Question for those that sell beef

[Jersey/guernsey]

This has most likely been asked before but, how do you handle things if you sell half and keep half? See I have a seventeen month old bull that I'm thinking of having butchered in a few months.
We would like to sell half to pay for processing but don't know how this would work? Do I truck him to the processor and have him killed and hung then sell half? or will I need an agreement in advance? Have them pay me Half of live weight then refund the extra when we get his hanging weight? As you can see I'm sort of clueless (never done this before) but we're thinking $2.50lb they pay to have theirs cut we pay kill fee, that sound about right?

[Vahomesteaders]

We alway make sure half is spoken for and a deposit retained. We always give a ball park estimate on our beef depending on the cut. But at rates right now $3.25 lb plus about .50lb for processing is a fair rate. Sometimes more. Our average is about $3.58lb organic standard cuts. A half usually runs 250-350lbs of meat hanging weight which is how we generaly charge it. Take home will be about 25% less than that. But processing isnt cheap. So basicly tell them its gonna be between this and that price and make sure hey are good with it either way.

[oregon woodsmok]

What we do in this area, is that you get a buyer lined up. You agree upon a price per pound for the hanging weight, that is going to cover the kill fee. Then the butcher comes out, kills in the pasture, and takes the carcass into his shop and weighs it. That gives you the hanging weight.

The buyer pays you for the side and then he instructs the butcher on how he wants the meat cut and he pays for the cut and wrap when he picks his meat up.

[FarmerDavid]

We drop it off at the processor and they pay a per lb price that goes off the hanging weight. If we're splitting one with someone ill pay the kill fee. If its two others they split he kill fee. Then everyone pays processing in their part. Only done it a few time but thats how we did it.

[sammyd]

We try to have our price per pound cover half the kill fee and the processing. That way there are no surprises.
I tell the butcher who it's for and give them a phone number, they call the buyer and arrange the cut list.

[Jersey/guernsey]

Originally Posted by sammyd

We try to have our price per pound cover half the kill fee and the processing. That way there are no surprises.
I tell the butcher who it's for and give them a phone number, they call the buyer and arrange the cut list.

Ok so if cutting/wrapping is .50lb then I charge an extra 1.00lb this will then cover their half and mine, and I pay the butcher? That could work

Very helpful reply's everyone! So much good real life experience here, I feel more confident trying!

[idigbeets]

We charge by the hanging weight plus break down the price of the kill, wrap etc. so if a customer buys a 1/2 cow, they get charged half those fees.

Extras like burger patties, or special cut wrap are 100% customer charged if they want those things.

[Jersey/guernsey]

Hanging weight? Now I always thought that was The animal killed bled, gutted, and hung. but in talking to my sister she spoke to a woman that had a steer done and was charged live weight!?! Plus cutting/wrapping. is that the norm? He is a Jersey cross so won't butcher out very meaty and while I don't mind the bones (we have four big dogs that can eat a LOT of them) I don't think I want to pay meat price for the guts!

[sammyd]

Live weight can be used and it will be a lower price, usually whatever market price is at the sales barn or bit more if you can sell your animals.
Since a lot of folks don't have a scale on a smaller set up we wait for the hanging weight.
And since some folks don't understand the difference between live and hanging weight we just go with the hanging weight.

[opportunity]

I've sold by live and by hanging weight but we have a scale. I set a price per pound and then they pay the butcher costs and pick what ever cuts they want. Sometimes I pick up and deliver since I sell some to people that live near my parents and I will go that way anyway. I set my price to about average for the sale yard the week before I could ask more but this way they sell and people come back for more.

[haypoint]

Sort of depends on what is available in your area. Nice to be able to take a live steer to the butcher and be done with it. Some areas the butcher wants to start with the skinned out halves.
If you sell live weight, it is easer to figure how much to charge. See what a steer that weight sells for, add the kill price and processing costs. How do you know what to charge for hanging weight? I guess if your steer is worth $800 live weight, you could expect $800, plus killing fee for hanging weight.
A little tricky pricing by the pound. Is your customer buying because they want locally raised, naturally grown and humanely treated beef or are they buying a half a steer because it is too costly buying beef in the stores?

[Jersey/guernsey]

I don't have a buyer yet. Naturally grown and humanely treated is important to me ( particularly the humanely part) so maybe the same for other people. Anyway not looking to make a fortune just cover costs, half a beef in the freezer and his feed payed for would be great! Beef in the stores is crazy! but somehow when I sell cattle the price is always the same

[haypoint]

Covering your costs plus filling your freezer is a high goal. On a small scale it is often hard to cover costs.
When most people are asked if they would pay more for organic fruits and vegetables, over half answer yes. But in the grocery stores and even in many farmers markets, people price compare shop, often avoiding the more costly organic.
You may build a market for organic beef at well above market prices, but most areas people cannot afford to fund their preferences.

[Jersey/guernsey]

That is true, although in theory organic doesn't need to cost more. I myself don't like the organic label for livestock, far prefer humanely raised.

[SusyTX]

We raise grass-fed & finished Irish Dexters as naturally as possible (no hormones or antibiotics, and no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers) and sell ours for $4 per lb based on hanging weight. We sell by the half or whole. I can tell you what we do, and hope it doesn't get too confusing!

When we deliver a steer for processing, we log in the halves or whole in the name(s) of the customer. If we are keeping one half and a customer is purchasing the other half, we have one half logged in with the customer's name, and one with our name. Of course, if we are selling both halves to two different customers, we log in one half to each customer. Once the steer is slaughtered we are told the hanging weight. Each purchaser of a half is responsible for their half. If we sold two halves to different people, each would owe us for one-half of the hanging weight. If we sold one half and were keeping the other, the person buying one half pays us for one half of the hanging weight.

When dealing with halves and the processing fees, each person pays their portion of the slaughter fee, i.e., one half, and each pays their separate processing fees. All processing fees, slaughter, cut, and wrap, are paid directly to the processor.

From what we know by working with our processor (and meeting with several others), by our state law there must be a clear line between the livestock producer and the processor. We are on the livestock side, and the processor is on the retail processing side....for us to do any more would require a retail license.

For example, if we wanted to give a friend a half, we could log the half in his name at the processor but we could not pay his processing fees for him. That begins to step into the retail area and would require a retail license. Each state's laws probably vary a bit.

[cooper101]

Originally Posted by Jersey/guernsey

That is true, although in theory organic doesn't need to cost more. I myself don't like the organic label for livestock, far prefer humanely raised.

In my experience selling pigs, chickens, and now some steers, the market for humanely raised meat that lived better and died better than any other animal of its type is much bigger than the market for organic. Organic prices you out of many people's reach. "Way better than the supermarket" is a pretty good market to be in.

One problem I have with it is "organic" seems to make everything else ok. A Cornish cross chicken that ate organic feed might be organic, but it's still a Cornish cross chicken that is more science experiment than animal.

[sammyd]

Last time I looked at shipping to an organic buyer the premium was only 10 cent a pound live weight.

And a cornishx is not a science experiment but many years of careful breeding.

[cooper101]

Originally Posted by sammyd

but many years of careful breeding.

I agree that they have been carefully bred over many years. And the result is basically a meat maker that you plug food and water lines into. My point was that the "organic" label seems to be a get out of jail free card when there are many other points to consider when determining if meat is "good."

[Jersey/guernsey]

Originally Posted by SusyTX

We raise grass-fed & finished Irish Dexters as naturally as possible (no hormones or antibiotics, and no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers) and sell ours for $4 per lb based on hanging weight. We sell by the half or whole. I can tell you what we do, and hope it doesn't get too confusing!

When we deliver a steer for processing, we log in the halves or whole in the name(s) of the customer. If we are keeping one half and a customer is purchasing the other half, we have one half logged in with the customer's name, and one with our name. Of course, if we are selling both halves to two different customers, we log in one half to each customer. Once the steer is slaughtered we are told the hanging weight. Each purchaser of a half is responsible for their half. If we sold two halves to different people, each would owe us for one-half of the hanging weight. If we sold one half and were keeping the other, the person buying one half pays us for one half of the hanging weight.

When dealing with halves and the processing fees, each person pays their portion of the slaughter fee, i.e., one half, and each pays their separate processing fees. All processing fees, slaughter, cut, and wrap, are paid directly to the processor.

From what we know by working with our processor (and meeting with several others), by our state law there must be a clear line between the livestock producer and the processor. We are on the livestock side, and the processor is on the retail processing side....for us to do any more would require a retail license.

For example, if we wanted to give a friend a half, we could log the half in his name at the processor but we could not pay his processing fees for him. That begins to step into the retail area and would require a retail license. Each state's laws probably vary a bit.

Sounds very doable, but how do you make sure you're not stiffed at the last minute? As in I sell halves, but the costumer(s) doesn't like the price when they see what he weighs? Since I would have logged him in their name(s) at the processor what stops them form just paying the processor but not me? Do you have a contract?

[SusyTX]

Originally Posted by Jersey/guernsey

Sounds very doable, but how do you make sure you're not stiffed at the last minute? As in I sell halves, but the costumer(s) doesn't like the price when they see what he weighs? Since I would have logged him in their name(s) at the processor what stops them form just paying the processor but not me? Do you have a contract?

We always require a deposit of $200 for a side or $400 for a whole before we make the processing appointment. It usually takes us a week to get an appt, and that allows time for the deposit check to clear.

Our hanging weights run roughly 325-375, and we have gotten pretty good at estimating a steer's hanging weight within 25 lbs or so. If our steers were larger with a higher hanging weight (such as an Angus), we would charge a higher deposit. Once we have the hanging weight, we both call and email the customer with the final hanging weight and with their balance due. Our hanging time is 14 days, so that gives plenty of time for the balance check to arrive and clear. We may yet go to an invoice system, but as yet things are working well. We do extensive emailing of our customers with great detail of the process and costs involved so there are no surprises. Of course, this also gives us good records of all aspects of the steer purchase for tax purposes or in case there are problems.

With new customers we do check with the bank to be sure the check(s) clear. We also work closely with our processor, and bring them a fair amount of business. If we had a problem with the balance payment, we would of course contact the purchaser in writing to try to resolve the problem and advise them there would be a hold on the beef until the issue was resolved. We would also let the processor know not to release the beef to the customer until the problem was resolved. The processor does have a limit on how long they will hold beef before charging holding fees or selling the beef for processing costs. We would step in before those events were needed so our processor wouldn't have to deal with that.