|
Post by Lynne Simpson 180Farm FaberVA on Apr 14, 2015 9:52:36 GMT -5
Heifers are delicious too. we have several we don't like very much that we will breed and then butcher her a few months past weaning her calf and will probably do the same for their calves. Its a way of keeping some production going while they grow even if the hanging weights are not high. Just make sure they are well fed since they have a calf on them. This will not be our best quality beef though and sell for a lower price per pound Thank you lakeportfarms, this is great to find out how others are selling their beef. We have only sold 6 steers so far, and sell it state inspected, vaccum-packed frozen at my husband's retail business. Customers are really appreciating the grass-fed flavor, and chefs are seeking it out. It sells quickly, and we are getting a nice email list for return customers that want to know when we have more steers ready. We get 7.49/lb for ground beef from 24-30 month old Dexter steers, on up to 12-17/lb depending on the cut of steak. Once we produce too much to sell retail at his business, we will have to sell whole steers. Is 7/lb hanging weight what you charge the customer, and do they pay their own processing fees on top of that to the butcher when they pick it up? Also, I am curious as to what your heifer/cull cow hanging weights are, and how much you sell their cuts for or if you put them just in ground beef?
Thanks! Lynne @ 180 Farm
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Apr 14, 2015 9:54:37 GMT -5
Pinevalleydexters,
Useless you know in advance of someone that wants your bull, to use in their own herd, and they are willing to put down a deposit to reserve him for the winter breeding season (Nov. - Feb.), plan on processing him in September or October, after he has been grass-finished or grain-finished. Mature bulls (3+ years old) make excellent lean ground beef, and you should have no problem selling it in 50 lb boxes of 1-lb packages for $325 per box ($6.50 per lb). You will likely get 7 or 8 boxes, so he is worth approximately $2,275 as ground beef, less your processing costs. Another good seller that you may want to talk to your processor about are beef bones (meaty soup bones are the shank and neck; brown stock bones are meatless marrow bones cut into 2-inch lengths for making bone broth). We are getting $4.00 per lb for beef bones. The brisket and the tenderloin are also worth keeping as whole cuts on a mature bull.
Patti
|
|
|
Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 14, 2015 10:09:05 GMT -5
Thanks Patti, I really appreciate your advice. I already have someone interested in purchasing a half of beef. He will be on pasture all summer, we will go this route and get on my processors schedule for fall. I figured this was the way to go. Cathy
|
|
|
Post by littlecowfl on Apr 14, 2015 16:15:40 GMT -5
You and I are in the same boat. I have only sold one Dexter bull since I started with Dexters about ten years ago. However, I have had many delicious steers in the meantime. Maybe I'll get that one perfect bull calf. I look critically at them when they are six months old, but so far, only one has really had that extra special look. We don't need very many good bulls. We only need a few great bulls. It's much better to be born a heifer. IF you're born a bull, you have to be really lucky or really good or else you'll be really tasty.
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Apr 14, 2015 17:43:14 GMT -5
We also cull and process heifers for beef. We do a lot of genetic testing to help identify the heifers that have the most desirable genetics that we want to advance in our herd, so the rest are culled for beef. I know this sounds harsh, but our herd is better for doing this, and we can offer some really nice registered heifers for people that are wanting to start off their herds with extensive knowledge about what these heifers and cows have to offer.
Patti
|
|
|
Post by legendrockranch on Apr 14, 2015 22:03:19 GMT -5
We also cull heifers or cows for beef. The two I mentioned earlier in this thread were heifers, we just got their hanging weight back on them today. They were 369 pounds and 381 lbs. Also banding a homo polled A2/A2 red bull calf, because he just isn't put together well enough to keep intact. We just can't afford to keep steers here until they are mature enough to beef. The lack of pastures and the drought here means they will go at weaning around 6 months of age.
Barb
|
|
|
Post by cjsfarm on Apr 15, 2015 20:30:45 GMT -5
All I can say is if you think your dexter steers are worth what is mentioned, why aren't all the beef producers raising dexters!
|
|
|
Post by lakeportfarms on Apr 16, 2015 5:34:00 GMT -5
There is an extra step involved in doing it the way we do it, and that is to identify and promote what you produce to customers that are looking for the specific strengths of your product...i.e. grass finished, hormone/antibiotic free, etc.
Many producers either don't have access to those markets other than on a limited basis, or don't care to put in the additional time and effort to secure those customers. Even though we do it the hard way and have a good demand, I have to admit there is a certain appeal to hauling your steers up to the sale barn and not thinking about them again until you get the check in the mail with what they sold for, even if it is less money!
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Apr 16, 2015 9:43:39 GMT -5
I agree with lakeportfarms, it is extra work to operate a cow/calf operation and to properly finish beef steers and to effectively market the beef. Most beef producers don't do the entire job from calf to finished and packaged meat, they do only a portion of the job -- so if they have a cow/calf operation, they sell weaned calves; if they have a feeding operation, they buy calves and sell finished, fattened live animals; if they buy finished, fattened live animals, they have them processed and sell on the hanging weight, then there are distributors that buy parts and pieces, and take it from there to the retail level.
In contrast, we do it all, albeit on a small scale, and it isn't a simple task to build and grow a direct market for what our ranch produces. But it builds on itself after a few years of success, so now it looks easy to someone that hasn't been through the experience of building and growing a business. It's not easy, but it is an opportunity for those with skills that are willing to commit their time and effort to grow and develop a direct farm-to-market local business based on a sustainable, high quality product.
Patti
|
|
|
Post by legendrockranch on Apr 16, 2015 11:24:25 GMT -5
Geez, worth $2,000+ as a finished steer (no testing, no registration) at 22-24 months old, versus sold at $1,500 or less as a registered, tested, halter-trained Dexter herdsire prospect at weaning. Really? It's a no brainer -- steer him. Sooner or later, Dexter breeders need to wake up and smell the coffee, and put their money where their success can be realized. Selling registered, purebred, tested breeding stock for less money than what beef steers bring, is absurd and it's counter productive to the future success of this breed in the United States, IMO. Patti Patti with your comment about it being a "no brainer" that steers are worth $2000.00 you gave the impression to some this is what everyone should be getting as far as pricing. I mentioned in my last post about all the hard word your had put in to your Dexter beef business. I'm glad your explaining to others what you do. Having a grocery sell you beef is a tremendous market. However please don't make others feel that they are doing less than they should, because they don't or can't get that price. Every situation is different. Barb
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Apr 16, 2015 13:45:15 GMT -5
Barb,
Everyone should be getting that price (or close to that price), if they are properly finishing their steers, and using a good processor to produce a high quality product, and seeking out buyers for their high quality beef.
But not all Dexter steers are created equal, and some will be too small, or poorly finished, or too young, or diseased, or any number of negative factors that will affect their ulimate value as a beef animal. So everyone won't get that price. They won't get $1,500 for their registered (or "registration eligible") weanling bull calf either. They will miss the opportunity to accomplish more, and they will have to be satisfied with less. To each his/her own. The opportunity is there, but not all will see it or do something positive with it.
Patti
|
|
|
Post by hollydzie on Apr 16, 2015 13:51:19 GMT -5
I have to agree with Barb, that it is not always possible. I think so much depends on what area of the country you live in. While we can "get" the price for the beef, the cost to get the beef is very high. We live in SW Florida we do not have great forage, we have no choice but to supplement with feed and hay. They cost is high so the profit is lower.
I also agree that certain bloodlines do much better than others and have been weeding out the Dexters that require more to keep their condition through our unbearable summer heat of 100 plus degrees for 7 months.
Holly
|
|
|
Post by lakeportfarms on Apr 17, 2015 5:31:53 GMT -5
There are a lot of areas where the input costs are high. We'll be feeding hay for at least another month here, and they certainly eat a whole lot more hay when it's -30 outside in a snowstorm. I've run thousands of feet of water lines 5' underground, with electric, so that they have fresh warmed water in the winter months and we can rotational graze during our limited grazing season. We live in an area that is extremely well suited to crop farming, and the price per acre is extremely expensive ($7000 and more/acre) due to the demand. Some suffer with drought conditions a lot of the time. Certainly there are "sweet spots" in the country (U.S.) where the challenges are fewer, the weather is good, and land is relatively inexpensive. Those may be the areas where you'll see the lowest prices.
The biggest problem is that there are too many who get started as a "hobby", and then don't properly transition to that of a "business" mindset. They don't fully account for their costs, and as a result in many cases in high cost situations subsidize the purchase of the live animal or steer to their purchaser! If you produce a good product, you shouldn't be doing that.
The other end of the spectrum are those who really don't properly take care of or select good stock, and they deserve as a result to get a lower price for what they've produced. They will almost all eventually get out or just raise enough for themselves, but the cycle of those getting out and getting will never end so it's something you have to deal with.
Both types of producers make it more difficult for those who do a good job to get the price they should. I can't tell you the number of people who have stopped at our farm and scoffed at the price we ask, saying there is this guy down the road who sells for 1/2 our price. Ok, if they want hormone and antibiotic filled heavily grain fed I can't compete with that. Those people will always be looking for the "deal" first and foremost. Therefore, the careful building of a list of customers followed by referrals from those customers to their friends and family, and then keeping them happy becomes the key ingredient in being successful, and most important, getting an adequate price to make it into something a little more than a hobby that doesn't require going deeply into your own pocket (over the long term) to sustain.
|
|
|
Post by dexterfarm on Apr 17, 2015 8:44:10 GMT -5
The only way we could get that kind of price here is to sell individual cuts. At some point we may do that but it requires special dedicated freezers and a usda inspector will inspect them. I am selling for 3.50 this year and yes I do have a waiting list but I also know that there are others in my area that also sell antibiotic, hormone free and grass finished for about the same price. Of course we all feel like we deserve more and maybe we do but I dont want to price myself out of the market.
|
|
|
Post by hollydzie on Apr 17, 2015 8:57:19 GMT -5
Hans, try $39,000.00 PER acre that was our first 5 acres. That is what decent land in our area of FL goes for, sometimes you can find a deal but they are few and far between. We were able to purchase an extra 5 acres behind us and we thought it was a steal at $15,000 PER acre.
|
|