farmer1989
Member
- Location
- cumbria
Never done it ourselves but wondering what others are rearing what breed to what age? what cost do you get a butcher to kill hang bag ????
Rear a beast for the freezer
- Thread starter farmer1989
- Start date
- Location
- Dorset/Wilts
Anything odd ones that go over age or couldn't be loaded for any reason
- Location
- North Somerset.
,Cost me £400 to have a bbx steer killed and cut up this summer. small extra cost of added pork to make sausages, Hung for 4 weeks, best beef I have had eaten.
.Dont know if I was ripped off or not because I didnt shop around and there are less and less small slaughterhouses around.
.Dont know if I was ripped off or not because I didnt shop around and there are less and less small slaughterhouses around.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Last few around £500/ beast here - killed, hung, cut and labour/rusk for sausages. That's 150-200kg a side, cold weight. Belted Galloway and Saler x Highland at around 28 months. Let them go fatter than supermarket spec too - you want a bit of marbling for flavour. O4H has served me well.
- Location
- British Isles
if you can do a on farm kill as the less stress the better the meat
M-J-G
Member
I've done quite a range of breeds ranging from naturally fat AA to a harder fleshing BBx and from a yearling bull to a heifer that wouldn't rear a calf, and have found little or no difference between breeds if they are all fattened enough. Breed can make a difference in ability to fatten though.
As long as they are fat enough (4 or above) to hang for 3+ weeks. 4 weeks for hinds.
£350 for whole job vac packed, with the choice of individually blast frozen steaks.
As long as they are fat enough (4 or above) to hang for 3+ weeks. 4 weeks for hinds.
£350 for whole job vac packed, with the choice of individually blast frozen steaks.
Last edited:
- Location
- Buxton, Derbyshire
The one you had done for the stockjudging weekend was very good
We did one 2 yrs ago; 3quarter blonde steer with a dodgy shoulder (affectionately known as Mr Hop!), killed at our local abattoir about 5miles away, hung for 10 days and cut into primal cuts (dad likes to try his hand at butchery). He’d been intensively grain fed and would probably graded at a 2 fat class, and it’s some of the best beef I have ever tasted! And the hundred or so people who tried it at a farm walk we hosted all agreed to!
So imo all this hang for a month, grass fed, high fat class, is rubbish! But then again it is personal preference.
michael N123
Member
First question people seem to ask when eating home bred beef or lamb is What was wrong with it
Whilst I tend to agree, the buyers, processors, butchers, supermarkets, exporters and public all want U's and R's with 2+, 3's or 4- fat cover. Supplying it in bulk is where the money is. Anything else is failing fast at present.
There is a market for E's and O & P's that are lean or hanging in fat but they are pushing water up hill.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Which would you rather, £1000 profit on ten animals or £200 profit in twenty? If you have a market to retail at higher margin, there’s no point being a busy fool.
I get what your saying but profit per beast on low volume will not keep a family, its a hobby.
I am small scale and go for the profit per beast, I am a hobby farmer and I'm still very busy and no doubt a fool in many peoples eyes.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Do both then. But the hours you spend cutting out the retailer profit will be the better paying hours.
livestock 1
Member
£467 to do a big limmy for the freezer
Your right again; and I do sell out of the freezer for good profit. Unfortunately my best paying hours are not on the farm at all - shame.
livestock 1
Member
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
I know that feeling.
- Location
- Buxton, Derbyshire
I know you are right we have to supply what the big processors tell us they want. But I always question it when I speak to butchers who want U grade with fat less than 3 cattle as if they grade lower or fatter more goes in the bin and when I speak to young people about buying steak etc they pick the one with the least fat cover.
I guess I’m just conscious that we have a breed with a potentially huge USP (which we aren’t pushing at the right people) which is at risk of being lost by following the whims of a few big processors/supermarkets who could change their minds overnight as to what sort of cattle they want- like they did on carcass weights or Morrison’s and Shorthorns. It could well be that in 5yrs they want lower fat class cattle, at which point we’re snookered if we’ve been concentrating on breeding fat onto them. I’m probably being very naive, and probably should learn more about what the processors want and why.
- Tags
- for the freezer