Raising your own Beef

[jdbuckshot]

Anyone here raise up a steer and slaughter?

I'm about to have a place to be able to do so. a family member said the would give me a steer this spring.

what's your input ? advice ?

[420 racin]

My neighbor is about to fence in his pasture for cows and I am going to start raising me a steer every year and do the same thing. Gotta be better than buying meat from the store...and cheaper

[jtdumallard]

We've been doing it since I was a kid. Their is no comparison on the quality of the meat verse whats in the super store.

[mshunter77]

Don't raise money own but we buy one from my wife's cousin every year. Depending on butcher price it comes out anywhere from $2.60 a lb to $2.89 a lb. That is paying him for the cow and getting it butchered. Great quality meat. Steaks are not always as big as I would like but for less than $3 a lb I can live with it.

[jdbuckshot]

What about cattle breeds - does it matter?

[SB]

I did this with a family member a few years back. I supplied the grain for feeding the cattle and he supplied the cattle. He raised and fed out two of them. The only time I saw them was just prior to slaughter. They looked so good my mouth went to watering thinking about how good they were going to taste, no joke. It did not meet my expectations. Steaks were not has good as Kroger's meat dept. I wondered if the butcher didn't exchange our meat for someone else's. He might have kept the good stuff for himself??

[jdbuckshot]

SB,

That's what I worry about.

I mean I kill close to a limit of Deer a year already so my freezer stays slap full of meat.

Also Being in the Meat business I have access to some of the finest cuts of beef there are. I keep a stock of Wagyu Ribeyes and fillets in my freezer. so I don't want to do it just to do it - I want it to be good to eat.

plus I grind my venison with beef fat and it taste just like 80/20 ground beef.

[britton]

you don't know what grade the meat is until you slaughter them. I'm referring to the amount of marbling in the meat. If all your concerned with is hamburger then you can't go wrong, but if it's prime steaks you're after you might be disappointed. It's a gamble really whether you have the low grade meat or the best. There are ways to increase your odds of having better meat though. Just do some research so you're not disappointed

[Agua]

That joker needs to age, otherwise it's going to taste like a barnyard full of hay. We did that a couple times when I was growing up. Steaks were pretty near inedible. Didn't help that we knew the cows either.

[hillhunter]

Stockyards feed cattle on high grain diets to increase fat contents and marbling. Some of the marbling is genetic, but it also can be influenced by how a steer is fed out. Grass fed generally will not be as fat but can have good taste as well. Steaks I would try to age if I could. Roast, and burger wouldn't matter as much.

Britton is right you want know what grade (select, choice, prime) is until after slaughter and that is determined by USDA via ultrasound, something your local butcher isn't gonna have. It's not something you can look at a loin and tell either.

If your going for PRIME steaks, your better off buying from a butcher. If your going for eating locally, from a known source for hamburger and roast, then this may be a good option for you.

[Wildfowler]

A little off topic but I grilled some fillets from Kroger the other night that were wonderful. They had to of been prime, but I didn't buy them so I don't know for sure.

[RNAIL]

Have a friend that does this and if I remember correctly he grain feeds them for about 2 months prior to slaughter..mshunter77 is right, the quote he gave me last year ended up like 2.68 a pound...steer being 500-600 lbs on the hoof.

[JDgator]

I know from experience that you won't save money once you factor in effort, time, and slaughter costs. Not to mention grain, any vet bills, and cost of calves. Angus and Aberdeen calves from proven stock are expensive but worth it. But at least you know what's going in your food. And if you are like me then you'll get satisfaction out of growing them yourself.

[cody's guide]

there are many factors to consider that have not been mentioned.. purchase animal, maintain, feed cost, possible death of animal, how many lbs of meat do you need to yield to make it worth time and effort. what is your cost of gain.. more than half the animal is waste 1000lbs steer = 500lbs meat or less.. most people who feed a beef out have others they are maintaining at the same time and they raise their own calves anyway.
I have a cow heard and can give you pro vs cons if you want to pm me.
Greg C

[merlebo05]

I have considered doing this myself so I know where the meat comes from.. I heard but haven't looked into it yet that the FDA is no longer making companies label where their meat is coming from.. Another concern is the amount of muslims I hear about working in the processing industry which I can only imagine is a ticking time bomb!! I will pay the extra to have confidence in the meat I am eating..