# Butcher shops



## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

I had an older cow go down this weekend, so I thought the best thing to do was to make hamburger. Couldn't do anything on Saturday or Sunday, so on Monday morning I started making phone calls to area butcher shops. I always thought that a downed cow should be a priority. Boy, was I wrong! It took 6 phone calls before someone would take her. Every shop said they were booked until the end of the year, or even longer. I understand that this is common all over the country. Since there is such a big demand, I wonder why more shops aren't starting up.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Labor and government regulations


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Be glad you have 6 options. Here there are only 3 within reasonable distance. We have scheduled beef dates at 2 of them. One will take whatever number we have the other one has become a different story. It has come under new management and through our hay customers we are learning that they have no interest in the individual person but only volume(we presume). Standard practice is to roll over your butcher date if you are a regular yet they are taking customers that have been having animals butchered for 30+ years and now telling them they are full. They are also bringing in junk auction dairy culls to butcher, guessing ground beef sales out of shop. 

We had one butchered last fall and wanted to roll over the date "we are full" ask about the following year "don't have that calendar" Called monthly with same results. Got pissed off and had wife call. She called them out on them waiting on new large unknown orders and hauling in junk cows. All of a sudden all these dates opened up for our choosing. Have decided if we can't rollover these set dates we are going to tell them to........


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

danwi said:


> Labor and government regulations


Labor and skill. If you are not USDA not much regulations. Our main one we use is not USDA. Probably would not pass. We pick up the customers order cause they may not like opening the door and walk right into the cutting room. Doesn't bother us but may other people.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I’ve read of a couple startups on other forums.
one Guy said they would have 1 M into it built from scratch.

Have a friend owns a butcher shop and he quit slaughtering and just buys the meat wholesale and retails it,just couldn’t get any help.

Have a neighbor that has big family and they all pitched in and set up to butcher for themselves.Got a walk in cooler to age the beef and equipment needed.Seen awhile back beef hanging from loader in yard.

lockers here are booked out for a yr


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## MTB98 (Feb 13, 2021)

Our processors we use are booked way out in advance. One will start taking 2022 appointments this month, the other one will schedule way out in advance. We typically breed some county fair show pigs and sell them off as halves and wholes. We make appointments before the sow is even bred. In October I’m taking in two steers, one was supposed to go last fall but this October is the soonest appointment we could get right after Covid started. Some friends of ours do some backyard butchering and did dozens and dozens of hogs over the last year plus a few steers and deer. 
The “no help” seems to be a common problem everywhere.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

Be glad you have choices. I have 3 options all of them farther than 3 hours away.

Needless to say when I have an emergency butcher I do it myself.


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