I Thought This Was A COW TOWN!! (Denver, Greeley: coop, houses)

[enigmakairos]

um, so I'm trying to find cheap ground beef for my dogs' B.A.R.F. diet, and I was just certain I could find good stuff at some ranch close by. The ones I find on line are trying to sell their shtuff at 5+ bucks / lb because it's graaaassss fed and no antibioooootics and other sorts of whiny stuff. That's great and all, but my dogs really don't care. They just don't want to go back to kibble. And right now my pocketbook is screming "kibble!!"

So can someone give me some suggestions on where to get reasonably priced beef?

[steveindenver]

Beef is expensive here. The cow town bit is a misnomer which was applied because of the national western stockshow, not because many cattle were ever driven to Denver for slaughter or sale.

Have you tried an Aldis yet? Maybe Walmart, Sams or Costco?

[COflower]

Originally Posted by enigmakairos

um, so I'm trying to find cheap ground beef for my dogs' B.A.R.F. diet, and I was just certain I could find good stuff at some ranch close by. The ones I find on line are trying to sell their shtuff at 5+ bucks / lb because it's graaaassss fed and no antibioooootics and other sorts of whiny stuff. That's great and all, but my dogs really don't care. They just don't want to go back to kibble. And right now my pocketbook is screming "kibble!!"

So can someone give me some suggestions on where to get reasonably priced beef?

It's all market driven. We aren't he beef capital by any means but just like natural gas that is being piped out, the national/international market is going to determine local pricing.

Cowtown (IMO) mostly refers to how the easterners have perceived Coloradans through the many, many years as unsophisticated Westerners.

[enigmakairos]

I've spent five minutes trying to figure out a way to respond to these posts in a way that won't annoy anyone ... don't know if that's possible.

It's great that the community here is so willing and eager to respond to questions, but it's usually only helpful if the responder actually has a factual basis for a reply rather than a guess.

As it is, there were two different responses for the definition/use of the term cowtown (which was being used facetiously, by the way), and both are a little off from what I've been told by many others. (Second one being closer than the first, but my understanding was that it is in no way specific to easterner response.) Even wikipedia has about 5 different definitions...

Second, local prices are not always dictated by the national/international market. In fact, they often aren't. Colorado is 10th in the nation as far as cattle population. There are more ranchers here than most places. Typically if there are local farms near you that specialize in a particular segment of the industry, it's easier to get that product at lower than market rate, especially if the market rate is impacted by transport, packaging and resale several times over. I've lived near farms all my life. If I can get a side of beef back east in 4 different states (that aren't persay known for ranching or excessive numbers of slaughterhouses) for $1/ lb, I can surely get it here.

In fact, last night a co-worker gave me the number to a gentleman she knows who is in the industry who gave me several very helpful leads. Haven't quite found $1/lb yet, but getting much, much closer than $5 and $4.

Oh, and I haven't found that beef is more expensive here than anywhere else I've been.

I just really don't like it when people are discouraged unnecessarily.

Yes, I have priced beef at the larger stores, although I didn't expect (and didn't) find anything to suit my needs. I typically purchase around 60-100 lbs of beef at a time per month, and that quantity usually nets much better prices when purchased directly from a ranch.

Thanks!
enig.

[steveindenver]

So let me understand this.

You create a post complaining about beef prices (which are by the way higher in Colorado than most states -- cheaper than WA, but more expensive than KS or MO for instance).

People respond with suggestions.

You then create another post, now complaining about definitions provided for cow town, an unrelated matter entirely and some rather long ramblings with simplistic equations regarding beef prices which leads me to wonder why if you know so much you bothered to ask question A. in the first place.

I am reminded of the simple principle; stupid in stupid out.

[enigmakairos]

I can simplify to make it easier to comprehend: If you don't know what you're talking about, don't bother posting.

I asked a question here, but that doesn't mean city-data is my only source of information. I asked people I know as well. Both responses here pretty much said what I'm looking for does not exist when I know it exists, I just don't know where exactly. Others gave me leads to help me find it instead of spewing inaccurate information. You weren't helpful. So now you respond with a non sequitur because you can't argue my point. Sad.

[DenverLawGal]

Enig. - Welcome to Colo.! I didn't know you made it back, or I did and then forgot. In Dgo. we had a coop that had cheap beef like you are looking for. I'm wondering if the same thing exists here. There's gotta be something here that's what you are looking for. Good luck!

p.s. - Let's go bowling or see a cheesy girly flick sometime!

[Pilot1]

I don't eat much ground beef, but if I were in the market for cheaper beef, I'd be looking up in the Greeley area where beef production is high due to the meat processing plants there. I'm not saying it exists, so please don't reprimand me. I'm just saying that's where I'd begin my search.

[Sockeye]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

Beef is expensive here. The cow town bit is a misnomer which was applied because of the national western stockshow, not because many cattle were ever driven to Denver for slaughter or sale.

Have you tried an Aldis yet? Maybe Walmart, Sams or Costco?

Denver has been the ag. commerce hub of the Rocky Mountain Region for well over 100 years. Colorado beef is also ranked among the best the U.S. has to offer. There is actually quite a bit of slaughtering and rendering activity in the Globeville/Elyria neighborhoods in Denver. The big producers are in Greeley though, for the most part. The National Western Stock Show is the region's largest annual celebration of our deep ag. roots, and has become so popular that it's about outgrown the Stockshow Complex. Like most CO. residents, I love it, and am proud that Denver has hosted it for so many years. Denver will always retain a level of a Cowtown image, and should. Its part of Denver's soul. Those who wish it weren't and don't understand any of it's history-and don't care to-will just have to get used to it.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Sockeye

Denver has been the ag. commerce hub of the Rocky Mountain Region for well over 100 years. Colorado beef is also ranked among the best the U.S. has to offer. There is actually quite a bit of slaughtering and rendering activity in the Globeville/Elyria neighborhoods in Denver. The big producers are in Greeley though, for the most part. The National Western Stock Show is the region's largest annual celebration of our deep ag. roots, and has become so popular that it's about outgrown the Stockshow Complex. Like most CO. residents, I love it, and am proud that Denver has hosted it for so many years. Denver will always retain a level of a Cowtown image, and should. Its part of Denver's soul. Those who wish it weren't and don't understand any of it's history-and don't care to-will just have to get used to it.

Agreed. I'm not a stock show person myself, but I really appreciate it's there, and it's always fun watching them with the animals parade down the streets of downtown Denver.