# I can make money selling freezer beef



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

I am still new to cattle. Some of you have spent a lifetime in this business, and have forgot more than I will ever know. I have now sold five calf crops.

Many of you know my opinion of how the cattle business is run. I think the deck is stacked very heavily against us. The processors own the market, they control the market as much as one can.

I have done everything I can do to keep operating expenses down. I do not include capital costs, or land in my profit loss calculation. I have sold at every weight class to feel out the market.

Feeder cattle are about $153 right now. 400# sells for $612.
Live cattle are $116. 1,000# sells for $1,160.

I can get $3.50 per pound hanging weight. 600# hanging sells for $2,100

Sure I do a little more work, but not much. Of course my expenses are a little higher, again, not that much.

I can make money selling freezer beef. The processors know that. They will do everything than can to squash small processing facilities to keep me down, and themselves up.

We need lots of new small processing plants brought online.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I think there are few USDA butchers available. That’s the bottleneck in the plan.

Example:





Selling meat from your farm? Make sure it is labeled properly!


Many farmers are direct marketing meat from their farm and need to be in compliance with regulations.




www.canr.msu.edu


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I know I have mentioned it before but Wyoming does this well and works hard to facilitate the easy access to freezer beef.



http://www.uwyo.edu/barnbackyard/_files/documents/magazine/2019/winter/winter_2019_freezer-beef.pdf











Star Valley Meat Block & Cold Storage


Western Wyoming's Custom Meat Market and Processing Facility




starvalleymeatblock.com





"*Ranch to Freezer-Call the Plant to Schedule Please*
$0.00


*Ranch to Freezer*

One of the services we provide is putting consumers in touch with local ranchers, cattle brokers, and feedlot operators so they can purchase beef and pork straight from the source to be sure of what they are eating or feeding folks. Being a custom meat processing plant we can’t directly sell livestock, but we can help put people together and help coordinate the exchange and then process the meat to the consumers desires ~ Your Meat, Your Way!

If you are interested in this program and want to learn about pricing options, please select one of the categories below and proceed to checkout. Provide your name and contact information and we will be in touch with you shortly. We are currently booked through Mid-January, but then have openings through July. We have gift certificates if you are interested in purchasing a whole, ½ or ¼ beef or pig as a Christmas Gift for family, friends, or employees."

"*Home Grown*
The Block specializes in custom processing of raised beef, pork, and lamb. One of our goals is to put beef and hog consumers directly in contact with local ranchers and in turn to help ranchers adapt to changing market conditions.
* Connecting Consumers with Ranchers*
Home Grown is the name of the program we have developed that provides the platform for a consumer to purchase a beef or hog directly from a rancher. The Block helps facilitate the direct animal sale between the consumer and grower or uses a livestock broker, including transport of the animal to the meat plant in some situations. Secondly, The Block custom processes the beef or hog to the consumers exact desires and specifications. The Block helps the consumer understand the different options for purchasing a beef and helps the customer find a grower that meets their needs whether they seek a grass fed, free range beef for grain-finished beef. If the consumer only desires a ¼ or ½ beef or hog, The Block helps locate other people that would be interested in purchasing the remainder of the animal in order to complete the sale."


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

When direct marketing, you only need Fed inspection if you cross state lines. Intra-state sales needs only state inspection. The Trump admin wanted to correct that and give state inspection only processors the same rights as the fed inspected ones. What happened to that idea? Did they ever follow thru?

You can make a bundle with good marketing/advertising of your "organic grass fed beef" if you are near a large urban center with a big population of the partially educated, woke-type households-- You know, they types who shop at Whole-Paycheck Food Stores.

Maybe the real question for the low volume producer is "Can I make enough total profit on my herd to make it worth the risk?"...Even a profit of $1000 a head may not be enough if you only sell 5 head a year, for example. That wouldn't cover for your beer & cigarettes.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

doc- said:


> state inspection


We have no state inspection and maybe 5 USDA processors in the whole state available to the little guy. Tyson owns Arkansas


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

painterswife said:


> Wyoming does this well and works hard to facilitate the easy access to freezer beef.


You are blessed. I admire the state's efforts


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I think there are few USDA butchers available. That’s the bottleneck in the plan.
> 
> Example:
> 
> ...


By design. The big four spent lots of money to get it that way, and to keep it that way. 

Years back there was multiple processors per county and regulations were much fewer.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

I am ignorant on the subject, but wondering if a deere processor can process beef?


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

po boy said:


> I am ignorant on the subject, but wondering if a deere processor can process beef?


In Arkansas we have what is called custom processors. They can process any animal for the owner of that animal.

In South Carolina, deer processors are only allowed to process deer


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

We had neighbors that were big cattle farmers. Started out as just a cow/calf operation, sold calves off, breed, repeat. One of the sons came back to the farm and turned it into a grass-fed beef operation. So rather then just selling calves off, they grew them out, had them processed by USDA facility, and sold by the piece. I'm not a fan of strictly grass-fed beef, but there are those who want it. They did well for a few years. Then cost of processing when up. Regulations, how you transport, state inspections of your freezers where you store etc all become harder to comply with. Now their farm, no cattle, they are hemp producers. 
We never attempted to sell cattle by the piece. We were cow/calf, calves sold off. USDA facility was expensive to use to pay by the piece. I did do USDA processed chicken. Raise them, loaded them into crates, drove 70 miles one way to the only USDA chicken process facility around, then brought them back to my state inspected freezer, and sold at the farmer's market. I did make a profit off my birds, but the people who bought would pay anything for a bird that was raised by a farmer who loved them. (yeah, no! I hated those darn birds...nasty, fat, and lazy. But....I marketed them as lovingly raised by a local farmer )


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

This family is exceptional in their vertical integration and success..







harrisrobinette.com







www.harrisrobinette.com


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

HDRider said:


> I am still new to cattle. Some of you have spent a lifetime in this business, and have forgot more than I will ever know. I have now sold five calf crops.
> 
> Many of you know my opinion of how the cattle business is run. I think the deck is stacked very heavily against us. The processors own the market, they control the market as much as one can.
> 
> ...


An old friend of mine has built up a very good business, selling direct to his customers. He raises grass fed beef, has it processed at a small family owned slaughter house, and delivers direct to the customer. He get $7.50 a pound, and can't keep up with orders. He has not taken on any new customers in years.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Is the family owned slaughter house employing a USDA certified butcher?


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

HDRider said:


> In Arkansas we have what is called custom processors. They can process any animal for the owner of that animal.
> 
> In South Carolina, deer processors are only allowed to process deer


In Arkansas, then, the way to do it is to sell a live animal to the buyer, who then, technically, is having his own animal processed even tho the producer is handling the details.

Selling by the piece is a pain. You get stuck with an awful lot of hamburger. ....Even selling by the qtr, half or whole has its problems. More than once I had customers coming back for a second time who requested that this new order should have more & thicker T-bones & rib eyes than the last one.


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## rbelfield (Mar 30, 2015)

we sell our fats as live animals to our meat customers. we make the appointments at the locker and haul the animal there for the customer. all processing is between the locker and the customer. its the only way we have found to get anything for our work. we are very small. we have 9 cows that we raise calves from. so normally 9 fats to sell. unless we decide to keep a heifer or 2 back for breeding.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

rbelfield said:


> we sell our fats as live animals to our meat customers. we make the appointments at the locker and haul the animal there for the customer. all processing is between the locker and the customer. its the only way we have found to get anything for our work. we are very small. we have 9 cows that we raise calves from. so normally 9 fats to sell. unless we decide to keep a heifer or 2 back for breeding.


Do you base your price on live cattle prices?


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## rbelfield (Mar 30, 2015)

There are alot of other farmers in our area that do this so we base our price mainly on what others are getting. This year I expect it will be around 2.50 hanging weight.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Is the family owned slaughter house employing a USDA certified butcher?


As far as I know he is. He butchered a hog for me and did a very good job.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I am glad for that, but the certification is important if a person wants to sell packaged meat from their own animals.

At our Farmers Market, we have three farms/ranches that sell packaged and frozen chicken, pork, beef, and lamb. It’s absolutely essential for each producer to use a USDA processor. If the packages don’t SAY that it is USDA inspected, they can’t be sold at the market.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Slaughterhouse wait times are still one big factor in filling freezers. I have two steers who were gifted a 12 month reprieve and are enjoying the my time, money, and Tennessee sunsets....Topside


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Some neighbors have speculated that it would be a wise investment to build a butcher shop.


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## Tom Horn (Feb 10, 2021)

HDRider said:


> We need lots of new small processing plants brought online.


Direct to consumer is just another tool in the box to add to the fickle ups and downs of the cattle market at the sale barn.

In order to sell individual cuts of beef retail I believe that it needs to be UDSA inspected. You can advertise to sell quarters, halves or whole animals on the hoof by the pound without running afoul of USDA regs. Once you start dealing with hide off sales USDA usually wants a say in it. The way around that is if you have sold a quarter the consumer has already purchased it so the rail weight is technically them weighing what is theirs's rather than you weighing it and selling it to them. Convoluted some yes, but it's best to research USDA rather than get your butt in a sling.

If you sell a live animal that is split several ways I would advise that you groom a relationship with your closest RELIABLE custom kill shop so that you can deliver the critter there for division. If you sell the whole animal the choice of butcher shop/transport is on them.

Like any business, you pays your money, you takes your chances. If the beef on the hoof aspect of your enterprise takes off and it's the most profitable cool beans.

You can do the trendy marketing things like grass-fed, hormone free, all natural, etc. But from what I understand grass-fed involves more effort than just letting them graze on any old pasture.


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

We have a small grass fed/finished Angus freezer beef operation in Ohio. We are finishers. We buy from a friends (50 year) breeding operation that is down the road from us. We put them on pasture in late April/beginning of May and bring to the processor in November. Last year we had to take the last few head in mid-December because of all the Coronavirus craziness. We only do heifers and average weight this year on purchase was 750 lbs. Our average hanging weight is 550 lbs. Most of our customers are in the city (about an hour and a half away although we do have a few local customers. We have a great relationship with our local processor. At the beginning of the year I sit down with him and schedule our dates. We are charging $4.45 a lb hanging weight this year and the processor charges 65 cents/lb for cut and wrap. We eat the kill fee ourselves. Our goal is a consistent quality product which is why we don't buy at the auction barn. We pay a slight premium for the animals we buy but it's worth it. We are converting more pasture from hay to grazing so each year we can add a few more head. We'll max out at about 35 head a year when we finish fencing all our hay pasture. The calculus is the cost and effort of putting in additional fence and water capability vs adding new customers (risk of having to discount or sell animals at the auction barn). So far it's been working out well but last year was a bit crazy. I just picked up another 5 rolls of new field fence that had been sitting in someone's barn a few years at a good price. Our processor is USDA inspected so you have the option of USDA inspected, state inspected or custom exempt. It's all the same processing and facility except for the inspection. We do custom exempt because we only sell quarters. In Ohio you can sell retail (by the cut) with state inspection.

It takes some time and effort but it's a good way to make a small farm income. We are an hour and a half from 3 metro markets (Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh) so if we wanted to get more land (rent or buy) we could easily grow our sales to 100+ head a year (400 quarters) but we are happy being smaller.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

topside1 said:


> Slaughterhouse wait times are still one big factor in filling freezers. I have two steers who were gifted a 12 month reprieve and are enjoying the my time, money, and Tennessee sunsets....Topside


Topside, glad to see you posting! You've been awfully quiet lately...miss reading your posts...always wise and valuable! Hope all is well!


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Good job @Mike in Ohio 

That is how it is supposed to work.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Different regulations for each state. In Michigan, to sell cuts of beef, you need it to be butchered in a USDA inspected facility. To get around that, you can sell the steer to 4 people and then take their steer to the slaughter facility. Not much regulation on deer processing facilities because it is your risk and doesn't enter the public food chain. Same for 4 people owning a steer and paying to process. But it is hard getting people to buy beef in bulk. The habit of buying beef weekly is hard to break. Then you have to either have noticeably better quality or cheaper prices. Consumers expect a bargain. Grass finished is tricky. It tastes different. Plus if you aren't pouring the grass to them, from deep lush pastures, you end up with the tough junk that caused everyone to prefer grain finished beef. Live beef prices are down, while grocery store beef is sky high. It is rigged against the producer. Always has beenn.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

haypoint said:


> It is rigged against the producer.


x10

I can make money with freezer beef.

I cannot make money selling into the big four monopoly.


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## rbelfield (Mar 30, 2015)

we have repeat customers each year. they are all young rich town people who cant believe the difference in the quality of meat vs the store meat. but we did have to sell it to them relatively cheap the first year, to convince them to try it. we now have more customers than we have locker appointments for. it doesnt make us a living but it keeps my husband active and involved with things. and its a good tax write off most of the time.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Pony said:


> Some neighbors have speculated that it would be a wise investment to build a butcher shop.


I learned to process my meat the hard way, and several critters unwittingly volunteered for my education. If the government wants to ration, restrict and inflate goods, then I'm still young enough to learn how to substitute. I imagine later this year I will be setting up my own saw mill. I don't see the point of driving somewhere to pay $85 for a 6x6 post when I can make them myself from a tree I already own.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I've had grass fed beef and it's quite delicious to me. Unforunately in my area, grass fed beef is more costly than the grain feed beef.


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## RideBarefoot (Jun 29, 2008)

topside1 said:


> Slaughterhouse wait times are still one big factor in filling freezers. I have two steers who were gifted a 12 month reprieve and are enjoying the my time, money, and Tennessee sunsets....Topside


Around here, too. My neighbor that I get beef from makes the appointment a few weeks after the calf hits the ground.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

That's my policy here too. Boy have times changed....Topside


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

topside1 said:


> Slaughterhouse wait times are still one big factor in filling freezers. I have two steers who were gifted a 12 month reprieve and are enjoying the my time, money, and Tennessee sunsets....Topside


It just occurred for me to ask, why 12 months?

Is it because it will be ready again in 12 months to coincide with the availability of the processor? In other words, why 12, why not 8, or 6, or 10, etc.?


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

The exact wait time from birth to butcher is usually 24 months, my rules. For the past 16 years I'd make a drop off appointment 6-9 month prior to slaughter, never had a problem. When the usual call was placed the shop advised me that they are suddenly overflowing with business and the soonest they could fit me in would 18 months from the time of our conversation. 12 plus 6 equals 18 so these two boys will be standing around 12 extra months with a load up on Sept 17, come on September. The business overflow was blamed on covid 19 panic, everyone buying freezers, buying livestock, making appointments, and waiting on the world to end....Topside


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