small fold of Highland cows and will butcher each year for the family and what's left for direct sale. My primary reason for going with Highlands was that they're very hardy and they look cooler than heck, but I wouldn't do it until I had tasted grass fed Highland beef. We tried some ribeyes, some sirloins and a sirloin tip roast and it was all excellent. I'll admit that it was a stronger flavor than what I'm used to getting at the grocery store but it was tender and not at all objectionable. I intend to put some grain to my animals but I suspect that stronger beef flavor will grow on us as we get used to it.


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## BeltieBandit

We raise our own beef, and have for the last several years. We raise registered Belted Galloway cattle in a forage based operation. We are as natural as we can get, no hormones, implents, etc. We sell the best calves for breeding stock, and we eat the rest. We have three housholds, with three generations living on our little farm, so we go through a lot of beef. We also love to watch our belties in the fields.


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## BeltieBandit

farm mom said:


> We have been buying only grass fed beef from a friend but have found some of the cuts (like the steaks) taste really yucky. Very gamey and strong tasting. Some pieces you will only get a bite or two like this, others it is the whole piece of meat. These cows are Angus. I think they are only aged two weeks or so. What could cause this? We have been scared to buy grass fed beef again because some of it was just gross. Also, some of the meat that are usually quite tender were tough. Is there an optimal age to slaughter steers because I think there's are older?


Farm Mom,

The wife (Cookiecows) and I are both from southern Oregon (Grants Pass) although we live in Kentucky now. I replied to the thread in general, but then realized that I hadn't answered your question. We raise Belted Galloways, which have the metabolism more like a buffalo than most cattle. They are forage-based, which is a little different than raising other beef breeds on grass alone. With ours, you have to finish them on clean grass or hay, for at lease 2-8 weeks. Many of the other beltie producers have special finishing pastures just for this purpose. When animals are grass/forage based, the meat can get odd/bad flavors from the plants that the animal eats. We had one cow that we culled (not a beltie) and the meat was terrible. We found that it must have gotten into some noxious weed, such as wild onions. This can happen very easily in drought years when the grass is less full, so the animals are eating in patches they would otherwise ignore. 

We now put up our animals for at least two weeks, and we try to keep our pastures as weed-free as possible (a never-ending task). We also had this happen with our milk cow from time to time. The milk would have a bad flavor that would go away after a few days. Forage based animals have very little fat in the meat, which is good, because the bad flavor isn't stored there. So as long as you isolate them for a time, the risk is less. This has been our experience over the last four years. Don't give up on grass-fed, or at least on "Naturally" raised beef. It's better for you....Ric


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## DaleK

We eat our freemartins and the odd heifer that doesn't get bred. Usually slaughter them at 20-22 months. They're raised with the others on mostly 1st cut alfalfa baleage. 

Wife's best friend was raised on a Black Angus ranch in Alberta, she's been getting beef from us for a while now. Says we've spoiled her on eating Angus beef anymore.


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## jBlaze

I am wondering what people are seeing for current prices for buying calves, and selling / buying ready to butcher animals. Looking at the prices from a few years ago is interesting. I am wondering about current trends. 

We are still trying to figure out what the heck we are doing! 

We have done bottle calves. We are mostly done with the holstien steer in our freezer, he is edible but I would like to do better. 

We have an Angus steer that is about a year, so I need to figure out what to do with him! What to feed, when to butcher?

And then we got a couple holstein calves almost a month old now. I intend to read up and improve them from the last one!


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## farmmaid

As I have posted several times we get a Jersey calf from a neighbor. Three weeks old, sends home with 2-3 gallons of milk to mix with our goats milk. He calls me when they are "over the hump" and asks if I want this one........$25.
THEN he visits when the animal need to be banded and dehorned...NO charge!. He does go home with eggs, homemade bread.......and I groom his dog for him. GREAT neighbor! :bow:
We butcher at 18 months. Little pasture, long stem hay and two 5 gallon pails of cob corn a day, cut into 1" pieces, for the last 6 weeks... BEST beef you will ever eat. Just enough marbling but not fatty. Yummmy!!!!!


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## Karin L

Ken Scharabok said:


> If you raise your own freezer beef, or purchase it in quantity, such as a side,
> 
> 1. what breed(s) do you prefer
> 
> *If I were to raise my own, I'd go with Hereford, Red Angus, and/or Shorthorn. I might experiment with some Murray Grey genetics/cattle and even Simmental to see how the calves turn out in this type of country on grass-only.*
> 
> 2. why do you prefer it/them
> 
> *These are the top most common breeds found around here. Minus Murray Grey, which are non existent up here, but not when you go south of Edmonton. A lot of the steer calves that are used for beef are crossbred, with majority Hereford, Angus, Red Angus, Shorthorn, Simmental, Limousin and Charolais. Depending on where the calves come from, of course.*
> 
> 3. and how do you raise it (finishing diet and desired slaughtering weight)?
> 
> *Grass only, with maybe alfalfa cubes and a few pounds of grain on the side every couple days. I think I'd leave the desired slaughter weight up to my clients; some may want a lot of meat, some not so much. I think my average might be around 1100 lbs, plus or minus.*
> 
> 4. If you purchase a side or so, what is your selection criteria?


I'd have to think on that one. I know I'd like sausage and hamburger with it, along with inside round roasts, sirloin and T-bone steaks, something like that.


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## michiganfarmer

Dad has been keeping a dozen angus brood cows. THey get no graiin. They only get pasture from may till october, and baled hay the rest of the time. We butchered a heifer a year ago who had never had a kernal of corn, and she was as fat as a pig. 

We have been doing all of our own slaughtering, and butchering for 30 years, and I have never seen anything like that in an animal that wasnt grain fed. I am a big believer in angus. They can grow easily on mediocre feed.

WHen I have to buy beef, I buy whatever old cow I can get cheap, as long as they are healthy. Tough old milk cows, old brood cows, whatever. I just grind them up for burger anyway. I might take some of the tenderloin, and cube it, but mostly I just grind everything. We use almost 400 lb of beef per year, and most of it is burger.


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## nathan104

We are quickly coming to our first slaughter. We bought two heifer calves(brangus and an angus) in april of 08 and have been raising them on pasture. Most of our pasture is bahia. They also get about two pounds of sweet feed a day to keep them semi-sociable. We have planned the whole time to butcher the angus for ourselves, but havent decided if we will keep a side or the whole thing. I have someone else who is interested in a side if we have one for sell. If we do only end up wanting only a side, and we sell the other side, not sure if we will sell the second calf or breed her. They are approx. 18-19 months old right now. Guessing they are both around 800 lbs but we havent taped them. I have no clue what we are SUPPOSED to do, but what we are planning to do is slaughter in november, and double their sweet feed starting in september, double again in september, and double again in november with the last two weeks being fed more. This is just our plan, not sure if its right or not. 

These are our first cows so a lot of it is just guesswork. We really need to decide on the second calf as far as breeding, selling, or having slaughtered and sold. 

Our cows are hormone free, and not medicated other than the shots they got when we bought them. We have never had grass fed beef, which is why we are planning on the grain. I would hate to let them finish out on pasture and end up not liking the taste of the meat. Thats a lot of beef to not like. And, a lot of money.

We would love to have a home kill guy come out but I have not found anyone around here who does it. All the slaughter houses around here want you to make an appt, and trailer your cow to them the morning of. Lots of decisions to make.


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## SusyTX

nathan104,
If you find a home-kill person, please let me know. We've also been searching for one, and haven't found anyone. We won't need one this year, but it's looking like we'll have a lot more searching to do, anyhow....


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## Tad

I AM IN FLORIDA AND WHERE DID YOU GET CALVES FOR $35 PLEASE LET ME KNOW I WOULD LIKE TO GET ONE.I WILL TRAVEL TO GET ONE AT THAT PRICE.[/QUOTE]

Thats funny! Here in NY we had a Jersey cross bull, the trucker said to shoot it yourself because if you send it to market they will shoot it and bill for the trucking. We started him for beef.


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## Mrs. Homesteader

We have been raising our own beef for about 10 years. We also sell a few each year as well. All of our cows are grass/hay fed. We buy day old jersey steers whenever our cow calves. This helps with the extra milk. We have several customers who insist on a jersey. We love the meat and so do they. The best meat we have raised though is when we breed one of our jerseys to an angus and then leave the calf on the mom until slaughter. They nurse off and on up until butcher time. It is so tender and tasty. 

We butcher our jersey or cross steers at 18 months. We usually have them butchered in late October, so they have just come through the summer on good pasture. At 18 months, a full blood jersey steer has a hanging weight of about 300 pounds. If you leave it intact, it comes up to around 400 pounds. The angus/jersey crosses run from 500 up to 700 pounds.


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## whodunit

Grass fed... no grain is what we like and have in our freezer.

Our landlord right now has us raising a bummer calf ( we have a milk cow  )of which we will get half of. The calf is Angus and Charlet (sp??)

I am afraid he likes to feed them grain


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## OJ Rallye

Interesting thread and it inspired me to get out the bill for the last beef we bought. Grass fed not certified organic. I opted for 1/2 steer to get some of all cuts. Billed:
190# beef @ $2.75# = $522.50
$98.15 butchers fees (mentions 190# cut,wrap and freeze)
$620.65 total 3 boxes of freezer wrapped meat and soup bones. I weighed all the packages and it was under 125# with the wrapping.
LAdy we bought it from called to ask how we liked it. Flavor is great but how could we get only 120#s of meat and bones from 1/2 a steer and pay over $600? "You lose a lot in processing!" That was before I found out how fat the ground beef is.

Did she keep almost 1/3 of the meat we bought?
With a steer what are the percentages of weight ie. live vs hanging vs processed?


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## ksfarmer

Depends on the breed and condition and age of the critter. Beef breeds will dress at about 60%+- for hanging wt.


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## Mrs. Homesteader

OJ Rallye said:


> Interesting thread and it inspired me to get out the bill for the last beef we bought. Grass fed not certified organic. I opted for 1/2 steer to get some of all cuts. Billed:
> 190# beef @ $2.75# = $522.50
> $98.15 butchers fees (mentions 190# cut,wrap and freeze)
> $620.65 total 3 boxes of freezer wrapped meat and soup bones. I weighed all the packages and it was under 125# with the wrapping.
> LAdy we bought it from called to ask how we liked it. Flavor is great but how could we get only 120#s of meat and bones from 1/2 a steer and pay over $600? "You lose a lot in processing!" That was before I found out how fat the ground beef is.
> 
> Did she keep almost 1/3 of the meat we bought?
> With a steer what are the percentages of weight ie. live vs hanging vs processed?


I pulled out a couple of sheets from the butcher we use. We took a angus/jersey cross in that had been milk fed. The live weight was 1080. The hanging weight was 674. They say it can be up to 35% less than the hanging weight on the actual pounds of meat you get. Hope this helps. You figure they take out more bone and fat, plus letting it hang takes out some moisture.


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## Jhuffman

I have a holstien that is about 7 months. I feed her 4 way grain and corn. Also good hay. She really doesent like the hay too much but eats all the grain.
Will my meat be OK? This is my 1st cow so I'm new at this.

Thanks


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## francismilker

This is about the same diet my kid's show steers get. I keep enough hay in front of them to keep them a little solid in the backend. They prefer the grain and only eat a small amount of hay but I keep it in front of them freechoice. I get better rate of gain from the grain and that's part of the competition. 
Anyway, regarding your meat being good. It'll be great. As long as your animal's healthy and eating well and not scouring on it's mostly grain based diet, you're gonna love it. 

The reason most folks are trying to go grass-based on feeding one out is due to the expense of the grain products I'd suppose. 

BTW, if she's only seven months old I'd figure her to be in the 5-600 lb. range. If you want to get a significantly larger yield, you might try holding her over until she's above 1000 lbs. before you butcher.


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## wwubben

I currently have highlander cows and a highlander bull.I need some replacement heifers.I give the steers corn the last ninty days.I sell all I have and keep a quarter for ourselves.I've had jersey,angus,holstein,shorthorn, and probably others over the years.They are all good.


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## Onthebit

francismilker said:


> This is about the same diet my kid's show steers get. I keep enough hay in front of them to keep them a little solid in the backend. They prefer the grain and only eat a small amount of hay but I keep it in front of them freechoice. I get better rate of gain from the grain and that's part of the competition.
> Anyway, regarding your meat being good. It'll be great. As long as your animal's healthy and eating well and not scouring on it's mostly grain based diet, you're gonna love it.
> 
> The reason most folks are trying to go grass-based on feeding one out is due to the expense of the grain products I'd suppose.
> 
> BTW, if she's only seven months old I'd figure her to be in the 5-600 lb. range. If you want to get a significantly larger yield, you might try holding her over until she's above 1000 lbs. before you butcher.



And I always thought that it was for the well proven health benefits!


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## francismilker

From what I've recently seen at the sale barn prices versus buying enough grain/hay to finish one out, it would be far cheaper IMHO to buy one at the sale that's already pretty close and then dumping the grain to him for a few weeks than rearing him from the bottle.


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## tinknal

Just a note for first time Jersey beef eaters. The fat is yellow. This is completely normal for jerseys and quite tasty. Just didn't want you to freak out when you open that first package.


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## G3farms

I raise registered charolais and always put one in the freezer. It is a cull heifer or steer that just does not make the grade. Wean them off at 6 to 7 months, pasture for the summer and I like to start them on grain after a good freeze. This will kill most of the grasses and mainly wild onions. Put good hay, fresh water and a salt block in front of them free choice, feed five gallon bucket of beef producer from co-op for three to four months then take to slaughter house at around 900 to 1100 pounds. Hanging weight is around 60% and the final cut, wrap nd freeze weight will be at around 50 to 55% of live weight. 
Slaughter house I use charges $30 kill bill and $0.38 / pound dressed weight to cut wrap and freeze. I was going to us another slaughter house this year but was too late getting a kill date, they charge $24 kill bill and $0.23 / pound live weight to cut, vaccum pack and freeze, next year.
I figure at the most I will have $3.25/pound (more like $2.95) in the finished product and that includes a dollar a pound live weight for the beef, feed, haul and pick up bill, and some monies for the freezer.

forgot to add that we use to raise beefalo (cross of bison and bovine) and that was by far the best meat, hands down.

G3


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## francismilker

Not sure I should check in on this thread from time to time if I'm on the nightshift and haven't had my supper break yet! All this talk of steaks and fat is making me hungry!

I've got two I'm feeding out at the time. One is Jersey/MS cross steer 7months old (about 450lbs) The other is MS/Holstein/Simmental cross 8 months old (about 550lbs.) They are on grass/hay with free choice mineral, water, and a minimal amount of grain supplement per day. At the current cost of feed, they're getting treated like normal beef cows for the winter and then raised to whatever weight they can gain on grass during next year's growing season. I plan on scheduling a butcher date for them next winter so they can be on corn chops for a few weeks prior to slaughter.


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## Cheribelle

We have tried Holstein, Jersey, Angus, Charlois, all good. The yellow fat on the Jersey wasn't tasty to us at all, so we won't do Jersey again.


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## ErbcroftFarms

OJ Rallye said:


> Interesting thread and it inspired me to get out the bill for the last beef we bought. Grass fed not certified organic. I opted for 1/2 steer to get some of all cuts. Billed:
> 190# beef @ $2.75# = $522.50
> $98.15 butchers fees (mentions 190# cut,wrap and freeze)
> $620.65 total 3 boxes of freezer wrapped meat and soup bones. I weighed all the packages and it was under 125# with the wrapping.
> LAdy we bought it from called to ask how we liked it. Flavor is great but how could we get only 120#s of meat and bones from 1/2 a steer and pay over $600? "You lose a lot in processing!" That was before I found out how fat the ground beef is.
> 
> Did she keep almost 1/3 of the meat we bought?
> With a steer what are the percentages of weight ie. live vs hanging vs processed?


Wow...sounds like you paid double for live weight. I'm in Canada and when we buy 1/2 cow we pay about $2. per/lb whatever the dressed weight is. That would still equal $1 per/lb live weight (stockyard price) for example.

If a cow weighed 1000lbs, (1000 x $1= $1000) it would dress out to about 500lbs. (500 x $2 = $1000) plus processor which would add another $.50 or so per lb. 

Sounds like to me, she charged you the live weight price on the dressed weight. Which means she doubled it on the 190lbs. Ultimately you paid about $5. per/lb for your 120 lbs of meat which is close to supermarket prices here.

ETA..maybe you didn't get all your meat if the processor charged you for 190lbs.


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## francismilker

ErbcroftFarms said:


> *Wow...sounds like you paid double for live weight. * I'm in Canada and when we buy 1/2 cow we pay about $2. per/lb whatever the dressed weight is. That would still equal $1 per/lb live weight (stockyard price) for example.
> 
> If a cow weighed 1000lbs, (1000 x $1= $1000) it would dress out to about 500lbs. (500 x $2 = $1000) plus processor which would add another $.50 or so per lb.
> 
> Sounds like to me, she charged you the live weight price on the dressed weight. Which means she doubled it on the 190lbs. Ultimately you paid about $5. per/lb for your 120 lbs of meat which is close to supermarket prices here.
> 
> ETA..maybe you didn't get all your meat if the processor charged you for 190lbs.



I'm with you. When we sell 1/2 of our daughter's show steer every year we charge $1.90-2.00 per pound hanging weight and the buyer pays their own processing fees. $2.75 per pound live weight is a little steep!


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## george darby

used to slaughter a steer every year for the last ten have switched to slaughtering an older cull cow . older cows marble rappidly long before there is a cover fat young steers have to have a thick fat cover before they start to marble . have had no trouble with tough cuts if i did i would just get some of the comercial tenderizers , have had quite a few people rave about how good the meat is .


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## Bountiful Ranch

I sell freezer beef. This is what works the best in my opinion. Angus X. I've done all Angus and in some of my calves they are full angus. The reason I prefer a X is not only you get an animal that with weigh more, a tad less marbling which I consider better but the mamas in all other breeds made more milk for their calf.

I generally do LimoXAngus I am telling you the meat is excellent. Prime Rib was really good this last Christmas. If you put a pure Angus and an Angus X you wouldn't notice ANY difference in taste but than again you would have an animal with more meat.


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## FarmerChick

we raise black angus
have about 30 right now

we would butcher in the 900-1000 range area for our freezer
pasture all the time, throw some grain out for feeding and supp hay in dead of winter

We prefer to hang ours for about 2 weeks at the butcher also.

Only 3 of us so MIL gets some beef etc. I like to use up my beef and not have it too long in the freezer. 


YUMMY


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## Natalie Rose

I recently ordered my first side of beef from a local certified organic farm who has a processing facility onsite.
Their animals are raised on 172 acres, grass fed only and antibiotic/hormone free. 
I am paying $2.25 lb hanging weight and then a 55 cent cut/wrap fee per lb.
No other costs for the processing or disposal etc.
I had looked around for grass fed and chemical free beef but its very expensive to purchase cuts, one place charges $8.59 lb for the most basic cuts and over $13.00lb for the better cuts.
Going with a side of beef not only is better financially but I can stock my freezer with beef for a long period of time which I feel good about.
I raise all my own meat chickens and my family doesn't really eat any other meat( maybe some bacon)well aside from beef and chicken so I was grateful to have found this farm with such quality beef.
However if we do need other types of meat they raise all their own organically so its a great resource for us.


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## newminifarmer

Just got my first home raised beef back from butcher. I have been eating Dexter beef for about 6 years, bought by the cut from a grassfed herd. Finally got a few acres to raise my own. I've had Charlais, angus, longhorn, bison, dexter and Jersey and while they are all great, I'm kinda' partial to Jersey. That being said, I purchased a Jersey Bull calf to breed to my dexter cow. Can't wait! 
Sent my steer in at 18 months. He was a little on the small side(even for a dexter!) as he had been abandoned shortly after birth, and had not nursed for a day or two when they found him. Ended up with 262#'s of beef with a processing/kill fee of $212. Paid $400 for him and put about $100 in milk replacer (he was already 3 monthes old when I bought him) and $200 in hay (I fed alot of alfalfa, because that's what my neighbor grows). So, total cost was $912 or $3.48/lb. if he was all burger. I pay $4.50 for ground Jersey and up to $11/lb for strip steak. Was it worth it? Yes. Do I like knowing what goes into my food? Yes. Will I keep on doing it? You betcha'!


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## trbizwiz

On the all grass fed vs grain fed, various types of grasses cause beef to have high levels of conjugated linoleic acid and a healthy balance of omega 3 fatty acids. When you switch to grain to finish, the balance of omega's go to the unhealthy omega 6 fatty acids, and you lose a good deal if not all of the CLA.

Some causes for off flavor's in grass fed and finished beef can be types of grasses, stress, illness or infection, and season change. As the season change and the types and quality of forage change so does their rumen. This rumen change can cause an off flavor in your beef. You want to make sure your grass finished beef has a consistent diet of similar forage for 60 to 90 days if possible, and if good forage management is used off flavors from undesired grasses should not be an issue. Also note that "aging or dry aging" beef will cause off flavors to intensify. If you are concerned about off flavors or have had a history of them consider shortening the aging process, until you can eliminate the source of off flavor. Also it is important to cool the carcass more slowly when aging a grass finished beef because it does not have the insulation barrier that grain finished beef will have. (this has to do with tenderness)

Please note, I am only restating what I have read in many different places, and have no practical experience in the matter. I am in the infantile process of raising beef. I have 2 red polled heifers I bought last year that will be ready to breed in June, and I have 4 bottle calves I bought a few weeks ago. I am just skimming these forums for info on bottle calves, and I saw some confusion on grass finishing beef. I just wanted to regurgitate from some of my research. Hope it is helpful. I am not trying to sound smarter than I am. Thanks. I am a huge proponent of grass fed and finished, I think it is much healthier. I also think using it requires some education. I think grass finishing requires intensive grazing practices. And these are very environmentally responsible. I get very excited about potentially producing beef that can also heel the land and the air. Kind of like putting back more than I take away, merely through proper management.

I don't judge others who do it differently, they too have much knowledge to share. I just happen to have a different philosophy and priorities.


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## steff bugielski

I would like more info on the HOW part of it.
I have butchered3 steer in the past few years. i still have no idea what I am doing, I just cut. I would really like to find a step by step guide. One that goes beyond the standard butcher shop poster. 
I need to see where to cut and know what cuts I will have when I cut in that spot.
Does that guide exist?


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## mrpink

http://www.askthemeatman.com has videos that you can buy to show you how to cut up beef. I don't have it so I don't know how good it is but you might want to check into it

greg


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## trbizwiz

I just watched a few clips on you-tube. It seems pretty thorough. Probably worth the $27. Looks like you need a hoist truck to make this system work. He says in the video you need a 15 ft hoist for large sized cows. My barn has 11 ft side walls, but I am sure the peak is 15 ft. I guess I could put a hoist at the peak and process in my barn.


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## jerry.kimbrell

From reading these posts I am on the verge of concluding that butchering females for beef is not recommended; that we should butcher steers or bulls. Is this right? I am building my homestead. I am ignorant with reguard to beef. I'm just now starting to get my horses, mules and chickens to the point that I know a little bit about them. Thanks for all the posts on this stuff. It is helping.


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## trbizwiz

Females can reproduce, making them more valuable because they can provide many additional animals. Female's, heifers/cows are fine to eat if you so choose or if they happen to be a twin which are most often infertile.


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## jerry.kimbrell

trbizwiz said:


> Females can reproduce, making them more valuable because they can provide many additional animals. Female's, heifers/cows are fine to eat if you so choose or if they happen to be a twin which are most often infertile.


Thank you. I suppose I hadn't thought about keeping a cow until now. I was going to buy two weaned calves per year, Eat one and sell the other and buy two more. I will now consider getting a cow. My neighbor has bucking bulls, perhaps she will let me make a deal with her.

Thanks again.


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## trbizwiz

Buying bottle calves from a dairy can be a low cost option for cattle as well. I bought 4 this march for $240 total. And have under $100 in milk replacer in them $10 in calf starter and $9 in sweet feed. They have doubled their weight and are growing nicely. It will be two years before they are ready to butcher, but I won't have much more to spend on them. They eat grass and ill stockpile forage this fall to get them through winter. So all I'll pay for is water from my well.
I do have a pair of heifers as well. I have over $1500 in them and not much as far as inputs. They are off site right now being bred. I'll have them back here in a month. I am kinda hoping for heifer calves to build a herd. But a bull calf would be fi e too. I can breed his momma back to his daddy and sell the cow calf pair. Then replace them with 3 or 4 new heifers with the sale revenue. Then I would have five cows to breed and a non related bull to breed them to all on site. With very little extra out of pocket.


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## nermal64

I'm now part of a large family that butchers "as a family". They have a rather large farm... well "Dad" does. He is in his 80's and the kids are in their 40's and 50's... then there are adult grandkids... We butcher approx 12 cattle and 20 hogs. They try to get it all done in 2 weeks during the winter. I had butchered before on a much smaller scale. 
Amazing! A huge family gathering where everyone helps right down to my 5 year old daughter, who writes on the packages.

"D" day is a very small group of people, that prepare the animals so they are "pieces of meat" instead of that big brown eyed cow that my dd used to feed grass a few months earlier. Approx 4 cows and 6 beef hang in the barn for around 3 days at a time. Longer would be nice, but weather is always a concern and there are a lot more to do.

They raise mostly Angus on the farm, but those are to sell. As DH says, "someone told those silly house wives that Angus is better, so that is what we sell them." We usually eat Holstien, but we got an Jersey one year. Only difference I noticed was the amount of meat. When "D" day comes, the largest go first, but even with 2 weeks extra growth, the Jersey are quite a bit smaller.

DH also cures out ot the hams and bacon. This years bacon and hams were exellent! Last year he didn't notice that Dad had bought IODIZED salt. Don't make that mistake when curing pork.


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## bigmudder77

i know a guy that gets dairy calves 4 of them every year and pumps the grain through them and sends them to the butcher in a year his biggest one was 1156lbs hanging weight and there holsteins and right at 12 months he dont feed much hay at all keeps them in a pretty good size barn no pasture or any thing just grain and water his cows were kinda fatty tasting 

now the last 2 i tried something a little different i had under 3 tons of feed in them just feed them grass and hay and salt and miniral blocks they were 20 months when they went in but they were small biggest one was 561 i think or 551 and the other one was 501 the one was a holstein other was a jersey angus mix and he was the 501lb one but my meat is like no fat at all really good tasting but gotta watch when you cook it


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## Texas Papaw

jerry.kimbrell said:


> Thank you. I suppose I hadn't thought about keeping a cow until now. I was going to buy two weaned calves per year, Eat one and sell the other and buy two more. I will now consider getting a cow. My neighbor has bucking bulls, perhaps she will let me make a deal with her.
> 
> Thanks again.


Jerry

You might want to think twice before getting animals from a herd that are used for breeding bucking bulls. The few bucking herds I've been around are some of the wildest cattle I've ever been seen. Not saying they are all like that, but some of that bucking disposition is genetic. For someone who has little cattle experience, I would strongly suggest you look for animals with a very gentle disposition. Wild, crazy cattle can put a major case of hurt on even the most experienced person.

Just my 2 cents worth


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## trbizwiz

I read this month in the Stockman Grass Farmer about a book called the steak book or something like that. Anyway the author took a trip all over the world trying different steaks from different types of farming techniques. He said by far the best steak he had was from a 30 month old female that had never been bred. He also said most Kobe beef is not regularly massaged and fed beer as i had often heard. The article was a very good read. I don't know if its available for free on line or not, I get the actual magazine.


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## pastelsummer

i raise mine best meat i ever had. I used mr as an infant untill 6 weeks then grain and mollasses and hay untill they are eating good then they get oat/alfalfa hay and the pastures of grass hay. we raise then untill a min of 1000 lbs and we use jersy and holstien.... But i think the best meat it a cross between the two.


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## Uncle JD

tyusclan said:


> We usually buy dairy bottle calves because they're cheap. I like to get Holsteins, but they have gotten more expensive lately. We just bought three Jersey bull calves for $35.00 each. We bottle them for about 6 weeks or until they're eating well. We give them all the grass or hay they will eat and supplement with a little grain until they're about a year old. Then start upping the grain a little at a time till they're about 16 months old. For the last 45 to 60 days we feed them all they'll eat. Usually wind up with about 900-1000 lbs. hanging weight at 18 months. I don't expect the Jerseys to do quite that well, though.


Hi, I know this was posted a long time ago, but, I would like to ask about feeding these animals for freezer beef. I don't have any established grass for them to do any real grazing. I have been told that I could keep them penned up in a small area (2 calves penned up on 1/2 acre) and feed them with all the hay, (alfalfa and bermuda) that they can eat, plus grain and cubes on an increasing basis, and then finish them as described above. Does this sound feasible? I have found two weaned calves, one Jersey and one Holstien mix (both steers) for 135.00 each. I am about to buy them. I am always looking for good advice. Thanks to anyone who will offer it.
Blessings,
jd


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## trbizwiz

Uncle JD said:


> Hi, I know this was posted a long time ago, but, I would like to ask about feeding these animals for freezer beef. I don't have any established grass for them to do any real grazing. I have been told that I could keep them penned up in a small area (2 calves penned up on 1/2 acre) and feed them with all the hay, (alfalfa and bermuda) that they can eat, plus grain and cubes on an increasing basis, and then finish them as described above. Does this sound feasible? I have found two weaned calves, one Jersey and one Holstien mix (both steers) for 135.00 each. I am about to buy them. I am always looking for good advice. Thanks to anyone who will offer it.
> Blessings,
> jd





This will work and likely be quite effective, however it will be very costly. You'll have a few hundred in hay and a hundred or so in minerals and probably close to that in protein. 
It'll be fun and educational. But buying a side from a neighbor will be more cost effective. Maybe you should consider co-op ing with a neighbor. If they'll let you put a couple of weened calves in with their cattle you'll provide the minerals and help them work the all cattle. Youll get some free experience and education he'll get a helper.


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## Uncle JD

trbizwiz said:


> This will work and likely be quite effective, however it will be very costly. You'll have a few hundred in hay and a hundred or so in minerals and probably close to that in protein.
> It'll be fun and educational. But buying a side from a neighbor will be more cost effective. Maybe you should consider co-op ing with a neighbor. If they'll let you put a couple of weened calves in with their cattle you'll provide the minerals and help them work the all cattle. Youll get some free experience and education he'll get a helper.


That is a great idea. Thank you very much.


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## ufo_chris

Sorry,I read most of these posts and didn't see this answered.
It's probably a stupid Q. but when you buy or sell 1/4 of beef is it either a front or hind or just 1/4 of everything?
Also, the hanging weight,how much of that is actual meat? How much bones ?
Thanks,Chris


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## sassafras manor

Chris - we sell ours by the hanging weight vs. live weight since we do not have access to scales. I call the processor the day after slaughter and he gives me the hanging weight for the 1/2 or 1/4. Ours are grass fed with a light amount of grain (8-10 lbs/day) for the last 60 days and we get $2.00/lb hanging weight for 1/2's and $2.25/ lb hanging weight for 1/4's. When we sell 1/4's they are not the front or hind 1/4 but rather 1/2 of the 1/2 which gives both customers access to the same cuts of meat. Did I make any sence? I hope this helps. I have ours priced accordingly so that i am able to pay for the costs of the calves, all feed, meds, wormers, and processing for our beef plus a little in our pocket. In turn it puts meat on the table for free and pay me some for the time.


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## ufo_chris

Thanks Sassafrass,yes it makes perfect sense.
That's actually how I thought it would be till someone mentioned front and hind.
Is there a percentage of the hanging weight that will be actual meat?
Do you get all the bones(from the hanging weight)?
Thanks,Chris


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## francismilker

UFO,

I think the percentage of live weight versus meat in the freezer is doing good to hit 58-60% It depends a lot on the breed of critter you're fattening. On the question of "do you get all the bones?" I think it depends on how you ask for it to be processed. If you want all hamburger and don't ask for any soup or dogbones then you're not getting any bones.........If you know what I mean.


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## sassafras manor

UFO we just picked up our first beef from the processor today. This is for a grass fed Angus heifer that was 22 months old. Hanging weight was 525# and bring home meat was 390#. Of that 188# was ground burger, 88# of various roasts and 114# of steaks. I was happy and look forward to the first meal.


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## arabian knight

I just got one done, it was a Jersey steer 16 months old, hanging wt. of just under 1,000 lbs, took home 610 pounds. Not bad at all for a dairy steer. But then that weight gain was mostly from being fed only a grain mix, the last 6 months.
And I will be getting another Jersey calf in a few months and start one again. And at 40 bucks a week old null calf that is not bad wt. gain over those 16 months.
And after 16 months I will have most of that meat used up ready for the new one.


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## ufo_chris

Thanks Guys. I called the local place and they said you loose about 1/3 from live weight to hanging weight and then 1/3 of that to bones .
I know there are a few variants but I guess it's some idea.
Arabian Knight- that 610 ,was that the hanging weight ,right?
Thanks,Chris


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## sassafras manor

UFO I would have to agree with what you have heard locally. Find it hard to believe that a jersey steer would hang at 1000#. From what I understand the 600# seems like a more accurate hanging weight.


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## bigbluegrass

Jersey is the best eating I have had. Have tried Angus, Charlais, holstein and other crosses. The Jersey we have in the freezer now is the best I have ever had. Had a 3 year old cow that was angus herford cross and she was very good as well. Next in line is a Jersey Angus cross bull calf out in the pasture now. Yummy. Red Poll Jersey cross is in the future works as well. I have heard Red Poll are very good eating. Let me say that I would never turn a steak down from any breed of beef. You can take that to the bank.

We have them butchered at a little over a year. I am starting to think 2 years is better. The Jersey we are eating now was right at 2 years old. Hanging weight was 400#. Very tender still. Good flavor. Marbled well. Not overly fatty but not lean, just right. Probably would grade low by USDA standards, but I don't really care what the USDA thinks.

If you do it yourself, you need to get a cooler and hang it for at least 2 weeks in a controlled environment (40Â°F or so). My folks slaughtered our own beef when I grew up and they would hang it for a week at the most in a garage with variable temps. The beef was always tough and not near as tasty. I think it was a problem with aging. But could have been something else as well. That was grain finished beef as well. I prefer grass fed and finished. JMHO


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## missythemom

I just purchased a 1/2 of an angus/hereford heifer 28 months old.it dressed out 820# so my half was 410#.My question is I brought home 275# of processed meat,does that sound correct?
Thanks


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## Bret

That sounds about right. 28 months may have a little more bone and fat loss. Add a little more evaperation loss for a week or two of hanging/aging.

Enjoy your beef.


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## grozman

sassafras manor said:


> UFO we just picked up our first beef from the processor today. This is for a grass fed Angus heifer that was 22 months old. Hanging weight was 525# and bring home meat was 390#. Of that 188# was ground burger, 88# of various roasts and 114# of steaks. I was happy and look forward to the first meal.


Sassafras, What was the walking weight of the cow before hanging? Just curious. 

Thanks!


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## sassafras manor

Without easy access to a set of scales I honestly could not tell you. My neighbor that raises Angus guessed in the 925 range. This next time around we will be butchering our own holstein so we will see how that goes. We have set ourselves up with a fresh set of calves every 6 months in order to have a steady supply of beef. We keep keep 1/2 of one for us, give my parents 1/2 then sell the other one as a fat beef to friends or family. We charge enough to recover our feed costs, our processing costs as well enough to buy the next set of calves. My parents have helped us with free labor/babysitter as we have established our homestead and periodically stop by the local feed store to apply money to our account. The way I look at it is a way of paying them back for all they do for us.


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## ThatJerk

In southeastern Colorado we're at $110.00 a head for Holstien bottle bulls.


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## trbizwiz

Thats cheap for a Holestein.


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## Candace

We are thinking of getting two calves to raise for meat for ourselves and extended family. How much land do I need? I have a small pasture but it not quite half an acre plus there is a barn. I can increase the grazing space. If I am supplementing with hay/grain, how much of an area do we need? I know that what I have isn't enough space to raise them completely on grass but I don't know if they require a certain amount of space to be healthy. (We are at the exploratory stage right now so don't worry. No cows were injured in the course of the preceding question! LOL)


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## VaFarmer

1 acre per head of livestock (horse or cow) for year round grazing is a typical working point, on marginal land managment. If limeing & fertilizing, rotating livestock off ocassionaly, seeding some nitrogen building lugumes can go less than an acre per head yr round. I keep an average of 15 head on 10 acres for the last 20 yrs and have good healthy fields and can get 1 cutting of hay off the pasture each spring, then have 10 acres that are mainly for hay and occasional rotate the children into for a month or so in the summer.


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## trbizwiz

It will depend wherer you live as to how much land you need. It will also depend how much hay and feed you want to buy. I live in southwest Missouri, near Joplin. Everyone knows where that is right now. ANyway. Grass does not generally grow here July and august or early september. If you chose to graze it during that time anyway it also wont grow inthe fall. Grass doesnt grow December through Feb either. SO I like to have about 1 acre per head or cow calf pair for grazing season, adn another acre per head for stockpiling during times when grass wont grow. Now operaion is feed free and reduced hay. Last winter I fed less than 1/4 round bale of hay to 6 cows. Most of what I offered was used as bedding and they just dug through the snow for forage. I ended up giving the other 3/4 of a bale away to someone who wanted to plant potatos in it. I will buy 1 emergency round bale each winter just incase there is ice which is harder for them to dig through. BUt my stockpile is generally 3 feet tall so very little digging is required unless they want the tneder stuff down low. 
Lots of people will raise a calf or two in a barn lot like yours, but just expect to be buying feed adn hay. That is pricy right now and will likely cause you to butcher earlier than the calf is ready and you coluld be disapointed in the beef. Ont he up side, the calves will be your best friend is you feed them grain. They will follow you around like you are momma. 
So I guess to get good advise we need to know your climate and cost parameters. There is no wrong way to doit, there are just ways that can be more bennificial to you than others. Also you may not prefer the taste of forage based beef. I like the term forage rather than grass, because grass to me is kind of limiting as a term. I dont consider clover, oats, cereal rye, sorghum, peas, turnips, among other things to be grass. I grow that and my cows graze it in its early stages long before it grows a grain head. So I dont feed grain, but my cows do get a well balanced diet of forage. Not just field fescue.


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## Candace

Well, of course I should have said where I am! I am in central Indiana so my climate and conditions are probably similar to Missouri, although we are maybe not as dry in the summer typically. You give very good information. I know grain is pricey right now. I also raise poultry and am very glad they can be out picking and pecking for their own food right now. Based on what you're saying, I will need to increase my fenced area and then plan on supplementing their diet. Ideally, I'd probabably only want one calf but all I've ready suggests they would do better with company.


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## trbizwiz

Yes, pairs are better. As for fencing, look into portable electric fencing. You dont sound like you are confident this is a permenant venture for you. It sounds like you want to give it a go and see how it works, then decide from there. That is a smart approach. There is no reason to spend thousands of dollars and endless hours building fencing to raise 2 calves. I have several acres in permenant electric fence,a nd I have lease land I move mine to when I am out of grass. I use the powerflex reels with 1400 feet of poly braid rope and push posts (pig tails might be better, but push posts are what I have) I make up temporary paddocks in the field and let them eat that area down then I use another reel and set up another paddock and move them over. THen I move the first reel to the third location. It is easy enough takes 30 minutes or so per move, and quite cheap. Plus if you give up after two, you can sell the fencing stuff on craigslist.
I am a big fan of powerflex fence. They are in Seymore Mo not too far from me. THey put out a lot of informational material and they hold grazing confrences for free. I like that they support our growth and knoweledge level. So I try to support them. There are other fine vendors out there as well, just look around. 
I will say I habought some O brien reels from powerflex a few years agon and last year I bought some of there new powerflex reels made for them by O brien. I really like the new power flex reels better. They are under $40 adn sometimes you get free shipping or free poly braid with an order. Just check out their specials. 
here is a link to their reels that I like
http://www.powerflexfence.com/products/portable-products/reels/
THeir special this month is free freight with orders over $100. 2 reels and 2 rolls of poly should be right in there. plus you will want posts every 20 to 50 feet. I like to use 2 push posts at the corners to keep them from bending over, but there may be a better way or maybe the pig tails would be better in teh corner. Just FYI. 
I use the x3 charger, but agmantoo likes the parmak. I ahve a galager backup charger that I won at a cattlemens dinner, they retail for about $80 it seems to work ok too. not quite the pop as an X3 but it keeps them in. THe X 3 has alligatror clips for runnign off battery or an AC/DC plug to plug into 110. I use the ac, but if you are too far away from power the battery option may be a good one. You will need torecharge once or twice a month depending on your battery. 
If you climate has less drought than mine 1.5 acres should get you by with minimal feed. I would stick to minimum of 2 acres per head for all grass no feed or hay, and if your soil is in bad shape or your forage is in bad shape it may take more than that. THe nice thing is your ground will improve with good management. Your chickens will love having the cows around too.


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## Pasohorsegal

We have been wondering over the years if a person gets the same beef they raised, or since it is quality beef, if they don't sell it and give you a PBR bull or something of lesser quality . How would you know. We have bought many supposedly well fed Steers from firends and have had it processed only to get awful, inferior quality beef .. Why don't someone start a DNA testing service so you can find out if you get the same one back. Also how do you know if you are a "few" pounds shy of what you are supposed to receive. The old saying is that a Butcher never buys meat!


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## trbizwiz

I am guessing you will hae to ask around your area an d find a butcher with a solid reputation. I know in my area there is really only one butcher that ever gets recomended. He is more expensive, but I guess in this case not only do you get what you pay for, but you get what you drop off. For the time and effort I put in to raising grass finished beef, I dang sure want mine back. Besides, how else can you learn and improve. If you get some crappy beef back so you make changes to your management because of it then you will never get better.


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## HDRider

tyusclan said:


> We usually buy dairy bottle calves because they're cheap. I like to get Holsteins, but they have gotten more expensive lately. We just bought three Jersey bull calves for $35.00 each. We bottle them for about 6 weeks or until they're eating well. We give them all the grass or hay they will eat and supplement with a little grain until they're about a year old. Then start upping the grain a little at a time till they're about 16 months old. For the last 45 to 60 days we feed them all they'll eat. Usually wind up with about 900-1000 lbs. hanging weight at 18 months. I don't expect the Jerseys to do quite that well, though.


Are Jersey bulls hard to manage? I have heard they are mean.

Do you cut them?:flameproofundies:


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## HDRider

farm mom said:


> We have been buying only grass fed beef from a friend but have found some of the cuts (like the steaks) taste really yucky. Very gamey and strong tasting. Some pieces you will only get a bite or two like this, others it is the whole piece of meat. These cows are Angus. I think they are only aged two weeks or so. What could cause this? We have been scared to buy grass fed beef again because some of it was just gross. Also, some of the meat that are usually quite tender were tough. Is there an optimal age to slaughter steers because I think there's are older?


I had the same experience. I ate it. It was ok. My wife and kids would not finish it. My wife described it as bloody. The kids called it sour.


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## HDRider

Has anyone tried Wagyu?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyū


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## trbizwiz

Dairy steers especially benifit from going 30 months or so prior to slaughter. Aging will intensify off flavors, so you should be quite careful with aging grass only beef. legumes and brassicas during finishing are speculated to cause off flavors, onions are too. Alfalfa, wheat, and rye grass not cereal rye are supposed to be superior for grass finishing. I am sure many others will work fine too, but this is what I have found through research. I havent finished one yet myself so its mostly speculative for me so far. Ill let you know in 18 months or so. The breed in and of its self should not cuase off flavor, but a lack of marbling qualities could cause less desireable flavour and texture. 
If one is not skilled at finishing on grass alone, supplemental grain probably would be a good idea in beef for sale. You can learn on your own, but selling bad grass fed beef only hurts the industry. You will permenantly turn off customers even if you or your neighbors eventually have good product. They wont trust you again.


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## trbizwiz

read the book "steak" and you will learn a ton about finishing beef different ways. There is a lot of propaganda too, so take it with a grain of salt. But the taste testing is broken down pretty scientifically to remove some of the subjectivity. It wqas a very good read adn I finished it in a month. I dont read many books cover to cover so that is saying something. I bought it for around $10 on amazom, it was a hard copy too.


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## trbizwiz

The value in the wagyu is more in the way the Japanese raise them. I would guess any good breed would have good results raised in the manner they do it. 




HDRider said:


> Has anyone tried Wagyu?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyū


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## tonyb

We've been purchasing from a farmer that raises AngusxHereford, finished on grass/hay and free choice grain. Excellent beef, so much better than supermarket beef.

We are having our Dexter cow AI bred with Lowline Angus in a couple of weeks. We'll see how that goes.


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## Gaea Star

steff bugielski said:


> I would like more info on the HOW part of it.
> I have butchered3 steer in the past few years. i still have no idea what I am doing, I just cut. I would really like to find a step by step guide. One that goes beyond the standard butcher shop poster.
> I need to see where to cut and know what cuts I will have when I cut in that spot.
> Does that guide exist?


I have one in storage that's an old USDA guide to food storage includes how to cut up and process all types of meat from chickens all the way up to beef. If I remember right its called USDA Guide to Home Butchering or some such. also quickly googled and found this one from USDA http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/USDAguide&more.html


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## Gaea Star

Thank you all for all the good information in this thread My partner and I are considering raising our own beef and dairy and are thinking we might like Jersey mini's this helps me get an idea of what we might be looking at as far as yield.


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## 3legdonkey

trbizwiz said:


> read the book "steak" and you will learn a ton about finishing beef different ways. There is a lot of propaganda too, so take it with a grain of salt. But the taste testing is broken down pretty scientifically to remove some of the subjectivity. It wqas a very good read adn I finished it in a month. I dont read many books cover to cover so that is saying something. I bought it for around $10 on amazom, it was a hard copy too.


Just bought it. Thank you for posting what looks like an excellent book.


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## trbizwiz

I thought it was a very good read. I read it in less than 2 weeks in spare time. I am not an avid book reader. the book prior to that one took me nearly a year to read. I dont find a lot of spare time though.


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## VaFarmer

Taking 1 of the little boys into process next week, DW does not like to use or knows how to cook, tounge, brain or liver. Has anyone come up with a ingenuise use for these parts? Special blend of hamburger, liver patia? Also I've always just grass finished and typically have them hang for 10 to 14 days. This guy is only a yr old and I used to process at 2yrs, some of the posts sounds like should shorten the hang time to reduce possability of off flavor.


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## 3legdonkey

I have had cow tongue in Europe that was excellent! My attempts at cooking it have been pretty dismal failures. But I think I will try this recipe next.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/delicious-beef-tongue-tacos/

Liver is just that and either you like it or don't. Most of the time I do not but I have had it sauteed in butter and red wine and it was pretty good.

My dad loved brains and eggs for breakfast. He would break the brains up and saute them and when done add the eggs. I believe he seasoned them with salt, pepper and garlic. 

If you have a real German meat market somewhere near by they can make sausage out of all three that will be delicious. I have a place near me called sausage house (I originally thought it was a gay bar) that makes exceptional sausages out of anything edible!


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## VaFarmer

sausage-- interesting idea, will see if butcher has any reciepes. sauage house, humm no thanks....LMAO Last cow the liver was way to rich a flavor compared to store bought, merinating or some kind of sauce may do the trick. used to eat squarel brains & eggs that was pretty good, and have had tongue but hoping to find a great recipe to prepare it. Had it as a seasoned roast before----ok, nothing better. will check out the tongue recipe. Well I like the reviews, that say family didn't know it was tongue, might be worth a try, 8 hrs cooking- shhee.


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## SCRancher

Moved to separate thread:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?p=5622924#post5622924


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## SCRancher

Moved to separate thread:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?p=5622924#post5622924


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## greatwhiteape

We've only ever had herefords or hereford crosses. They have always gotten a little bit of grain and hay twice a day, and then the grain gets poured on them at the end. Probably the last 90 days with a ramp up period. They're usually ready to go at 18 months and could be in the neighborhood of 1,400 pounds on the hoof. Some of them go earlier, some later. It all depends on who's getting it, when someone needs it, or what not.


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## Alaska

Took our first (ever) 2/yo angus steer to the butcher shop on tuesday . He has a hanging wght of 651#
All grass/hay/cube fed . I have a coworker that would like to by a 1/4 . What is a fair price to charge?


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## ramiller5675

Alaska said:


> Took our first (ever) 2/yo angus steer to the butcher shop on tuesday . He has a hanging wght of 651#
> All grass/hay/cube fed . I have a coworker that would like to by a 1/4 . What is a fair price to charge?


I usually look up the market report from the stockyard to figure out what I the steer would have brought at auction (looking today, I could have sold a 900-1000 lb steer for about $1250-1300). 

Then I add in the butchering cost (about $.65/lb hanging weight or about $420).

Figure out how much I spent on hay, cubes, mineral, etc. and add it to the total. Add in about $50 for hauling it to the butcher.

So far I'm up to about $1850, so I round it up to about $2050, becasue I don't like to work for free. And, I come up with about $3.15/lb hanging weight as a minimum price. If I have to deal with someone that might give me a bounced check or only wants a quarter instead of a half, I'd charge a little more.

After all the checks finally clear, I'm past the point of anyone cancelling their order, and I don't have to worry anymore about people complaining about the cost or quality of their beef, I wonder why I didn't just sell them all at about 800 lbs. at the stockyards so I didn't have to go through all the stress, or take on the extra risk and work.


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## Alaska

ramiller5675 said:


> I usually look up the market report from the stockyard to figure out what I the steer would have brought at auction (looking today, I could have sold a 900-1000 lb steer for about $1250-1300).
> 
> Then I add in the butchering cost (about $.65/lb hanging weight or about $420).
> 
> Figure out how much I spent on hay, cubes, mineral, etc. and add it to the total. Add in about $50 for hauling it to the butcher.
> 
> So far I'm up to about $1850, so I round it up to about $2050, becasue I don't like to work for free. And, I come up with about $3.15/lb hanging weight as a minimum price. If I have to deal with someone that might give me a bounced check or only wants a quarter instead of a half, I'd charge a little more.
> 
> After all the checks finally clear, I'm past the point of anyone cancelling their order, and I don't have to worry anymore about people complaining about the cost or quality of their beef, I wonder why I didn't just sell them all at about 800 lbs. at the stockyards so I didn't have to go through all the stress, or take on the extra risk and work.


 Thanks ramiller,
We are new to the ranching thing. Have always eaten more game than beef and have also bought /eaten sides of buffalo and grass fed beef. So will be staying with the grass fed beef for ourselves and hope to raise few for sale each year. I cant wait to see what this beef taste like. He will hang for 21 days.
WE have only three cows. Two just had calves and the third should drop any day. They are full size black angus. We recently purchased a young 3/4 lowline bull to cover them.


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## Alaska

Well that grass fed steer turned out great. better than I expected.. We only bartered off 1/4 of the steer to our solar Guru. He payed for the slaughter and butchering.
The steer was fattened up on grass,weeds, acorns, hay and a very small amount of cubes. Well marbled at two years of age. Everyone has been impressed.
The freezers are full.
Steaks again tonight ooh darn


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## 3legdonkey

Alaska said:


> Well that grass fed steer turned out great. better than I expected.. We only bartered off 1/4 of the steer to our solar Guru. He payed for the slaughter and butchering.
> The steer was fattened up on grass,weeds, acorns, hay and a very small amount of cubes. Well marbled at two years of age. Everyone has been impressed.
> The freezers are full.
> Steaks again tonight ooh darn


Great to hear! Did you feed acorns or were they just available if a cow happened by?


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## Alaska

Lots of oaks on the property. We did not feed anything besides grass hay and cubes twice a week to keep the cows coming to us. Oh and mineral tubs and blocks


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## Alaska

Right now Im shooting for 20 months on our lowline cross heifer. The last couple we have finished on chaffhaye a bagged alfalfa product.
has anybody else finished with alfalfa?


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## Chambers

We raised 3 dairy/angus cross calves last year. one was shorthorn, one was holstein, and one was Jersey. The Jersey cross calf we kept longer and killed for our own use. We sold the other two and paid for the calves and feed. We fed corn and cottonseed as well as all the grass and hay they could eat.


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## Joetee

Well I just read all posts in this section. Very interesting. I wish there were more people posting here. I have so much to learn. Haven't got my cattle yet. Been putting all my time into getting ready for them.
Interested in low line but now I'm not sure.
My dad always feed alfafa hay and sweet grain just before slaughtering. The meat was awesome but it wasn't low line.


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## haypoint

Joetee said:


> Well I just read all posts in this section. Very interesting. I wish there were more people posting here. I have so much to learn. Haven't got my cattle yet. Been putting all my time into getting ready for them.
> Interested in low line but now I'm not sure.
> My dad always feed alfafa hay and sweet grain just before slaughtering. The meat was awesome but it wasn't low line.


trust your daddy. High quality hay, plenty of grain and minerals, can't go wrong. 
IMHO, instead of raising two little steers, raise a big one and find a friend that likes home raised tender rare steaks and split it with him.


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## Alaska

We raise percentage lowliness and finish with plenty of good grass hay and Chaffhaye a bagged alfalfa. Love our beef and so do our customers. 
Love our lowliness and believe it was one of the better choices I have made.


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## Joetee

So what is the percentage? I'm guessing Lowline mixed with something else?


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## Alaska

Joetee said:


> So what is the percentage? I'm guessing Lowline mixed with something else?


 We have a3/4 bull, two 3/4 cows cross with angus (registered) and the rest of our cows are 1/2 or less which we sell there calves as freezer beef. 
We are selling the registered 3/4 lowline calves as registered at 6+ month old.


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