Is this a fair price?

Whisperwindkat · #1 08/18/12, 05:42 PM

We do a good amount of trading with a friend of ours. Our friend wanted to trade for a goat, processed. So I said ok. We try to typically put a dollar amount on things that we are trading just so that everybody is ok with the trade. So I butchered one of our goats that is being culled from the herd. Now this was a full grown goat and even though she was a dairy breed she was a big girl. I did not weigh her. Most farms around us are charging 150-200 for grass fed lambs depending on size. So I butchered, processed, wrapped all the meat and delivered it to his house which is a good drive from me. To me a fair trade price is 275.00. I would say that he got about 100 lbs. of meat give or take. I also told him that I would make him some soap from the fat included in that price. He seemed a bit shocked. Was I too high on the price. Had I sold the goat on the hoof I would have asked about 200.00 for her and then I have all that work in processing the meat and freezer wrapping it. Anyway, thanks for opinions. I want to be fair and don't want to ask more than I should. Blessings.

pancho · #2 08/18/12, 06:05 PM

Who cares the $ amount of something if you had a trade?
If you were satisfied with what he gave you and he was satisfied with what you gave him it doesn't matter what either cost.

katydidagain · #3 08/18/12, 06:14 PM

In some areas of the country, that would be a bargain; in some parts of the world it's laughable. I think it's fair--perhaps. I understand that you're trying to keep bartering "equal" hence mentioning a price. Your mistake was not weighing the goat (even on your bathroom scale) BEFORE it was butchered because there are ways to determine fair costs for butchering, wrapping and delivery of meat on the hoof. Lesson learned--hope it doesn't kill your relationship.

rootsandwings · #4 08/18/12, 06:27 PM

Would this help?

Iowa Meat Goat Association | Website Content

luvrulz · #5 08/18/12, 06:33 PM

I cannot believe you can try to assess a value on something you didn't take the time to weigh..... It's very helpful when trying to put a $$$ amt on the value so maybe next time, you can use the bathroom scale to put a beginning and an ending weight on the transaction.... just my 2 cents!

Wanda · #6 08/18/12, 06:58 PM

A ''cull'' dairy goat in my part of the world would not come close to bringing $200.

Alice In TX/MO · #7 08/18/12, 07:08 PM

I think that's too high, and I don't think it yielded 100 pounds of meat from a dairy goat carcass. I did one this spring for a friend.

$75 for the cull goat and $75 for butchering. Maybe a bit extra for cut/wrap/freeze.

texican · #8 08/18/12, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I think that's too high, and I don't think it yielded 100 pounds of meat from a dairy goat carcass. I did one this spring for a friend.

$75 for the cull goat and $75 for butchering. Maybe a bit extra for cut/wrap/freeze.

This...
I'd love to see 100 lbs... heck, even a meat goat wouldn't bring that (unless it was an old Billy)... at least 'processed meat', carcass maybe, but no one really wants all the bones.

I never go into a barter without both sides knowing full disclosure... I never put a money figure on a barter, and discuss that with the other party... I always "know" I'm getting a good deal, before ever even starting the trade. If not, why bother... If you have something I want and I have something you want, that's all that matters... Injecting real values imbues more of a business type transaction...one that the govt. and IRS are keen to follow.

Tracy Rimmer · #9 08/19/12, 12:54 AM

100 lbs of meat from a dairy goat?? That is some incredible goat if a dairy breed yielded 100 lbs of meat.

Here, *meat* breeds get around $2 a pound live weight, and a fully grown goat might yield 50 lbs of meat, maybe. If it's very well fed. You really should have weighed it.

My opinion? If you charged him $275 for the meat, you overcharged him by about $150.

rockhound · #10 08/19/12, 05:09 AM

I think you're better off to leave the dollar out of the deal. You didn't say what you got. Were you happy with it?

Micheal · #11 08/19/12, 06:16 AM

I think if a "dollar amount" has to be agreed upon it should be before the transaction - not after...... but then I've never heard of a "dollar amount" mentioned in any trading I've ever done.

solidwoods · #12 08/19/12, 07:50 AM

I always discuss the $ value of the items.
If I would sell the item for $100 then that is what it's trade value is.
If I'm trading I want to know how much money the item they have is worth to them in case I would rather purchase with cash
jim

Whisperwindkat · #13 08/19/12, 07:55 AM

You are all right I should have weighed it, but I was so busy and running late that I didn't think about it until after I was already down the road headed to his house. We have never traded a goat before typically it has been much smaller stuff and he is the one that likes to put a monetary value on stuff. I don't really care and have never done that with anyone else. I based my price on two neighbors that sell lambs, both sell their grassfed spring lambs for 150-200 on the hoof depending on size. Processing fees that I used to pay for deer ran anywhere from 75-100 dollars. So anyway that is how I came up with the amount that I did. I typically don't sell my goats and typically don't have to put a monetary figure on something. I know how much I paid for the goat just two years ago and yes she was a big girl. She took two coolers to transport and they were stacked tight. But if that many people think that I was wrong then I will see what I can do to make it right. I just know that I probably won't do this with any other livestock, that was meat out of my freezer that my family could have used and it costs me a heck of a lot more to replace it. Shoot I couldn't even replace it with a lamb from one of my neighbors if I have to give my grassfed meat away.

CountryWannabe · #14 08/19/12, 08:51 AM

The first mistake you made (apart from not weighing the meat) is that you compared a cull dairy goat to a prime grass fed lamb. In the supermarket lamb of any kind is extremely expensive and grass fed is at least 50% more. I saw a (small) leg of lamb in Sam's for over $30!! You know that wasn't grass fed.

Yes, a good lamb is around $150-ish around here on the hoof. You may get 30-40# meat if it is a goodly sized wether. But that is the nature of meat production. Some meats are more expensive than others.

If you are lucky you will get around $100-ish for a good meat goat wether in prime condition on the hoof, and get around 50# or a little more in meat.

The most meat I have ever got from a dairy goat was a HUGE 4 year old wether, and I got close to 70# meat from him - though some cuts were bone-in.

Mary

Alice In TX/MO · #15 08/19/12, 02:00 PM

Also the price for a dairy goat to go into the milk string and anticipated to produce for years is different from the price for a cull for the freezer.

Sorry.

texican · #16 08/19/12, 05:01 PM

The other party should have felt good about the deal, if they traded you something for the goat meat. They should be thinking they got a good deal, if the goat meat was expensive, compared to their trade item. Now, if they were trading you x amount of commodities, based upon your price, then they lost... If the trade items are arranged ahead of time, high costs of one set of goods should make the other party feel as if they gotta good deal!

Whisperwindkat · #17 08/19/12, 07:45 PM

Well, I have thought on this all day and done some checking around. Chevon soup bones from two different farms sell for 4.50 a pound, those are soup bones. Even if my weight estimate is high and he only got 75 lbs. of meat then that is still 337.00 dollars at the soup bone price. This doe was never in production. We bought her as a yearling and we never could get her to catch so she was never in milk. She spent the past 3 years eating and growing. She wasn't much smaller than my Nubian/Boer buck, just a little shorter. She was a full blood Nubian. And everyone is focused on the cost of the meat, but if you read my original post he is also getting all the fat rendered and turned into soap by me. My lye, my coconut and olive oils and certainly my time to render the fat and make the soap. The more I have thought about it and the more I have researched I feel better about the trade. He called and left me a message today saying that he really was surprised at how much meat he got and thanks. So I think he is happy after all. I just don't think he really realizes how much goes into all of this. Next time I will weigh the goat. I do realize that was my mistake and I should have done it.

katydidagain · #18 08/19/12, 07:59 PM

Glad it worked out for you.

sidepasser · #19 08/19/12, 08:06 PM

Would a goat that is 4 years old be kind of tough? Never ate one that age before so am curious, the oldest I've ever slaughtered was a yearling wether.

Glad it worked out good for both of you.

ozark_jewels · #20 08/19/12, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidepasser

Would a goat that is 4 years old be kind of tough? Never ate one that age before so am curious, the oldest I've ever slaughtered was a yearling wether.

Glad it worked out good for both of you.

I've eaten four year old buck and 9 year old doe. Its all good if cooked slow and moist. On the older butcher goats, I do prefer to grind all the lesser cuts and just keep the haunches for roasts.