# Pricing beef



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Where can I find current market price "on the hook"? I will be selling grassfed beef shortly and am looking for a starting point for pricing. Thanks for your help.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Go to Agnews....scroll down alittle and on the right side you will see live market prices...click on the "livestock" header.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agweb.com/


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Mike, is there a link for "on the rail" sides of beef?
I probably missed it.
I sold grass fed beef for a few years. When the prices went up I did better at the sale barn.

We took long yearlings off the pasture and free choice fed them from an Apache feeder for 100 days, on a small pasture. 
We fed a grass based feed, 33% peanut hulls, 33% soybean hulls and 33% corn gluten.
I was not charging enough. Made money, just not what I am making now selling them live.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I go of USDA pricing for in the meat.Charge a little extra for a good product and hassle of hauling them to the locker.Let the locker get the hanging carcass wt.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lm_ct145.txt


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Tim/South said:


> "Mike, is there a link for "on the rail" sides of beef?"
> 
> Not really sure Tim.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a heck of a good mix Tim.

Regards, Mike


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## Blue Duck (Jun 4, 2009)

I let my wife price and market our grass fed beef. I have no idea how she comes up with her pricing but the last load we took to the locker she sold at $3.00/lb on the hook and has a waitng list for next year.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Mike, the yearlings did very well on the feed. We were pleased with the gain and it was still considered grass fed. It was also not "grain fed" since the gluten is a by product of the bio fuel process and is not considered a grain. It gives the buyer bragging rights because they have something different.
I myself am "country" and never paid attention to the feeding fads on what I ate. If people are willing to pay for a niche then I have no problem in accommodating them. 
When I quit last year we were a year behind on orders. We still have a random call asking for farm raised.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks for the direction. Does $2.25 plus butchering cost sound ok? I would pay slaughter charge customer cut and wrap?


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I would go at least $2.50 plus processing. 
Here there is a $25 kill charge, then around 50 cents to process.
If you are pulling them straight off the pasture with little or no feed then $2.25 is alright.
I have a friend who began selling his as grass fed beef right off the pasture. He charged $3.00 rail weight and they buyer paid the processing.
His demand has taken a hit. Customers complained that the beef was tough. Good flavor but hard to chew.

The biggest challenge I faced was the buyer understanding the weight.
A half might weigh 600 lbs. on the rail. After the bone is removed that weight is a lot less. They will weigh the boxes on their bathroom scales after you leave and call before you get home. (We delivered because most did not want to go the a slaughter facility to pick it up. We also figured it best if they did not have that experience, mooing cows and such)
If they want the fat trimmed, that adds to the shrink from the rail weight.

The very best way to sell farm raised/grass fed beef is out of the pasture. Let them come pick one out, you have it weighed and deliver it to the processor. Any concerns they have about shrink is taken up with the processor. People see a 1200 lb steer and expect 1200 lbs of meat.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I think someone at NAT had a sheet they printed out for meat customers explaining the cuts and how much meat they would get.But a good rule would be about 60% live to carcass then 60% of that when it is pkged.

So.1200 X 60%= 720 X 60% = 432 lbs of processed meat.

It varies some with breeds and how they are fed.And how they are processed we bone out most of the stuff for burger so get less lbs total.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

In other words, roughly 1/3 of live weight would be processed weight....give or take a few pounds.

Regards, Mike

Speaking of processing.....this is an interesting short read about "newly" named and marketed beef cuts.

http://www.agweb.com/article/expect_new_cuts_to_carve_out_space_in_local_markets_LN/


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## plout99 (Apr 5, 2010)

I took a half dozen to the locker in April and I charged $ 2.75 pound hanging weight per side than added the slaughter charge of $55 per head and $ 10 per side for a delivery fee to the locker, the hanging weight price did include the 55 cent per pound processing fee . I also had everyone pay me and I payed the processor. These were straight grass/hay fed cows no grain just mineral. When it was all said and done the 5 I sold paid for all the expense of the whole cow I put n my freezer and I put about $1,100 in my pocket after expenses.


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## R Ball (Feb 26, 2013)

I sold 6 head this past fall for 2.65 lb hanging wgt. Buyer pays the butcher. I corn feed these guys all they could eat. There is a dog food plant near by and my creep feeder is on wheels and holds 2 or more tons. Fed them for 3 months all they could eat. Needless to say I am going to have to raise the price or stop feeding out for custom beef. My customers love it but not sure they would be willing to pay much more. 
The steers were eating approx 4500 per month. Straight crush.


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## dbergh (Jun 3, 2010)

We've been at $1.00 / lb live weight which works out to $1.75 /lb hanging weight which in turn translates to $3.10 +/- a bit cut and wrapped after kill fee. We are probably cheaper than we should be for grass fed. 
Interesting trend for us the past two or three seasons is folks are more interested in paying $1.30 or more for yearlings and finishing them out themselves versus paying $1 / lb for beef ready for the freezer. That is roughly $1,000 per head and I dont have to mess with feeding and finishing and then hauling them to the packers. To top it off I usually end up selling them some pretty expensive hay to go with those steers!







I guess the customer is always right though. Works for me anyway!!!!


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

The fat cattle market is alot higher then $1,00.It's been 1.20-1.35 for quite awhile.


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## dbergh (Jun 3, 2010)

swmnhay said:


> The fat cattle market is alot higher then $1,00.It's been 1.20-1.35 for quite awhile.


I know it. We have only been selling a couple per year to old friends and customers so we tried to keep prices reasonable for them. If we were finishing out very many we would definitely have to look at upping that price with input costs what they are


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

We go by our Farmers Exchange which lists prices for beef, pork bellies etc. Buyer pays X amount times hanging weight plus processing. Unless they are buying the entire cow it go's to the processor of our choice. WE have copies of cut cards so they can choose how they want it packaged.


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## mncattle (Jul 23, 2010)

I dont think $2.25 hanging weight is really a good price for you to be charging. At that price you really might a well just take them to the sales barn and have alot less head aches.

You sell a steer at the sales barn at 1200lbs @ $1.20 a lb = $1440
Sell one to a customer at 1200lbs x .6 = 720lbs @ 2.25 = 1620
You are doing real good if you can get a steer to hang out at 60% more realisticly 55%. Only a $180 gain when getting it custom butchered not really enough for all your time getting it to the butcher and lining everything up. You are providing a "special" service to people where they know where they are getting their food and they are willing to pay more and should pay more. It takes a longer time to finish cattle on grass than grain. If you can get a steer to finish is 20 months on grass and hay in MN you are doing well.

I think you should be really start out charging $2.75 and work your way up to $3.00 in a couple years if cattle prices stay similar.


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

mncattle said:


> I think you should be really start out charging $2.75 and work your way up to $3.00 in a couple years if cattle prices stay similar.


The only problem with this in my area is this wouldn't be competetive. Around here there are at least 3 local butchers that sell feezer beef 1/2's & 1/4's at market price. If you market for the specialty market and sell premium beef them you can get the premium price. If you don't have that local market then you are stuck pricing close to market in order to get the sales.

Every area is different though. I can count at least 6 custom butchers off the top of my head in 15-20 miles of my house.

I would love to be in the $2.75-$3 range, but here you have a hard time finding someone who is willing to pay the extra $.75/lb.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

_Had a women call one time and wanted a 1/4.All ribeyes.







_


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## cmd (Oct 26, 2012)

Fowllife said:


> The only problem with this in my area is this wouldn't be competetive. Around here there are at least 3 local butchers that sell feezer beef 1/2's & 1/4's at market price. If you market for the specialty market and sell premium beef them you can get the premium price. If you don't have that local market then you are stuck pricing close to market in order to get the sales.
> 
> Every area is different though. I can count at least 6 custom butchers off the top of my head in 15-20 miles of my house.
> 
> I would love to be in the $2.75-$3 range, but here you have a hard time finding someone who is willing to pay the extra $.75/lb.


And this is when you need to have your business head on, you need to either come up with better marketing or added value OR you might just have to fold up, but there is just no reason to be working for nothing. How many of you guys actually know how much you have invested in an animal, per pound, to get it to market weight, while taking into account "opportunity costs" such as if you had a neighbor that could be paying you a little more than normal for your hay or corn silage to maintain a quality reliable source, etc.

Not dogging anyone, just getting your minds going.


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

cmd said:


> And this is when you need to have your business head on, you need to either come up with better marketing or added value OR you might just have to fold up, but there is just no reason to be working for nothing. How many of you guys actually know how much you have invested in an animal, per pound, to get it to market weight, while taking into account "opportunity costs" such as if you had a neighbor that could be paying you a little more than normal for your hay or corn silage to maintain a quality reliable source, etc.
> 
> Not dogging anyone, just getting your minds going.


You are totally right. I do need to put a lot mopre focus into marketing, that has always been a week spot for me.

I do know my hard cost on our beef & pork though. We are making money on both, just not as much as I would like. I do say hard cost though because I don't figure man hours into my cost, I also don't figure the positive cost of manure.

I don't figure time just because we use it as much as a learning tool as anything. The kids help with, or do the chores. We bucket feed the cows & calves every day, and ration feed the breeding hogs & goats. Some days I do all the chores, somedays the kids do them all, but most days we do them together. I know I should put a cost our time, but it's hard to put a value on teaching the kids hard work & responibility. Honestly even if I was losing money I would probably still do it just for the kids. Thats compairing dollars to sense though.....


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## cmd (Oct 26, 2012)

Fowllife said:


> You are totally right. I do need to put a lot mopre focus into marketing, that has always been a week spot for me.
> 
> I do know my hard cost on our beef & pork though. We are making money on both, just not as much as I would like. I do say hard cost though because I don't figure man hours into my cost, I also don't figure the positive cost of manure.
> 
> I don't figure time just because we use it as much as a learning tool as anything. The kids help with, or do the chores. We bucket feed the cows & calves every day, and ration feed the breeding hogs & goats. Some days I do all the chores, somedays the kids do them all, but most days we do them together. I know I should put a cost our time, but it's hard to put a value on teaching the kids hard work & responibility. Honestly even if I was losing money I would probably still do it just for the kids. Thats compairing dollars to sense though.....


Yea, I have about a dozen chickens that never really create positive cash flow lol, they just fun to have around.

This being a hay website I think product marketing should take a front seat and direct marketing beef is pretty much the same as hay.

The one thing I personally hate about hay is the selling it part, I have happy customers who like my product but I have to keep pushing to keep things moving along. Sure I could take a trailer load to auction every week but who knows what you might get and you just wasted a day so it HAS to pay. This is why I like grain crops, plenty of buyers around (mills) that you can shop among although they will all be fairly close in price and you can have a good check pretty fast. The only reason I still do any hay is that I enjoy doing it and I like the diversification. Aside from that my grain crops make more dollars per hour invested.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

If it was all about the money I would live in an apartment. And thats not going to happen. For me my cattle gave me a good use for my tractor. Then a good reason to upgrade. I might not be getting rich today- but my tools are making me something. My hands on ag education is much cheaper than my last degree.

My boat just depreciates.

I guess I could take up golfing and snowmobiling if I really want to throw money away.


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## cmd (Oct 26, 2012)

deadmoose said:


> If it was all about the money I would live in an apartment. And thats not going to happen. For me my cattle gave me a good use for my tractor. Then a good reason to upgrade. I might not be getting rich today- but my tools are making me something. My hands on ag education is much cheaper than my last degree.
> 
> My boat just depreciates.
> 
> I guess I could take up golfing and snowmobiling if I really want to throw money away.


It's not against the law to have fun and your in a position you can but I can show you a lot of guys out there constantly beating their head on the wall saying they are so poor off but are too lazy or uneducated to grab their future and do something about it.


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