Pricing Beef

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PeterO
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Location: Golden Bay NZ
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Post by PeterO »

I don't normally sell Dexter beef but a friend wants half a steer and another friend wants some good cuts from the other half (I will end up with the tail). Can someone please advise me the going UK rate per lb for half a steer carcase. Also any advice on prices for butchered beef cuts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Peter
Jo Kemp
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 7:46 pm

Post by Jo Kemp »

Are you going to butcher the animal yourself? I take steer to abattoir then it is delivered to my butcher who then cuts & packs it to my spec (well, sometimes, that is MY intention!)
He then labels and prices it at 10% above his usual price.
Depending on the price of the butcher and the type of packing he does for friiends you may wish to give a discount BUT and it is a big BUT make sure you gently tell them that you are giving a discount. Psychological plus.
My friends and acquaintances who make up our long customer list get very few big discounts as the packing is to a high standard ie vacuum, metalled packs.
The base is if you can, get the butcher to give you an idea and work from that. Meat prices do fluctuate seasonally and customers recognise that

Good luck, Jo
PeterO
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Location: Golden Bay NZ
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Post by PeterO »

Jo

I have a tame butcher who does a carcase for £20 into freezer bags (not vacuum packed or labelled).

Peter
Kathy Millar
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Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Post by Kathy Millar »

PeterO wrote:Jo

I have a tame butcher who does a carcase for £20 into freezer bags (not vacuum packed or labelled).

Peter

Peter, you are fortunate to have a tame butcher, I'd be pretty worried if he should ever become wild (all those big knives waving around....).

Kathy who has a whining, picky, unpleasant butcher who is definitely not tame (but does a good job). :p
Kathy
Home Farm, Vancouver Island, Canada
Sylvia
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Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2004 10:16 am
Location: Carmarthenshire, Wales

Post by Sylvia »

I bet everyone who sees this will be looking to see where you live Peter and trying to guess who this gold-plated, diamond studded paragon of a butcher is so they can go there too. Wasn't there a longish string not so long ago about beef prices? I thought costs were much higher than that.
PeterO
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Location: Golden Bay NZ
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Post by PeterO »

Sylvia

When you add £90 odd for the abbattoir it is quite high enough thanks. Yes there was a thread on cuts but I am looking for a 'carcase' price.

Peter
Sylvia
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Location: Carmarthenshire, Wales

Post by Sylvia »

Point taken, Peter, I will be taking my first step into beef production this year and I'd better get it right, I've got 2 lads and a few heifers to sort out this year, 7 lads for next year and have had 9 bull calves so far this year (3 heifers) with another dozen or so still to calve which should provide plenty for the year after. The proverbial steep learning curve. :p
PeterO
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Post by PeterO »

Sylvia

So far two nice red heifers when I want bulls for beef!! I can't kill good pedigree heifers for beef it seems such a waste.

Peter
Martin
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Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 8:20 am
Location: Maidstone Kent

Post by Martin »

Hi Peter,
why can't you kill good pedigree heifers? I look at the for sale list and on price alone I believe some of the heifers for sale should be killed. You should go where the money is and if you recieve more from the butcher than you get from another breeder then you should go with the butcher. A bit harsh maybe, but so is life sometimes.
Martin.
Martin.
Maidstone
Kent
Duncan MacIntyre
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Location: Isle of Bute, Scotland, UK

Post by Duncan MacIntyre »

Some facts and figures on our latest slaughter

Short legged steer aged 26 months
Grass and hay fed, never tasted concentrates
Live weight by weighband 226kg
deadweight 110kg
Slaughter charge £50
Hide credit £20
MLC levy and meat inspection £7.60
Cutting and preparing for freezer £66.48 (66p per kilo)

A bit disappointing on the killing out percentage, but with grazing at a premium and past its best it is unlikely I could have got him any fatter without concentrate feeding.

Duncan
Duncan MacIntyre
Burnside Dexters 00316
Burnside
Ascog
Isle of Bute
Jo Kemp
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Post by Jo Kemp »

Some more figures:-
Not short steer killed at 25 months
Don't know live weight but
dead weight = 209.5kgs
Each joint is priced by the butcher - quite expensively
In total, the carcase has brought in £1,200
Costs Abattoir £85
Butcher still not reckoned up but I expect £200 + something anyway, profit of £800 +?
If selling as a side and with less packaging, labelling etc. then I suppose you will have to set a figure.
Remember that when selling on, technically you can do it if the meat is packed so you are unable to come in contact with it and the butcher will have the problems if anything goes wrong e.coli wise. Now that I am selling fairly regularly, I do everything to the book as the food hygiene set have more powers than the police!
Good luck, Jo
Sylvia
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Location: Carmarthenshire, Wales

Post by Sylvia »

And more figures (from a first-timer):
We grass feed - no concentrates. Had to send these a bit early due to a large order to tie in with someone's holiday.
Heifer 24months d'weight 142.8Kg (-02)
Steer 23 months d'weight 133.6 kg (-03)
Cost £175 each which included everything including vacuum packing and tray packing for burgers and sausages. Unfortunately what it didn't include was labelling so this lot has been a bit of a headache but so far I have sold enough to friends and family to cover costs and the cost of the heifer which was bought in (£280) the steer was homebred. I still have some left to sell.
I have contacted the authorities because I want to advertise (rather than just word of mouth) and I was told you need to be licenced even if everything comes from the butcher wrapped and straight into your freezer. I am still waiting for the form to fill in.
Two more are going next month (I hope they haven't got too fat), I'll keep you posted
Jo Kemp
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Post by Jo Kemp »

I hadn't appreciated the difference in quantity between a short and non-short before.
Mine are all non-short and are not fed concentrates - only grass/hay/haylage as are Duncan's and Sylvia's
If you store the meat for any length of time in your fridges or freezers, you become part of the process. If on the other hand you are able to do as I do, simply deliver the chilled meat to your customers there is no checking the temps of fridge or freezer twice daily etc. the butcher does need a cutting licence for this though and not all do.
Jo
Jo Kemp
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 7:46 pm

Post by Jo Kemp »

Bother - I forgot - loss re boning etc. was 49% ish
so overall weight of packages of meat was 106.72kgs
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