Do you think this is more of a processing issue or quality when it comes to steaks specifically??
In my limited experience, the biggest thing is if they are grain finished or not. Without grain finishing they tend to be leaner and tougher. And then it just depends on breed and individual cow, some are definitely better than others, even from the same lot and breed.
That’s about right Werm. I’m in the cattle biz and the fed cattle market is at an all time high. Wednesday at the fat cattle auction in Lanesboro,Mn the top 1400-1600 lb steers brought $195-202/lb live. By the time you add trucking to the slaughter house, processing and freight back to the grocer it adds up.
BW’s counts above look pretty accurate. I should’ve clarified above that our 190lbs for $700 was pre-processing weight. I looked at my invoice and we ended up with 52# of ground. Going by Jeremy’s 40% rule we ended up with a total of 115# with steaks and roasts which sounds about right. Comes to $6.08/lb which isn’t bad in my book. Best part, when you do this you are typically directly supporting a small family farm and a small business butcher.
I always laugh at the people that go on and on about how much better grass fed beef tastes.
In my limited experience, the biggest thing is if they are grain finished or not. Without grain finishing they tend to be leaner[/quote]
Right again Werm ! Corn fed makes marbling. That is the fat specks you see before you put that steak on the grill. Marbling makes your meat more tender and adds flavor. I wouldn’t eat a grass fed beef if you gave it to me. It’s a tree-hugger scam to make you think cow farts are destroying the planet
grain fed is the best, period!!!
I got a Front 1/4 this past spring, estimate on the phone was $800ish, bill was $1000 but the total weight of what I brought home was higher that they quoted. Brought home around 180lbs of meat between burger, chuck roasts, ribeyes, short ribs and shoulder roasts
It certainly tastes better then meat from our local big box store and the price is right in line
Someone mentioned quality . Years ago went in on a 1/2 . Steaks were tough . Was not impressed at all . Grocery store is the same can be good or bad . No guarantee quality is better just cause it was grown locally .
My in-laws are farmers and they used to buy a quarter (or half) and give us beef. The ground and the roasts were awesome but I was never impressed with the steaks.
Do you think this is more of a processing issue or quality when it comes to steaks specifically??
Breed and how it was fed out. The best cattle we ever raised for steaks was white face/jersy mix. Very odd cross – neighborhoods bull got out and bred a few of our whites. Anyways, the marbling was perfect. But the roasts seemed too fatty and unless seasoned heavy were very blah.
Also, just my personal opinion, if the steaks are thin, they get overcooked too easy
front quarter, beef stock, grain finished, (grass fed beef is tough as hell) hung for no less than 10 days before cutting. small shops that do on site kill are the best.
My in-laws are frugal so I’m guessing the beef was not grain fed. On top of that their T Bones were always thin.
I like mine about 1.5 inches thick.
When I hunt in SD I always order a box of beef. Most are bone-in Cowboy cut ribeyes that are 2 inches thick. Not cheap but they are big enough to share.
Anyone know where you can purchase 1/4 beef grain fed preferable north metro?
How the carcass is cut up matters too.A bad butcher can ruin the best steer on earth.
for as loong as i can remember our family has bought 1/2 or 1/4 of beef from out local meat locker plant in Richmond. it was good meat, still is.
i’ve been told length of hang time has alot to do with the quality of meat.
a year ago we got some beef from a new place. small butcher shop. it was good. they pack it different so it took a bit to get used to. this year my brother and i went in and bought beef from the same place. bought a whole cow. he took 1/4 and had 1/4 to each his kids for christmas. i took the other 1/4. think it was about $825.00 for my portion. good beef. we checked the 2 other small butcher shops in town..they were 6 months out. this place, Homegrown meats, just south of Richmond was 1 month out!!!!
This place gives you a freezer if you buy a whole or half. Gotta be in the NE but that’s a good way to get past the “I don’t have freezer space” objection.
10-14 days is customary hang time for beef carcasses. That allows the natural bacteria and enzymes to break down the muscle fiber making it more tender. Most small butchers do this. Big packing plants don’t because it ties up their money too long and it won’t be “cherry red” in the display case. More attractive to the average shopper. Aged beef has a darker color.
Someone mentioned quality . Years ago went in on a 1/2 . Steaks were tough . Was not impressed at all . Grocery store is the same can be good or bad . No guarantee quality is better just cause it was grown locally .
Gotta know what your buying. I know people that have bought on a great deal and complained about the steaks being tough because the great deal was for a dairy cow that hurt a leg or something. Not quite raised for their tender ribeyes. Great for hamburger though. The last few we bought the farmer let us come out and choose which one we wanted. That was kinda weird looking your lunch in the eyeballs.
That was kinda weird looking your lunch in the eyeballs.
LMAO When we had cattle at my farm, my dad gave them all cute names. One year it was cartoon characters, next year was brands of tractors. Then I walked by calling them as I saw them – “Hey Tbone, Hi chuck, Mr Porter,….
We had a neighbor that bought/butchered a calf every year. First year, he caught me a little by surprise. We walked out in the small pasture and he picked out which one he wanted. In a blink of an eye he pulled out his 45 and capped it in the head. Always appreciated his purchasing style
I also don’t care for vacuum packaging, it seems to make the meat taste like plastic. I haven’t tried it in over 20 years, so maybe the plastic technology has improved since then.
When i used to buy halves of beef. I knew the farmer and the butcher personally. He usually had 6 ready at the same time. Usually sent 2 or 3 to market and we paid the same.
They were a holstein/Angus crossbreed. Minimum of 90, sometimes over 100 days on ground corn and protein. As good as anything I’ve ever ate at fancy restaurants.
Got some beef from a farmer down the road last spring. I have 12 acres of farm field he farms and when I didn’t get paid at the end of the year, I knew he was in trouble. Thought about calling him, but actually felt sorry for him so we just waited to hear. Wasn’t going to be the end of the world if I didn’t get paid.
About a month later we got a call, and he explained he was having money problems and was wondering if I wanted to buy some beef from him as he was having a couple of his cows butchered. I said I couldn’t buy any beef while he still owed me money but if he gave me some for what he owed that would be fine. So then he says, I’ll give you the butchers number and you can tell him what you want and I said no, just drop off what you feel is a fair exchange. I’ve never got beef from a farmer and have good and bad about it.
Anyway, didn’t expect the best beef, but was happy to get something for what he owed.
I trusted him to be honest about it, and was pleasantly surprised at the amount and variety he dropped off. The steaks were some of the best I have had, the roasts were good and tender, the hamburger was ok. We’re sort of sad now as it’s getting about that time to have to actually buy beef again.
It seams odd to be paying for live weight according to what I am familiar with anyway.
Every half beef or pig I have bought have been based off hanging weight.
Now the price of the hanging weight can vary depending on if processing is included or not.
The last 2 pigs I bought back in November were $1.35 a lb hanging weight plus processing. Total bill for 2 hogs was $1000.
Freezer is full of pork and deer meat but getting pretty low on beef. Will be buying a half in February.
I usually just call a handful of lockers in my area and pick the one that has the best deal at the time.
This is western MN eastern SD.
We walked out in the small pasture and he picked out which one he wanted. In a blink of an eye he pulled out his 45 and capped it in the head. Always appreciated his purchasing style
Actually made me lol!
You guys just need to deer hunt harder 
WI Nonresident archery tag $200
WI Nonresident rifle tag $200
(2) WI Nonresident youth tags $14
12 tags = $414
Kill, say just four deer, at 50lbs trimmed yield each = $2.07 per pound 
If you’re a resident those same tags would cost $62, with a 200lb yield would result in just $0.31 a pound!! That’s almost FREE!!!
Then simply add in the cost of hunting land, taxes, fuel, truck, tree stands, ammo, guns, bows, blinds, ATV, etc, etc and the price ticks up slightly to just $6,981.49 per pound ($6,980-ish for residents) 
Here is a list I made a few years ago of what comes in a typical quarter.
4 Chuck roast
2 rump roasts
1 arm roast
8 rib steaks
6 t bone
4-6 sirloin steak
1 tip steak
63 lbs burger
That would be an interesting quarter of beef, getting arm, chuck and rump roasts out of a front.
mixed 1/2 maybe
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