Price of beef

[RZehr]

It’s been a while since I bought beef.
I bought half a steer from my neighbor. Hanging weight was 554 pounds for half.
$1 per pound for the butcher and $3 for the farmer. $2,216 for half a beef. Insane.
I’m not complaining, it’s just ridiculous how high beef is.

[Ernie]

$4 a pound is a good price in our area for grass fed beef.

[Josh]

Not sure what world RZehr has been living in - that's a very good price and it has been for several years. In 2019, ground beef averaged about $4.19 in a typical American grocery store.

[RZehr]

This is the first beef that I've boughten in this way for quite a few years. I suppose 10+ years? Prior to this one, I think we pretty much killed our own beef. I know that live cattle prices hit all time highs this last year, and really haven't returned.

[Signtist]

It’s been a while since I bought beef.
I bought half a steer from my neighbor. Hanging weight was 554 pounds for half.
$1 per pound for the butcher and $3 for the farmer. $2,216 for half a beef. Insane.
I’m not complaining, it’s just ridiculous how high beef is.

How do they figure hanging weight? You need to pay $4/lb for bones and fat and meat? So if you only wanted the meat. So you may have gotten say, 360 pounds of meat? And your effective price per pound of edible beef is now something over $6.

Or am I figuring wrong?

[Josh]

This is the first beef that I've boughten in this way for quite a few years. I suppose 10 years? Prior to this one, I think we pretty much killed our own beef. I know that live cattle prices hit all time highs this last year, and really haven't returned.

I paid $600 for a heifer calf and then a year later $1,000 for a bull calf. With those kind of prices, I'd have to charge a lot if I ever slaughtered them. Admittedly they are special breed but the era of being able to buy quality calves cheap is over.

[RZehr]

It’s been a while since I bought beef.
I bought half a steer from my neighbor. Hanging weight was 554 pounds for half.
$1 per pound for the butcher and $3 for the farmer. $2,216 for half a beef. Insane.
I’m not complaining, it’s just ridiculous how high beef is.

How do they figure hanging weight? You need to pay $4/lb for bones and fat and meat? So if you only wanted the meat. So you may have gotten say, 360 pounds of meat? And your effective price per pound of edible beef is now something over $6.

Or am I figuring wrong?

That is the idea, yes. Hanging weight is the carcass in the cooler with the meat, fat and bones, it is not the packaged weight of meat that you'd get at the store.

[Josh]

That is the idea, yes. Hanging weight is the carcass in the cooler with the bones, it is not the packaged weight of meat that you'd get at the store.

We've been buying "soup bones" at the store, so we're getting awfully close to buying every part of the hanging weight.

[eccentric_rambler]

Admittedly they are special breed ...

So special we can't know what they are?

[Josh]

Admittedly they are special breed ...

So special we can't know what they are?

Well, they aren't $5 Holstein newborn bull calves. Which would be a cheaper way to get steers. I wasn't sure the breed was that relevant to the discussion.