Thinking Seriously About Buying a Beef Critter on the Hoof.

[Hoss]

I would not recommend it.No matter what breed you buy or what/ how much you feed it,you will not know the grade til it is slaughtered.We grow a couple Jersey steers every year for harvest.They take longer to finish,24 mos.and normally are high quality beef.That said,after the second slaughter we decided to have it all ground into 80/20 ground beef from then on.Some cuts were great,some not so much and the $$ was the same or more than store bought.We still do it to get the ground beef because we know what we are getting and where it came from.We go to the butcher shop and pick what speciality cuts(roast,steak,brisket) that we want on an as needed/ wanted basis.That is just my opinion based on my experience.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Thanks Hoss. My thinking is that I'm willing to spend the extra $$ for premium feed etc if it yields quality meat. I guess your saying that can't be improved depending on the cow.

 

[Grabnabber]

Great thread.

What would you feed a cow if you wanted the best shot at highest quality beef?

 

[Hoss]

Thanks Hoss. My thinking is that I'm willing to spend the extra $$ for premium feed etc if it yields quality meat. I guess your saying that can't be improved depending on the cow.

Correct.Very small percentage of beef makes Prime.Plus,your packer is not gonna go all that exter trimming that the supermarket does.It is still a lot of work even after you get it home to get it prepped to standards that you are used to.

 

[Hoss]

It is a lot like buying a whole tenderloin at Sam's Club and trimming it yourself.Unless you are gonna age it.You take it home,trim it up,then weigh only the pretty fillets that you end up with and it comes in at around what you would have paid per pound for fillets out of the show case.You can look at the marbling in those before you buy them.Not so with home grown beef.There is something to be said for growing your own and knowing what it has eaten and all that though.That is why we continue to grow the steers for ground beef.

 

[diveyouth]

I just purchased a whole grass fed cow about a month ago for 2k and filled a 10 cu. ft freezer all the way even after sharing a bunch with my parents. With the rising beef cost and the quality of beef in the store. I was well pleased with mine. Awesome flavor.

 

[dwfisk]

An Alternative; or a Hybrid idea

Call your county agricultural agent, 4H office and/or FFA office and find out when your youth fair & steer show/sale is scheduled. The steers raised by kids for these fairs are intentionally fed rations that will produce quality steers that have the right kind of weight gain and correct back fat and marbling. For example for our show we actually ultrasound steers and check weight gain at weigh in, if they don't meet minimums they are not in the show. Just get your group together and bid on one of the top placing steers.

As an alternative find a 4H or FFA kid that has done a few and use their experience.

I'll see if I can find a couple of my boys record books and get their feed rations - they raised a number of first in class, Reserve Champions and a couple Grand Champions in shows with 100+ steers.

 

[SmokinAussie]

For one, or even 4 or 6 steers you should only do it for the experience.

As mentioned by most here, you have a lot of costs. No-one has mentioned clean water supply though. I'm not sure what the water situation of Louisiana is, but its one further concern.

If it turns out you save some money, then that's fantastic but primarily only choose to do it if you want to try your hand at animal husbandry.

Cheers!

Bill

 

[elvis67]

If you are going to feed one out go ahead and do two. They will gain better than having just one feeding. They will kinda try to compete for food and eat more and gain quicker.

 

[MisterChrister]

Buy calves with good bloodlines from a local farmer you can trust. You can't make bad stock have good yield proportions and quality meat no matter what you feed it. With good bloodlines, you can pretty solidly count on good meat if you raise it right. That said, your venture would be well worthwhile in my opinion. We butcher a 1200# steer annually for our family alone, but we have lotsa kids at home and tend to eat more beef than most folks. Beef, it's what's for dinner...tonight!

 

[cowgirl]

Yep 3 acres would be enough but you'll need to be able to store hay and grain. If you can do that I'd say it's doable. I'd fence off half of the pasture and rotate from one to the other when it's eaten down. One thing you have over us is no winter weather to deal with. You'll get faster weight gain with milder weather.

Lots of great advice Mike. I agree with Norm too. I say it's doable and think you should give it a go.
It takes 6.4 acres of land to support one (healthy) head of large livestock in my area. I'm not sure what kind of grass you will be grazing, check with your local county extension agent to see what nutrients you have. Then go from there as far as added supplements and proteins needed.
You can pick up a mineral tub. You will probably need salt blocks for summer too due to the heat in your area. ( just thinking out loud)

I do not medicate my cattle, I think the more space you give an animal, the healthier they will be.

will do some more thinkin'

My motto, a shiny cow is a happy cow. :laugh:

 

[Yellowhair42]

I would not recommend it.No matter what breed you buy or what/ how much you feed it,you will not know the grade til it is slaughtered.We grow a couple Jersey steers every year for harvest.They take longer to finish,24 mos.and normally are high quality beef.That said,after the second slaughter we decided to have it all ground into 80/20 ground beef from then on.Some cuts were great,some not so much and the $$ was the same or more than store bought.We still do it to get the ground beef because we know what we are getting and where it came from.We go to the butcher shop and pick what speciality cuts(roast,steak,brisket) that we want on an as needed/ wanted basis.That is just my opinion based on my experience.

My family owned and operated a commercial butcher shop for a long time. Jersey cattle are the bottom of the barrel in quality and time/money vs. output IMHO. No offense.

 

[landarc]

My uncle was a feeder in Idaho. He also was a farmer and raised all of his own corn and grain. It made economic sense for him, only because he raised many head, to cut out and farm raise 2 to 4 for his family. The cost of grain is going up, and that is a big part of supplemental feeding if you want to reach Prime grade on a steer. Of course, in Japan, the ratios of pen land to steer can be far less than 3 acres per animal, but, it becomes very intense feeding and husbandry. In truth, most of his animals were destined for the commodity beef market, meaning Select grade with the occasional foray into Choice, if the 'open range' (which really means BLM land) was in good condition. He didn't raise his cattle on his own land, again, it didn't make sense.

What can make sense is group buying a side, or even a whole carcass, and splitting up the critter. Often you can get a good Choice beast for lower prices. I will note, that now that my uncle is gone, and my cousin makes his living running combines, he finds it is cheaper to buy a half a steer, than to raise one on the land he owns.

 

[landarc]

I think Jeanie is using conditioner on her cattle.

 

[jakel]

One of our local butchers quoted me $2.49 # hanging weight cut and wrapped for freezer. I believe that came out to ~3.49# take home.

 

[Shagdog]

Don't know much about doing this, but I was reminded of an interesting article on the subject you may enjoy, Toast. Guy buys a cow and follows it all the way through the process, tracks costs etc etc.

http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/power-steer/

 

[Big George's BBQ]

PM Ash I think he does this

 

[mikemci]

Cattle prices are dropping. Go to your grocery store.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/LC/

 

[mchar69]

Jerseys are for milk, they have a higher butterfat content compared to Holsteins.
You would want Black angus .

My motto, a shiny cow is a happy cow.

My motto - a shiny steer = good eatin'!
18 months or so to get to slaughter, finish with grain.
We did it when I was a kid, didn't save a dime.
You tell if it's Choice or Select by cutting between the 12th and 13th rib of the ribeye, and look for marbling, as well as kidney fat.
And what are you gonna do w/ the tongue, liver, bones, etc.?
NOTHING goes to waste at the slaughterhouse.
Who's gonna butcher it? Are you gonna NAME it?

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Thanks to everyone for the great info! I'll get with my partners and see how it goes.