Cost of beef (frozen, shrimp, cheap, pork)

[AngID]

We get half a cow every year. Saves a lot of money and we get it cut and wrapped how we want it. Been buying from the same Cattle Company for about 20 years.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

also, having been a butcher for over 30 yrs, and having cut up local grass fed, organic and western beef- you have to be very very careful with native beef- im holding back horror stories that are beyond gross- you have no idea how that critter was treated or if it was sick (and I know there's all kinds of videos on commercially harvested beef )
but I will tell you firsthand- ive seen ten times more tumors, cancer, sickness in organic, native cows/beef than I have in western beef

theirs a reason they give cows vaccinations out west

just saying...
if you do want to buy a critter or a side- go to the processors first,(the butchers) have them recommend where and what to buy-they are the professionals

I agree with you but there is one other point.

My wife works with several people who buy sides and quarters of beef every year. I can tell when they are getting close to order another one. My DW comes home with a bundle of meat that these folks have no idea as to how to prepare - bones, shanks, and a variety of less tender parts that modern folks have no idea as to how to prepare. I don't see how buying a live steer is such a great deal when you give away 30# of the meat each time.

As for dairy cows, I have to admit that I have eaten quite a few. You convert much of it to hamburger and you can the beef. I did not think that I would like canned beef since it is rather gross in the jar. However, prepared and served over homemade noodles or spaetzel is a feast. Unfortunately, the in-laws who did the canning are all gone.

[SATX56]

Ethanol: How government is making your food more expensive

Ethanol: How government is making your food more expensive | WashingtonExaminer.com
From 2007...

Corn demand will raise beef, pork, chicken prices - The Daily Journal: Local

“While food prices are nudged upwards by some factors beyond our control — like floods, droughts and growing middle class demand in developing countries — there is one underlying domestic factor that we can control: burning our food and feed in our gas tanks,” Boyle adds.

Corn ethanol: Burning up food budgets


Drought, Corn, Cattle, Ethanol And Craziness - Decline of the Empire

[Threestep]

Mainbrokerman
Thank you!!! I learned my lesson when a yearling white tail came back as a gamy buck. Butchering is not my favorite past time and I cannot maximize what I have to work with but I got it done for years. Not in Texas:>)

[Eazine]

Prices are very high right now and maybe they should stay that way. I feel like we've been paying too little for meat for many years , I just wish this would go towards improving the living conditions and treatment of these animals....but that's another story.

Anyhow, with beef prices so high we've been eating cheaper cuts...which are now much more expensive. We've also been having many vegetarian dinners ( Mediterranean dishes), eating more seafood and occasionally eating pork, which I'm not fond of, but if its brined and grilled it can be really tasty.

[highpoint1]

Originally Posted by fibonacci

It is now worth it to buy a freezer, go in with a friend or two for a whole or half a cow, and simply pay to get it butchered yourself. The savings are immense.

I think it's always been worth it to do this.

[ebbe]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I noticed in our paper today Strip steak for $5.99. I got so excited, that was until I read the rest of the add: it was 10 oz, not a lb. We have cut back on beef naturally in the past few years, now we are down to about once a week. I can't afford it any more often. Even fish is cheaper because it is so rich we only eat small amounts. How are others coping?

I'm using some fish and pasta.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by SATX56

I'm pretty sure, corn being converted to ethanol is one, if not the biggest reason for the sky-rocketing beef costs. Congress needs to quit subsidizing/promoting this practice.

The cost of beef is due to the drought last year and the year before. All the stocker operations ran out of pasture or hay, and had to sell off their herds. You got really cheap beef for a while, though it tended to be a little lean. A stocker operation raises cattle for the feed lots.

It may come as a surprise to non-farm people, but it takes 2 years to raise a calf to market. Most of that time is spent on pasture or being fed low quality hay. That's what stocker operations do. Only the last few months are spent on a feed lot, adding fat, which is the cheapest part of the cow.

Ethanol production has little effect on the availability of feed. It only removes the carbohydrates, leaving the fiber, oils and protein intact, while adding the protein from the yeast. The result is called "brewer's grains" and can make up 1/3 of the typical cattle feed ration at dairies or feed lots.

You should try to avoid running a ranch from the lofty view of your penthouse apartment.

[Larry Caldwell]

I bought a bag of beef at a local supermarket last month, took it to the butcher, and had him cut it up (free). I paid $102, and ended up with sixteen 20 oz. to 22 oz. USDA choice T-bone steaks. That works out to $6.33/steak, which I feel was a very reasonable price for a very good steak. I could have done the same with New York steaks, but am fond of the T-bone, which is a hard cut to find. You can blow $6.33 at a drive-through buying a mystery meat burger and processed fries. I think the price of beef is pretty reasonable.

If you are paying $16/lb., you need to buy a Costco membership instead of shopping at a stupid boutique market. If you are getting fleeced, you have only yourself to blame.

[gentlearts]

I am watching the sales and I don't buy it unless its a good deal.