Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Thinking about buying beef by the quarter...looks to be around 200# worth of beef with various cuts obviously. Price per lb is $1.85 + the processing fees, which I'm not sure how much that would cost in all. It would be corn fed black angus without the hormones and everything else going into our food.

Any advice about doing this?

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

If you can buy a half. When you buy a quarter a lot of times you kind if get burned. The other thing is you really have to have faith in the seller and processor. The angus thing makes no difference IMO but the grain fed makes a huge difference in the quality of the meat.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

^ +1. If you can Duane, get references from the place. I used to buy beef & pork in bulk but have been reamed so many times I gave up. You really have to look hard to find a reputable processor sometimes.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I'm trying to decide if I'll have enough room for that much. I do have a ~ 20 cubic feet freezer and I'm not sure how much space a half would take. I also have a rack with a basket that should slide, but I can't use it because one of the glides on the inside of the freezer kind of gave out and won't support any weight in that basket to speak of. Not really sure how I can reinforce it without doing anything to poke through something that maybe I shouldn't poke a screw through. That loses 3-4 cubic feet I bet. Their website says it'll take up 13-14 cubic feet of space for a half. Maybe I'll mess with it a bit and see if I can figure something out.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Buy my beef and pork from local farmers and have it processed at a local butcher - always excellent. In fact, was just talking about getting a half.

Find out if you are tlaking live weight price or what?

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I'd think by saying what a quarter/half/whole weight is around 200#/400#/800#, they're talking actual processed weight.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I buy local beef pork lamb and chicken. Plus the occasional duck rabbit or turkey. If possible buy individual cuts from some local farmers that participate in farmers markets. You'll get a chance that way to compare grain fed vs grass fed vs grass finished beef. IMO It's the only way to be sure you'll get what you like best.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I'd think so too, but ask to be sure. Better safe than sorry.

Peac eof the Lord be with you.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Just so you know, I am looking at about $800 for a 1/2 and about $400 for a quarter. I would be looking at $1.02 a pound (live weight) and $0.42 a lb for processing.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

This is their price structure:

Beef Price Breakdown
Amount Price Per Pound Approximate Cost*
Whole $1.75 $1400
Half $1.80 $750
Quarter $1.85 $370
*Approximate Cost does not include processing fees.


Slaughter Fee: $7.50-30.00
Processing of Beef: $0.40/lb
Patties (optional): $0.50/lb

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

See if you have a local place like this.You should be able to find beef in the burbs...
http://www.wagnersmeats.com/

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

My issue buying direct from the processor is that you're paying a mark up on the beef. Buying straight from the farmer, I know my price is $1.80/lb and know how I'll be charged by the processor and pay them directly for the butchering. Your odds of getting it at the price they paid are slim to none.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Years ago I used to live near a Bison Farm and would buy from them. I saved a ton of money and the quality was so much better than anything I could buy in the store. Make sure you have a good deep freezers and get a battery backup on that thing.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Some odds and ends:

As an example, with a live weight of 1,200 lbs., a steer at $1.10/lb with yield of 63% (average yield, at least in the old days) would give you a hanging carcass weight of 756 lbs. for a cost, before any processing (with attendant bone wt. loss) of $1.75/lb.

If buying quarters, the rear half has higher quality cuts.

After processing a quarter or half, you'll end up with way less meat than you were expecting and you'll have lots of hamburger.

If you get a bad one, it will be a long way to the bottom of your freezer!!!

I was in the cattle business for 35 years and we fed around 20-25,000 head per year. I rode into a pen of fats and cut out a nice fat one every once-in-awhile for various family member's and employee's so got to pick the best finished animals in the pen. Most of these animals graded prime with a few high choice (this was before the grading standards were "dumbed down") and they were exceptional eating but I do have vivid recollections of one steer that just wasn't very good. Don't have any idea why but it was a long way to the bottom of the freezer, that's for sure. BTW, we always aged our beef for 21 days.

There's a lot of trust involved when buying cattle from locals, on the hoof.

The "organic" label means nothing.

Grass fed beef doesn't taste very good. (That is, to say, it sucks when compared to corn fed beef.)

We eat very little beef, anymore. I never could get used to supermarket beef, especially around here. We eat lost of chicken and pork. When we buy good beef, we buy it in Valentine, NE (wife is from there and we go back to visit her dad) and freeze it and haul it back here.

I think you're better off to find a good meat market and establish a relationship with them than to buy from an unknown, especially on the hoof unless you have recommendations from friends. (And, if they're good friends, you'll have a chance to eat their beef before you "buy in".) A good meat market will stand behind their product if you get some bad cuts and make some "adjustments".

WyoBob

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I'm not sure what standards have to be met to put "organic" on the label. But IMO eating meat with no hormones and minimal antibiotics is just common sense. I have to respectfully disagree on the taste. Grass fed and grain fed taste different and it may not be for everyone but I like the grass fed flavor just as much as the grain fed. And I think the evidence shows that it's healthier with more omega-3 and beta carotene and CLA and less saturated fat.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I've often thought about this as well....but meat is meat and I'll eat a cow anywhere they will sell it. I find there the local bumf**k city grocery store carries some damn good meat at a cheap price. Maybe like $4-5 bucks a pound but hey I get to see the cut of meat I'm getting every time. I'd pay double for that hands down. I figure when they give you a whole cow or quarter you might not get as good of quality cuts depending on what part of the cow they give you. Certainly not ALL of the meat you get will be good either.

It also looks that by the time you're done with it you're paying like $2.50 a pound anyways.....and that's for whatever the cow yields that they give you. I think seeing before you buy beats the hell out of random meat.

Either way I'd season it up and eat it. It's also noted that $4 at the grocery store for a good cut of meat beats paying $15 at a steak house for a bland $hit steak. I haven't had a decent steak at a restaurant in a good long time.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Bob is wise. I've lived through all of these. Got a bowling buddy I buy from now who I know will stand behind the deal.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

We have had good success with buying both beef and pork around the time of the county fair from families we know who's kids raised the animals for 4H projects. We don't buy beef any more because all of our red meat is wild game, mostly bison.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

The last I knew, there were no standards for "organic" beef.

Unless you test for it, you'll never know if the animal had antibiotics at a "therapeutic" level in the feed or injections (to save a $1,300-$1,400 investment.)

I say, if you like grass fed beef, that's what you should eat. Some folks will supplement their range beef with cracked corn to put a little "finish" on them. Of course, when corn is around $6.40/bushel, you'll certainly be paying for it. (I think the highest corn prices got when I was feeding were around $3.75/bu. Possibly, if you adjust for inflation, I suppose that figure would be close to $6-7.00/bushel, though).

Most folks eat grass fed beef on a regular basis. It's called "hamburger" and is made mostly out of cows (that's a female bovine who's had a calf) who have outlived their usefulness (either dairy cows or range cows used for beef production). The beef is ground up and mixed with fat trimmed from finished beef.

I ate grass feed beef a few times when, over the years, we had a couple of yearling steers on grass break their legs. I shot them and loaded them into a trailer and hauled the carcass to an employee's house and he helped me butcher and wrap the meat. (I hate that work and would gladly have paid our local butcher to process the animal but animals must pass over their threshold under their own power and I wouldn't harass an animal in pain by loading them into a trailer and hauling them to town.)

As far as the health benefits of grass fed over finished, I'm hoping my 40 years of chewing Skoal, 20 years of cigars, several years of pipe smoking and Scotch & beer drinking will offset the negative aspects of eating corn fed beef:D

WyoBob

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

A few years ago, my friends and I used to all split a whole cow. Two of us would split each half. We used to get a sheet showing the cuts where you'd specify what you wanted, how thick to cut the steaks, how much burger, etc. Worked out quite well as you got stuff from both the front/back.

Another thing to look into is farms that sell "shares". You get a quarter of the cow per share, but they give you a mix of cuts.

I now buy from a farmer who does all grass fed, for $4.50/lb, with no other fees.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

One thing I'm most interested is hopefully being able to specify the hamburger to be 90%+ lean. I know for 400# of meat, that's a lot of hamburger, but if I can keep the hamburger lean, I'll be happy. I did see the site mentioned it's an extra $0.50/lb for processing if you want them made into patties, so I may opt to do that for some of it.

You can buy direct from the farm itself, so I think I'll go down and check out what their beef looks like and maybe get a few samples to try before buying the entire half.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Is it organic? Just cause it doesn't have hormones in it doesn't mean they haven't shot the thing up with all the other usual meds, antibiotics, and what nots. I have been in the cattle business for some time and this seems pretty reasonable, maybe even pretty cheap. I think processing fees can be around $.50 to $1.00 per pound. I don't usually deal with that end, I just raise the cattle and sell them. But I only deal with 100% organic black angus cows.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

We use a local farmers market and just buy the cuts. I would agree with what most the others have said and before you jump feet first try smaller samplings and get references.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

"Organic" does mean something and anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know what the meaning of it. It means there is absolutely nothing that is adulterated. My cows do not get hormones, do not get antibiotics, and pretty much live in a wild environment and only eat grass that is organic and not fertilized or adulterated as well. Nothing on our ranch has been adulterated in any way. We have hundreds of acres of pure coastal bermuda that we transplanted over 20 years ago into our fields and cut and hold over 200 round bales of hay and fence it off with electric wire to help out our cattle just in case of drought. Thankfully we never have to use it. Organic is just better for the environment and for you, but raising cattle is not in any way environmentally conscious I admit. But here in Texas, that's about the only thing that we can do. Nothing f***ing grows here hardly, and it is a pain in the ass to grow crops. I admire those that try.

Organic is clearly stated by the FDA now and somewhat regulated. Have trust my friend.

Though I can tell you that corn fed beef tastes better, and I prefer it. But if you age grass fed it can become very tasty. I have eaten meat all over the world. Argentina does meat the best as far as grass fed goes. Their meat is absolutely delicious with a wild game flavor to the meat because most are organic grass fed cattle. But for some reason this wild flavor cant be duplicated here in the states. Also Uruguay and Brazil do meat very well in a similar style.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

This is the place I'm interested in using.

http://www.doughertybeef.com/

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Sounds good to me. They seem pretty transparent about their practices so that is a plus. Go for it! Grain fed tastes good to me.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

I saw they are on facebook and a local FFA chapter seems to do stuff with them. They also seem very welcoming for anyone to come out to see the calves/farm, buy, so I think it's worth a shot.

Hell, this will be a lot cheaper than buying the drugged up stuff at Sams Club, so at least I'm getting a lower price while getting the natural stuff. Plus, it's always nice to help the small, local farmer out rather than the mega sized farms that have sprouted up over the last decade or two.

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Duane, I didn't read all the responses, but the bottom line is to ask some people how they liked the meat. Try the meat from the farm you picked a number of times, across all of their butchering times. Taste is going to vary across seasons, especially if they're hamburgering old milk stock.
If you find you really enjoy it, then go ahead and buy bulk.
By no means just go and buy a quarter or a half without doing your due diligence or you can very easily find that you just plain don't like the flavor of the meat. Meat from one farm can taste totally different from the farm next door.
Then once you find a farm you like, make sure that the same guy is caring for the beef. If hands change, the beef will change. It's very important to keep track of who is doing what.
That may sound like a pain, but honestly it's all the fun. Make good friends with the family, treat them well, and they'll learn what you like and make sure you get what you like.
If you don't have time to dig in and learn and make friends with the farm, it generally pans out to be a lousy experience sooner or later.
If you aren't real sensitive about the flavor and you like lots of seasoning on your beef, you don't need to sweat it so much.
Just remember that the good guys get the best stuff. Don't be afraid to take a pie or cookies or something every time you go to buy. That stuff goes a long, long way. Remember that this ain't walmart. This is the farmer's life's work. It's his art and his love. If you come from that angle with that kind of respect, you can't lose. :tu

Re: Anyone here buy beef from a local farm?
 

Agreed. I am all about supporting the local farmer. Good for you, good for him, and ultimately better for the environment. Keep it local ya'll!