Grass fed beef---price question

chewiegand · 04-15-2013, 12:27 PM

Is this a good price?

All natural grass feed beef. 660# Rail Weight. $2.39/pound.

You can purchase 1/2 or whole. Cut and wrapped.
Whole = $1577.40
1/2 beef = $788.70

Bella · 04-15-2013, 01:48 PM

I can't answer your question for sure, but I have colleagues who work in various parts of the meat industry (large and small processors). One thing I do know if you are buying a steer directly from a farmer and it is being processed just off the hoof, a considerable part of the weight is not meat so that is something to be aware of. I am not sure of the meaning of rail weight, but I can find out if someone else here doesn't pop in with the right answer for you before I can check.

chewiegand · 04-16-2013, 05:22 AM

Bella, any info would be helpful. I don't know anything about buying meat like this.

Bella · 04-16-2013, 06:27 AM

I just sent an inquiry about this.

Mistizoom · 04-16-2013, 07:21 AM

I think rail weight is the same as hanging weight...the weight after the animal has been slaughtered and is hanging up, but before it has been aged at all or cut into parts. One thing to check would be if the price given also includes processing fees or if those are separate. Also find out if you can request how the meat will be cut, for exmaple if they let you specify how many and what types of steaks, how much ground beef, etc. Looks like a good price to me.

ETA: Keep in mind you would not be bringing home 660 lbs. or 330 lbs. for half. The cut weight would be quite a bit less than that.

E.W. · 04-16-2013, 02:40 PM

I did a Google about this and the loss can varry quite a bit. Because you lose weight for
some of the bone and all the trimed fat it depends a lot on how fat the cow is. I saw figures for a yield as high as 80% to as low as 50% and remember some of that may include liver, heart,toung ect. It might be a good idea to talk to your suplier.

peretroika · 04-16-2013, 07:20 PM

Ground grass fed beef is 6.99 a pound here, on SALE(originally 8.59). Roast is 9.99 a lb.

So...I'd buy a whole cow if I could get it at under 3 bucks!

blessedmamato3 · 04-16-2013, 09:29 PM

We order ours from a local rancher. We only order 50lbs at a time, as they make their rounds out here every other month. We pay $6.30lb for a variety package with hamburger, roasts and steaks. It's a great deal.

I'd be afraid to buy half a cow. With spring storms, the power goes out too much lol.

04-15-2013, 12:27 PM	#1
chewiegand Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 24,756 Gallery: chewiegand Stats: Fat/Fluff/Fit Start Date: restart every Monday	Grass fed beef---price question Is this a good price? All natural grass feed beef. 660# Rail Weight. $2.39/pound. You can purchase 1/2 or whole. Cut and wrapped. Whole = $1577.40 1/2 beef = $788.70

04-16-2013, 07:21 AM	#5
Mistizoom Senior LCF Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Midwest Posts: 952 Gallery: Mistizoom Stats: 300/248/190 initial goal WOE: low carb Start Date: November 2012	I think rail weight is the same as hanging weight...the weight after the animal has been slaughtered and is hanging up, but before it has been aged at all or cut into parts. One thing to check would be if the price given also includes processing fees or if those are separate. Also find out if you can request how the meat will be cut, for exmaple if they let you specify how many and what types of steaks, how much ground beef, etc. Looks like a good price to me. ETA: Keep in mind you would not be bringing home 660 lbs. or 330 lbs. for half. The cut weight would be quite a bit less than that. Last edited by Mistizoom; 04-16-2013 at 07:24 AM..

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04-15-2013, 01:48 PM	#2
Bella Senior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 523 Gallery: Bella	I can't answer your question for sure, but I have colleagues who work in various parts of the meat industry (large and small processors). One thing I do know if you are buying a steer directly from a farmer and it is being processed just off the hoof, a considerable part of the weight is not meat so that is something to be aware of. I am not sure of the meaning of rail weight, but I can find out if someone else here doesn't pop in with the right answer for you before I can check.

04-16-2013, 05:22 AM	#3
chewiegand Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NW Arkansas Posts: 24,756 Gallery: chewiegand Stats: Fat/Fluff/Fit Start Date: restart every Monday	Bella, any info would be helpful. I don't know anything about buying meat like this.

04-16-2013, 06:27 AM	#4
Bella Senior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 523 Gallery: Bella	I just sent an inquiry about this.

04-16-2013, 02:40 PM	#6
E.W. Senior LCF Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Tyrone Georgia U.S.A. Posts: 961 Gallery: E.W. Stats: 319/313/ a lot less WOE: fast5 Start Date: restart 4/10/13	I did a Google about this and the loss can varry quite a bit. Because you lose weight for some of the bone and all the trimed fat it depends a lot on how fat the cow is. I saw figures for a yield as high as 80% to as low as 50% and remember some of that may include liver, heart,toung ect. It might be a good idea to talk to your suplier.

04-16-2013, 07:20 PM	#7
peretroika Senior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 106 Gallery: peretroika Stats: 5'2 140lbs WOE: Atkins	Ground grass fed beef is 6.99 a pound here, on SALE(originally 8.59). Roast is 9.99 a lb. So...I'd buy a whole cow if I could get it at under 3 bucks!

04-16-2013, 09:29 PM	#8
blessedmamato3 Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 2 Gallery: blessedmamato3 WOE: THM Start Date: 04/16/2013	We order ours from a local rancher. We only order 50lbs at a time, as they make their rounds out here every other month. We pay $6.30lb for a variety package with hamburger, roasts and steaks. It's a great deal. I'd be afraid to buy half a cow. With spring storms, the power goes out too much lol.