Price of Beef

Golly, I can't believe y'all get beef so cheaply! The local farm here sells a whole beef for $5.05/lb. and $5.25/lb for a half. I'm jealous! It's normally $3.00+/lb for grocery store carp here, too. How come ours is so expensive??? Edit to add: I'm in VA.

I just put down a deposit on a side of beef yesterday! I'm paying $2.09/lb hanging weight, plus $0.42/lb butcher fee.
They are on a hay field, plus get 6 buckets of corn/grain mix a day. He had either 5 or 6 steers there, they looked real good.
Can you tell I"m excited? LOL. I"ve been looking for years to find someone to buy from, just happened across these folks. They do it every year, so I"m in now!

I've got half a side on the way. $2.50/lb hanging weight cut wrapped and dry aged 30 days.

greg

Must be nice to give away beef for such a low price. Not sure how they turn a profit, maybe it is cheaper land than the east coast? yeah probably.
Be thankful you have someone that can sell it so low. Most of us can't.... and still make a wage at all....
Not criticizing, just commenting....

These people we bought from just had three cows I believe. They auctioned off one and used that as a guide on what to charge us. They then added in all the typical fees (kill fee, inspection, butchering, etc.). My understanding is that what they got in auction from the one and what they got from us was enough to cover their costs so that theirs was basically free.

I think they do this every year.

I'm just glad to have the meat in the freezer and to have enough to share as God leads.

Someone asked about antibiotics. I would think that if the cow was butchered before the antibiotics had been eliminated from its system, then you are essentially eating the antibiotics when you eat the meat.

In our neck of the woods, locally grown, grass fed, pastured, black angus beef goes for $2.00/lb, we pay processing. We don't find it cost prohibitive and it's SO MUCH better than factory farmed beef!

RVcook

Ours went in yesterday @ .90 live weight plus butchers charge. Our farmer is mid valley if you need one up this way let me know. Great stuff and saves us a ton of money.

Keith

Our price in our part of the state is going up for the guy we always buy from, he's now up to $1.60 a pound cut & wrapped but most people on this side of the state cut & wrapped for $1.99 so I guess that's pretty good compared to some here.
No antibiotics or growth hormones used either, they try to keep it as natural & organic as possible.

Not really Rose, that is live weight not hanging weight and does not include cutting and packing at $.35 per lb hanging weight. Our purchase is handled as two transactions one with the farmer and another with the butcher. It usually works out to $2.20 - $2.60 per lb of frozen beef. This one was large so there will be some economy of scale. I will know exact cost per lb. after it is cut and packaged

Keith

I sell beef by the hanging weight and get $1.70/pound, they buyer pays $.45 cut and wrap and $75 kill fee. The butcher comes out to my place to kill the animal, so I don't have any transport fee. This is probably the cheapest price in my area.

Bob

This is how we do it as well. We don't routinely give them anything but grass and hay. We have given a couple some beet pulp through the winter if the hay was not too good. We sell our beef for $2.50 a lb. hanging weight. We never raise enough for all the requests we get, but we are really small volume. We always have excess milk, so start them out at a couple of days old and raise them until they are 18 months old. The hanging weight is not true meat weight though. It can still be up to 35% lighter than the hanging weight is what we were told by 2 butchers.

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Marci

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I can get Angus grass fed or if you want grain fed no hormones...for $1/lb live weight. That is to the farmer, and then processing fee of .39/lb hanging weight + $35 kill fee to processor.
A shop opened up here locally with "natural" foods...organic local produce...local milk...grass fed no hormones, antibiotics meat...and he sells his whole beef for $1.50 live weight and this includes processing

Here in WA state I paid $1.75 plus a 55 cent cut and wrap fee. But of course, you pay on the hanging weight and only get back about 60% of that. It added up to about $4/pound. But still, it's much cheaper than comparable grass fed, all natural beef at the grocery store - if you can even find it! And I like eating cows that I've seen grazing out my window all year. I know they were happy.