Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

--
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
one pretty well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, shouting GERONIMO !"
Bruce

Ol' Hippie wrote:

> Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?
>

Canadian or US?


jim

US we are in Oregon.

If I'm reading the attached report correctly, about 90 cents per pound.
You need to locate an auction near you, or better yet a beef farmer
you trust and buy it direct. Do you have a place to slaughter and
butcher it? And store all the cut and wrapped meat?

Next week when everybody gets back to work, I can ask a farmer friend of
mine how much he got for some grass-fed cattle a month ago. The price
is probably down now due to the Mad Cow scare.

Best regards,
Bob


> KO_LS850
> Oklahoma City, OK Wed Dec 24, 2003 USDA-OK Dept of Ag Market News
>
> National Slaughter Cattle Summary - Week Ending December 26, 2003
>
> Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle trade and demand light in most major
> marketing areas this Christmas Holiday shortened period. Early live sales in
> Texas mostly 1.00 lower and limited test on dressed sales in Nebraska mostly
> 2.00 lower.
> Boxed beef values Wednesday opening lower at an average of 145.34 and is
> off 2.06 from last Friday.
> Sales of slaughter cattle on a national basis for negotiated cash
> Trades in this Holiday shortened week were at 32,147 head through 10:00 a.m.
> Wednesday morning. Last week's full count was 124,500 head.
>
> Midwest Direct Markets:
> Live Basis: Steers and Heifers
> 35-80 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 90.00-91.60.
> Dressed Basis: Steers and Heifers
> 35-80 percent Choice, 550-950 lbs. 145.00-147.00.
>
> High Plains Direct Markets:
> Live Basis: Steers and Heifers
> 35-65 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 89.00-91.50.
>
> Slaughter Cows and Bulls (Average Yielding Prices):
> Slaughter cows and bulls not fully tested this Christmas Holiday shortened
> week as many auction markets closed. Packers will have to rely mostly on
> directs or those currently in feedlots.
> USDA's Cutter cow carcass cut-out value closed Tuesday at 103.67 up
> 2.68 from last Friday.
>
> %Lean Weight Colorado Oklahoma Alabama
> Breakers 75-80% 1100-1600
> Boners 80-85% 1100-1500 Many auction markets closed for Holiday
> Lean 85-90% 1050-1400 Period.
> Bulls 88-92% 1500-2200
>
> Source: USDA-Oklahoma Dept of Ag Market News, Oklahoma City, OK
> Robert Miles - Tina Colby Telephone (405) 232-5425.
> www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ko_ls850.txt

zxcvbob wrote:

> If I'm reading the attached report correctly, about 90 cents per pound.
> You need to locate an auction near you, or better yet a beef farmer you
> trust and buy it direct. Do you have a place to slaughter and butcher
> it? And store all the cut and wrapped meat?
>
> Next week when everybody gets back to work, I can ask a farmer friend of
> mine how much he got for some grass-fed cattle a month ago. The price
> is probably down now due to the Mad Cow scare.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob
>
>
>> KO_LS850 Oklahoma City, OK Wed Dec 24, 2003 USDA-OK Dept of Ag
>> Market News
>> National Slaughter Cattle Summary - Week Ending December 26, 2003
>> Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle trade and demand light in
>> most major marketing areas this Christmas Holiday shortened period.
>> Early live sales in Texas mostly 1.00 lower and limited test on
>> dressed sales in Nebraska mostly 2.00 lower. Boxed beef values
>> Wednesday opening lower at an average of 145.34 and is
>> off 2.06 from last Friday. Sales of slaughter cattle on a national
>> basis for negotiated cash Trades in this Holiday shortened week were
>> at 32,147 head through 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Last week's full
>> count was 124,500 head.
>>
>> Midwest Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80
>> percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 90.00-91.60.
>> Dressed Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80 percent Choice, 550-950
>> lbs. 145.00-147.00.
>>
>> High Plains Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-65
>> percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 89.00-91.50.
>>
>> Slaughter Cows and Bulls (Average Yielding Prices):
>> Slaughter cows and bulls not fully tested this Christmas Holiday
>> shortened week as many auction markets closed. Packers will have to
>> rely mostly on directs or those currently in feedlots.
>> USDA's Cutter cow carcass cut-out value closed Tuesday at 103.67 up
>> 2.68 from last Friday.
>> %Lean Weight Colorado Oklahoma Alabama
>> Breakers 75-80% 1100-1600 Boners 80-85% 1100-1500
>> Many auction markets closed for Holiday Lean 85-90%
>> 1050-1400 Period. Bulls 88-92% 1500-2200
>> Source: USDA-Oklahoma Dept of Ag Market News, Oklahoma City, OK
>> Robert Miles - Tina Colby Telephone (405) 232-5425.
>> www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ko_ls850.txt
>
>

Or you could buy into a high school student's 4-H project. Probably the
best beef you will ever get.


jim

On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 16:19:10 -0800, JimLane
> wrote:
>
> Or you could buy into a high school student's 4-H project. Probably the
> best beef you will ever get.
>
Shhhh, you're not supposed to tell the world about this!

You have clearly breached the by-laws of The Secret Society
for Delectable Meating. Now more people will bid on 4-H/FFA
live stock! The result of purchasing those animals is
contributing to the college funds of the kid's who raised
them.

Do you really want to perputate that sort of thing?



Practice safe eating - always use condiments

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 16:58:52 -0800, "Ol' Hippie"
> wrote:

> Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

$.95 to $1.30 before processing
http://www.springhillsfarm.com/beef.html


Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Ol' Hippie > wrote:
>Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

US$0.80/lb and dropping. It was $1.00 two weeks ago.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/FC/14

(What follows is from memory, so ymmv).

The government imposes futures trading price change limits
like the circuit-breakers on the stock markets, with a twist.

The limit starts at 1.5 cents per day. But if the move
pegs at 1.5 cents in the same direction two days in a row,
it goes to 3 cents. If it pegs again, it goes to 5 cents.

If during any of this it doesn't peg one day, the limit
drops to the next lower one (3 cents if it's already at
5 cents, and so on).

The limits prevent manipulations from being too successful,
and they give the government time to stop manipulations or
spin away fear from natural disasters such as this mad-cow
thing (although all they've done so far is scare people
even more than necessary, and really, how hard would it
be for the POTUS to grab a mad cow from somewhere else
and have it show up in an American herd, then make up a
few press releases...). The limits for futures *options*
are quite another thing, and the idea of an option on a
future just blows my mind, so I don't need to go into it.

Oh, and there's a whole page of rules and formulae for
figuring out what the 80 cents/lb is for, considering how
variable cattle can be in size and quality. Nominally,
it's for a given mix of "Select" and "Choice" graded
cattle none of which is ill to a certain degree on the
day of delivery. The contract is for 40,000 lbs,
so 80 cents/lb works out to about $32K/contract.
Delivery consists of taking them from one company's
pen at the yard, checking them over, weighing them, and
leading them into another company's pen in the same yard.
Whether any trucks get involved before and after this is
not the market's problem.

As for the price at retail, I can assure you that Safeway
is still offering "Select" grade strip steaks for $9.49/lb.
They think I'm dumb. They need to read my stuff.

--Blair
"Me: Have any Choice?
Butcher: You never did..."