Local honey, side of beef

[Halex]

I have  bought some honey from boyup brook, hoping this is local enough. Ds hayfever bad, mine great with rhinocort.

I have been offered a side of  beef at $7.75 per kg about 129 kgs in size, tnis seems to be good value.

What are others thougjts?

So will look at this in the new year

H

[fundj&e]

Sounds  good to me hally. 1 kg of mince will cost much more than that , i am right

[Halex]

Yesi thought it seemed good value

Now about that freezer........

Hoping that i can fit it in after xmas
 
H

[Very Happy Jan]

We are desperately trying to clean out one freezer by end of November so I can get a side of beef into it. I can't remember how much per kilo we are paying   

[cookie1]

It sounds good Hally. Do remember though that your price per kg for edible meat will be higher as with a side of beef you will pay $7.75/kg for fat and bone as well. I'm not sure what the % of bone in  a side of beef is. Perhaps google it or ask your friendly butcher. I think it may be around a third. That would make your beef about $10.30 a kg. This is still great value.
All my figures are guess so I may well be wrong.

[Halex]

VHJ,  would love to hear your price when you remember.

Cookie, just googled & you were spot on. 30% fat & bones.

H

[obbie]

Hally we pay $6.99 per kilo for a side or full beef, that's  cut up, packed, labeled, frozen, ready to go.

Robyn

[Halex]

Thanks Robyn,

We always pay more here in wa, so i think i have been offered a good deal
H

[jeninwa]

That's a good price for the beef Hally. Does that price include packing to your requirements?

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you about the Honey, he has been working away, not sure when he is back, is the honey working for your DS?

[Halex]

I dont know only bought the honey today.

Yes chopped & packed for that price. Good value

H

[obbie]

Hally, $7.75 a kilo is a good price.

Robyn

[andiesenji]

That is a very good price, Hally.

Every two years I go in with a neighbor to purchase and raise a steer.  We don't raise it ourselves but we do go to the auction and buy the calf we want and both of us have experience with cattle so know how to pick.  We usually select several to watch at the auction and bid to our limit until we get one knocked down to us before we reach the limit.  Sometimes we have gotten some real bargains but it all depends on who else is there bidding. 

We then turn it over to some kids who are members of the 4H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) so they can raise it for a project.
We pay for the feed, vet bills and after they take it to the fair, we have it butchered.  We have had 5 kids from one family over the years and three from another family.  I love to support the projects these kids have - without them there won't be a future in farming in this area. 
We also have a deal with the owner of the abattoir to take part of it for part of his fee (he likes the parts that we don't - such as the head ) so there is some discount.

When everything is added up, transport of the calf, all the bills, and so on, we could buy the same meat at Costco for less.  However, our beef is super prime (a grade that is rarely available to regular consumers in the US) and we know exactly what has gone into it.  No antibiotics, the best grade of feed, and it has not been stressed in a fee lot. 

The one we butchered last year, at 20 months, was an angus charolais cross that was massive when mature and won best mixed breed at the fair.   He weighed 1648 pounds which is about 400 pounds more than an average steer.   When he was first unloaded at the fairgrounds the boys told me that several people thought he was a bull, because of his size and the big roll of muscle over his shoulders. 

I no longer eat that much beef so I sold about 2/3 of mine to a private co-op. 

[achookwoman]

Hally's, Google has it right about the 30%..  My dad was a butcher and this is what he said. . We used to buy 1/2  a beast. (beef).   It is a lot of meat.  Work out how you want it cut up.  This will depend on the type of meals you like.  Ask the butcher to pump the silverside if you like corned beef as it is too dry for roasting.  Lots of mince beef is handy.  THe quality of the animal is very important as Andi suggests.  If it is excellent quality then more cuts can be grilled, other wise lots of 'stews'.  It is great fun. 

[Halex]

Thans chookie, yes i think its very exciting too, will Have to plan how i want to cook with it, probably bbqs, roasts & curries.

Wow andi, that would have been very interesting, not sure i would want to get that involved, it would end up in my back garden as a pet!LOL

H

[andiesenji]

Thans chookie, yes i think its very exciting too, will Have to plan how i want to cook with it, probably bbqs, roasts & curries.

Wow andi, that would have been very interesting, not sure i would want to get that involved, it would end up in my back garden as a pet!LOL

H

That's the reason I never raised one here, even though I have the acreage and am zoned for it.  I would make a pet of it and not be able to have it slaughtered.  This way it is out of sight, out of mind until I see it in packages.
Incidentally, the size of steaks and a rib roast from a mature steer is hugely different from the juveniles that are butchered for supermarkets.  I had one porterhouse steak to serve four people, instead of one per person.  Half a standing rib roast weighed sixteen pounds!  I would not have been able to get the full one into even my big oven.