New Outlet for Dexter Beef

[littleacre]

this is an interesting topic and i could link this to my thread of steer prices. i personally do not think supermarkets are the way dexter beef should go. it will turn out that the supermarket will in the long run want a bigger animal and pay less . that is what they do. i know of a pig producer who kept pigs for waitrose under their terms and when it came to the crunch crapped on him he went bust and the farm got rented as buildings. dexter beef is a select market people who shop at supermarkets seek value for money even posh people want a bargain.i think keep supermarkets well away from dexters . and if the consumer really wants good dexter beef then they will find it from there local supplier and if they take the trouble to do that then you can be sure they will pay the fair price that we need to keep dexters going

[Broomcroft]

Looking at http://www.finnebrogue.com, the people who would supply M&S, all they seem to produce is mince items; sausages and burgers etc!

[Rob R]

Looking at http://www.finnebrogue.com, the people who would supply M&S, all they seem to produce is mince items; sausages and burgers etc!

I thought it was funny how the chap commenting on Farming Today the other day about the UK beef market was saying how the recession has hit and people are demanding more fore-end beef but it was still important that beef farmers concentrate on producing hind-end. He just threw it out there and didn't care to explain his logic.

[littleacre]

reading the farmers weekly today it says that although consumer cash is tight beef is still very much a staple food in the uk and and big retailers know that demand is dependable. i think the demand for hind end rump and the more expensive cuts might see a decline in people buying them. after all a lb of mince can go a long way in feeding a family and its still classed as a beef sale

[Broomcroft]

And there's NOTHING like Dexter mince. Dexter chilli-con-carne, my favourite meal of all. If they're going to do Dexter sausages and burgers, I hope they use enough beef and get it right.

[Rob R]

I suspect the reasoning being that they can still mince up a rump if it isn't in demand and sell it as premium mince if need be and keep the pricing structure aiming high so the price of foreend doesn't rise too much. Not that they'd admit it in public.

[Jac]

Not having purchased beef for a while now, I was shocked by how much they are charging for the so called cheaper cuts in the local supermarket this Christmas. I have to say, I haven't noticed any decline in demand for more expensive cuts from my customers but then again, I am not selling to people who are 'counting the pennies'.

[littleacre]

hi jac now thats interesting . you sell to people who dont count the pennies . that is pretty much what we do. not over wealthy people but just people who will pay the price we ask. . we get loads of people say oh yes well buy some but then actually when the realise the price back out. weve only been playing at this for a few years and we sell the meat in 18th boxes we have no trouble getting rid of 2 , 3 beasts per year. my worry is if we take the next step and start trying to sell more beef that people will just not have the money in there pockets to buy it. i suppose the consumer is split into various catagorys. from the people who will buy it regular right down to the housewife trying to feed a family on a very tight budget. . we live in a very strong arable area and livestock is almost nill , local people especially the older generation who remember the area when lots of small farms kept cattle etc buy our meat as they say that food should be locally produced and support our efforts also the local arable farmers buy from us because we buy there straw etc and support them in a way. then theres the influx of city people. ( me included i grew up on a council estate in north london) BUT I ALWAYS wanted to be a farmer . but i find the majority of theese people will not buy the meat as although they drive around in the posh car etc etc they seem to be short of cash on the hip. that seems to be the way down here in essex maybe im just in the wrong area ha ha ha

[Jac]

The most difficult thing to do is getting people to try the beef in the first place. I know there are some that sell considerably more but the work involved to me just doesn't seem worth the effort - truthfully you could earn more on the checkouts at Tesco.

There is a limit, you cannot subsidise other people to eat just because you have made a lifestyle choice.

Brilliant article here thoroughly recommend it!
http://cattletoday.com/archive/2009/July/CT2015.php

[littleacre]

yes i agree my real job is a heating engineer and sometimes i treat my good customers to a free bit of beef this in turn normally results in them buying some from me but yes i agree its not proffit making .