buying beef from a neighbor

[Ron]

Just curious, a buddy has 3 cows with calves, he ran out of pasture so I said bring them over and chew my wasteland down. They are just a hobby for him and keep his small acreage cleaned up.
He plans on finishing the calves on grain for the last month and selling them to friends, no implants, blah blah blah. He said he would give me one for the pasture but that isnt fair (he is doing me a favour cause it is so overgrown the kids cant even quad in it).
What is a fair price? Will the last month on grain help with the taste? (I used to work in the US and south america and straight grass beef CAN BE very dry and tasteless, some were very good, almost as good as alberta beef)
Thanks

[PureCountry]

Pricing is dependent on many things. If he is having the animal slaughtered and the meat cut and wrapped, then you could expect to pay between $2.50-$3/lb for it delivered to your door. Maybe less, but that's a ball park anyway. As for what's fair and what isn't, that's up to you. I did a similar thing this summer with a buddy who has an acreage. I took my milk cow and a couple others to his place just to chew down 5' high clover and weeds, and he wasn't going to let me give him anything. I bought him a case of beer, mind you I also helped him fence that little pasture, too.

As for the beef, 30 days on grain may not be enough to influence the taste very much, but there's others on here who have better experience with that than I. I have finished beeves on grass/legumes alone, and the flavor and tenderness was excellent.

[Ron]

do you have any idea how long on grain would make a difference? Thanks

[grassfarmer]

Depends how you want to alter the taste and flavor of the beef. As purecountry says properly grass fattened beef can be the best of stuff. It depends also what the cattle look like - what age/breed are they, how much finish do they have on them now,how good pasture have they been on? If they have really just been "chewing down" rough pasture I doubt they would make good grassfed beef. I have heard that a month - 6 weeks on grain would alter the fat enough that it was passable as grainfed but have no experience of that myself.

[perfecho]

Ihave a neighbor who always fed grain while the calf was on the cow, and would slaughter while calf was still sucking. Said it was best meat going....I believe to make much of a difference in quality of gain fed meat, about 100 days would be min. The 4-H steers are normally around 200 days, and it is hard to get better tasting fat...I mean meat....than that! The amount of grain is also important. To really fatten, you would end up at about 80% grain, but careful on how quickly you take them up to this. Google 4-H feeding and I would think there will be more info if you want to get that serious. We used to feed grain for a month or two and then butcher.... never really appealed to me, but after the kids started 4-H and we learned how to feed, the meat is very tasty, but it is fattier. But, we now have people requesting the beef and willing to pay $3.00 and more per pound. Good luck.

[dalek]

The hobby farmers here all advertise beef in the paper for $1.75/lb for a side, then wonder why nobody's trying to make a living selling freezer beef anymore.

[grassfarmer]

$1.75 hanging weight??

[dalek]

$1.75 cut, boned, wrapped and delivered.
Yeah, I know.

[perfecho]

Our local "Bargain Finder" carries an ongoing add @ $1.99/lb. Started during BSE and seems to have continued since. Most likely cow meat, although I can not say for sure.

[PureCountry]

If their selling it that cheap there must not be any specialty meats included like sausages or jerky. That's too damn cheap, unless it is just cow beef. We've sold it the past few years to freinds and neighbors for $2.75/lb, cut and wrapped. We get cut sheets from the butcher, and have the customers fill them out for steak thickness, roast size, and all that. Then we send it in to the butcher. Some customers go there and pick it up themselves, some we deliver it. If I could sell every critter that way, I'd be happy.

[dalek]

PureCountry, they don't care that they're losing money selling it that cheap, in fact, that's the idea. I would venture that the majority of beef "farmers" in this area are doing it as a tax dodge, in fact a lot of them are accountants. Doubt that many of them would be happy if they got audited but they're willing to take the risk as long as they can bend things enough to write off the $50,000 farm-plated truck they drive to and from work and the tools in their wood-working shop. The beef game in Ontario is a whole different universe.

[PureCountry]

Gotcha, now I know what you're talking about.

[grassfarmer]

Agreed PureCountry, you can pay a few bills with cattle that pay like that! We are selling at the same price as you and equate it to getting $1000 for weaned 500lb calves. The problem of course is numbers - not many folks selling 20 head a year this way. We're getting there, it's slow but steady. We are actually looking at providing the whole gammit - pasture pork, lamb, poultry etc as the customers for beef are asking for these things. It's easier to sell more to the customers you have than find new ones.

[PureCountry]

Very good point, we're thinking of doing the same thing. Local guy here raises pastured poultry and pigs, and says he can't keep enough of them to meet demand. We're probably going to try the hogs first, starting next year. Just 5 or 6, to get our feet wet. Buy weaners and fatten them on grass, scraps and chop. I've done it before, and it makes for good eatin'. I'm nervous about trying poultry or lamb. Birds just seem to find ways to die, and pasture maggots can overgraze so easily if they're not moved fast enough. I guess if I had more experience with them - like any - I'd get that figured out though.

[grassfarmer]

Birds just seem to find ways to die, and pasture maggots can overgraze so easily if they're not moved fast enough. I guess if I had more experience with them - like any - I'd get that figured out though.

I don't think having a few sheep would do a lot of damage. We could probably run the numbers we would need around the corrals all summer. There is no great need from the sheep's point of view to be constantly moved - they wouldn't do on long grass anyway. Poultry I'm not too keen on, I prefer to eat (and work with) things with 4 legs and hair/fur. Don't like things that crawl, hop, fly or slither!