Direct Marketing Beef

Shagbarkmtcatle · #1 02/09/08, 07:03 PM

Does any one direct market beef by the half or whole? Do you carry license or insurance for the purpose of complying with state laws?
What is the difference between a USDA facility and a Federally inspected facility?

narenta · #2 02/10/08, 09:26 AM

We take our beef to a U.S.D.A. certified meat processor. They make the best cuts and divide in halfs, quarters, etc., to buyers specifications. We do not need a license or insurance for this.

Ralph in N.E.Oh · #3 02/12/08, 08:02 AM

narenta is right. Slaughter you animals in a federally inspected house and you can ship worldwide with out a lisence .... Insurance, however, you may want to look into, as you are libel for what you sell.

copperhead46 · #4 02/12/08, 04:55 PM

I don't sell meat, but I do sell the live animal, deliver them to the butcher shop, and let the buyer pick up the processed meat, and pay for the processing. I don't worry about insurance on anything like that. I know that in some states people set up at farmers markets and sell fresh beef, but I sure don't know how that works, as far as liability.
P.J.

sammyd · #5 02/13/08, 09:18 AM

We sell halves but don't set a price till the meat is processed at the local slaughter plant so we know how much meat there is.
We pay the kill fee and processing fee and get paid by the customer before we give out a pick up slip.

haypoint · #6 02/13/08, 09:40 AM

Each state has differing laws. In Michigan, to sell meat to the public, the animal has to arrive live at a USDA inspected processor. If you own the animal, you can take it to a place that is simply licensed to have it butchered, but that is for your own use only. The way around that is to sell a cow to one, two, three or four people and you haul "their" cow to a licensed butcher. Then they can pick up their meat. That keeps you out of a lot of the regulation. Check with your state's agriculture department.

unioncreek · #7 02/13/08, 10:02 AM

We sell by the quarter, half or whole. I just take a calf in and if they want a half, they pay half the slaughter cost and then the cut and wrap for their half. I always sell a quarter off of the one we're going to keep that way I don't have to put out any money for cut/wrap on mine.

Bobg