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O.T. Can't Get Rid of Hamburger @ $2.10/pound

K

Kelly in tx

Member
Getting a slot at a meat processor is difficult. One opened up for me this coming Monday.
I don't need it BUT need to get rid of animals cuz of drought. So I offered to share with family & friends at my processing cost - $1.10/pound (hanging weight) plus $1/pound (hanging weight) for me to recoup some of the cost I've got in the animal. I thought it'd be ideal for several family members/friends to share 500 or so pounds of prime burger meat.
Nobody wants cut, wrapped, frozen hamburger at $2.10 per pound. Guess the auction is the only other choice. : ( kelly
 
Its probably not the 2.10 thats holding them up, but the large capital outlay that would cut into the money budgeted for other things. Everything is so tight now we dont have the luxury of making an investment like that. Like buying a drum of oil. Thats the cheapest way to get it, but there would be no money left for anything else.
 
I agree, its probably not the cost, but too much out lay at one time. Did you say how much each customer must take?
Could be some folks just dont have the storage freezer space to handle 50lb. Naturally if you store it, you take all of the risk of your freezer equipment failing or possible theft, things can go wrong. I think its a very good price and a generous offer to your family.
 
I'm not a vegetarian,
I don't eat that much beef.
I don't recall the last time I brought hamburger at the grocery.

I did have a Wendy's hamburger last night because the Boss told me she was too tired to cook after dealing with water on basement floor caused by Central AC.

Same with eating steaks.
Don't recall the last time I bought steak at Grocery.

Longhorns or Tx roadhouse are my favorite places to eat a good steak.

Again I rarely eat beef.
So count me out.
 
Maybe you scared them off, with the 500 lb wording. You got to realize that, gas prices and the rising prices of all else, has got everybody broke. Many people can't afford to put 500 lbs of meat in the freezer, all in one wack.
Heck, alot of people can't afford to do something like that when the goings good (the way they live).

The last time I butchered one and put it all into hamburger (turned out to be really good hamburger by the way), I got rid of it all over time, but it took awhile. 10 lbs here, 50 lbs there, 20 lbs to somebody else. It eventually was all gone, but that's how I got it all sold. In the end, everybody that had gotten some, had returned a second time to get a few lbs more. Several people were involved. Nobody got more than 100 lbs total when it was all said and done. And only 1 or 2 got that much. And most of them weren't friends and family. Just people that I knew.

I had a large deep freeze that I wasn't using, and it was tied up with this hamburger for awhile. Not sure I'd of been able to make this work, had it not been for that. But heck, I wasn't going to eat 700+ lbs of hamburger, with just myself.

My brother ran into something similar with butcher hogs. His intentions was to sell some hogs to family friends. He kind of found out that very few family/friends were interested in a whole hog. Or even a half. The bulk of them he sold, was to people he didn't even know, by word of mouth and advertising.

Sadly, most of the society we live with today, if you need a lb of burger, you go to the store and buy a lb of burger. It's just how most people live today. It just is, what it is. Alot of people don't even have deep freezes.


Also, another caution. Just about anybody that I have ever known that has tried to peddle locker meat, has ran into problems with people wanting to get some meat and willing to take some, but DON'T have any money.Just about got to sell it with cash on the barrel head. No Exceptions. Friends and family, or not!! Don't believe me? Just try it by having some other policy.
 
You hit the nail on the head. Living day to day. Unfortunately, even many with solid incomes live paycheck to paycheck...lots of toys.
 
"Hamburger" is a pretty generic description. Many folks in my circle of folks are pretty particular about their "hamburger." Is it angus beef? What ratio of lean to fat (lots of us have moved to 90%). Some processors around here will add some "aged" to their hamburger and you can actually smell it, so it matters who the processor is.
 
Maybe it is the way you are having it cut and packaged. Could the meat be cut into steaks and roasts instead of grinding it all into hamburger? Most people associate hamburger with the 70 percent lean pink slime sold in supermarkets. If you offered the same meat as a mixed lot of sirloin, round, T-bone, porterhouse, shoulder roast and brisket at the same $2.10 per pound you might have more takers. If you are butchering a market feeder calf, go for steaks. If it is and older animal, go for more roasts and maybe some hamburger, but not too much.

Our parents and grandparents generations canned much of their food in hot kitchens and stored it in expensive jars. Our generation is big on freezing large amounts of food in big expensive freezers that use a lot of electricity and sometimes fail. Younger people seem to prefer their food fresh rather than almost a year old.
 
I would buy it at that if it was closer. I sell all the burger I can get at $4.00/pound but have to sell it $50-100.00 at a time. I'm going to go to $5 next time as the costs have gone up so much. I have folks waiting for the next one to come available.
 
People are absolutely all talk. We had 70 pounds of burger that we couldn't get in the freezer in January. Had a list of people who were all excited about buying some when we told them we'd have extra, but when we started making phone calls, every one of them backed out. One of them even denied ever having even been here and giving us his number. The fuel man finally took ten pounds. He made a few phone calls while he was here, left with 30 or so. Royse was getting a steer from us a month later and ended up taking the last of the burger.

I'm telling you, anybody who has dreams of making it big by selling direct to consumers is a fool, and I don't ever use that term loosely. All anybody ever wants to do is B!^Ch about the price and the quality in the store, but when the rubber hits the road, they're full of it. It aggravates the living crap out of me just thinking about the loud mouth whiners.
 
That is a great buy,a lady that buys hay from me has several killed every year has no problem selling the meat.In my area direct farm to consumer sales are popular,even have a paper that comes out listing what
farm has what for sale put out by the Piedmont Environmental Council.
 
I sold 12 market steers direct since April. I could sell a couple more if I had the butcher appointments which as you say, they are hard to get. I had twelve appointments and 8 steers to sell, so I had to buy 4 market animals to keep my customer's happy and could have a sold a couple more. Although I have been doing it for a long time and have a good customer base. I sell by the quarter, half, or whole hang wt they pay the processing.
 
January is the absolute worst time of year to ask people to pay cash, as the bills for Christmas are rolling in. They can still buy food at the supermarket with a credit card, but you probably are not able to accept any credit cards. By April and May they will have cash again when the income tax refunds arrive and the Christmas bills are paid off.
 
You are right, everyone wants to buy until you have it for sale. Most people dont have a $100.00 ahead, let alone $1,000.00. Its a sad reality, but thats the way it is. I have also heard that most of the folks that eat in fast food joints actually cant afford to eat in a restaurant, but they also cant afford to buy everything it requires to make a meal at home either. So if they come up with the price of a burger or a pizza, they can eat for today.
 
Its funny, with farming a hyd block breaks on the combine, write out a check for $2000. Dont even think much about it just part of farming.

Its tough to imagine living paycheck to paycheck with nothing around for paying a big bill that slips in.

Paul
 
I didn't take it as "You have to buy 500lbs or none."

I believe he has 500lbs of meat to sell total.

Still, 100lbs or even 50lbs seems like an insurmountable amount of meat to most people. Who could ever use that much hamburger?

Plus you're still talking $100 to $200 being tied up.
 
My son sells half dozen beef every year to a string of customers. He had a couple he sold some burger to last year and asked them this spring if they wanted some burger this year. They didn t want any this year because the burger was to hard to make a patty out of. He sells 92% lean. I guess if you want fat go buy fatty burger. People are hard to figure sometimes. $2.10 a pound is quite a bargain I would say.
 
Some interesting comments and some interesting advice too. I appreciate the feedback. I wasn't seeking that, but some good ideas came out of that posting. Thanks!
FYI, I was hoping somebody would take me up on the 500 or so pounds along with several of their friends or relatives. Now, altho the animal is four or five years old, I'm gonna have some of it cut into roasts with the balance being ground beef. I'm also gonna accept people who'll only want $50 or $100 worth, but gonna charge them $3.00 a pound. Also, fyi this beef is totally organic. It was raised entirely without any antibiotics or any vaccinations at all. Born and raised here on this tiny farm. It is grass-fed. To my understanding that usually results in a bit leaner beef and can also be a bit tougher. The most recent one I had processed ran about 90% lean according to the butcher. And, as to why I'm doing this is because of out DROUGHT! It is super serious here. NO pasture! NO hay! Some farmers haven't harvested their corn, probably because the cost of harvest would be greater than the 15-20 bushel per acre (my estimate) yield. Lots of unharvested milo/grain sorghum for the same reason too. As to my hay, I think I put up about 60 round bales last year. This year I made four. I see NO probabilities of more hay this summer. My draft horses are about to break a leg by stepping in the cracks in the ground (just kidding, I hope). kelly
 
Are you kidding? We can go through 10 to 20 pounds of burger a week! One of the few things that everybody in this
house likes!
 
Bruce, I have found that I can buy a cooked meal in a diner for just about the same price as a crummy meal at a fast food joint. Have you priced chicken lately in a restaurant? To get enough fried chicken at a KFC to feed my gang, it costs nearly $40. McD food is just as expensive. Went to Chick-fil-A the other day for a meal for the grandson - $23 to feed a 10 year old kid.

It isn't a matter of affording it - I'm just about sick of making the fast food places rich out of our family budget. We could have steak and lobster every night cheaper than eating at fast food joints.

Just as a comparison, I can get a full course breakfast at one of the local diners for about $7.50. Eggs, sausage, home fries (double on the spuds) toast, and beverage. I leave a $10 to cover the wait staff. Dinner amounts to under $12 including the senior discount and comes with more food than I can possibly eat. To get a comparable amount of food at the local fast food place would cost near $40.

Whenever I find discount burger, I stock up as much as I am allowed to but without batting an eye! I have no idea what is wrong with people today when it comes to food.
 
Once you get much leaner than 85/15, it starts to get dry and tasteless. I've had 90-10 that wasn't too bad, but
any leaner than that I don't care for.
 
(quoted from post at 12:33:44 07/26/22) Are you kidding? We can go through 10 to 20 pounds of burger a week! One of the few things that everybody in this
house likes!
Click to expand...

We probably went through 10lbs of ground beef in a week when I was a kid. All kinds of dishes, rarely burgers.

So what? Very few families are like that anymore. They eat out multiple days a week. They eat frozen meals. They buy what they need when they need it if they do cook. Judge if you must, but that is how it is these days and all the lamenting in the world is not going to change it.
 
Most people don't own a freezer anymore - and few own a freezer of any size. Meanwhile I have two chest freezers and an upright freezer in my basement next to the spare fridge.
 
I guess you might be right about some people but my wife and I average eating out about once a month,very little beef but a lot of deer meat.Food in restaurants just doesn't taste good anymore to me.
 
And, you have no idea what's in that burger. As I sit here enjoying a garden salad from fresh produce just picked out of my
garden, there is no substitute, on that course of a meal LOL !
 
rampant inflation settin in on the YT board. LOL from 2.10 to 300 in 24 h0urs. That is about 38 percent. LOL
 
Wish I was closer and could take you up on that. Or at least part of it. Stocked up at the local meat shop for near $400 last week.

Someone made a comment about not being able to take credit cards. In todays world with PayPal and Venmo it is not hard for anyone to take CC/electronic payment. Just remember to add on for the fee.
 
If you were about 1000 miles closer I'd buy it at the 3.00 pound and take the 500. It is still much cheaper than the store and it will all come out in the wash whether you buy a bulk lot and spread it out over a year or buy small lots for higher price. Like the oil. We buy by the barrel and I bought another barrel this spring as a hedge against price increases in the future. We used to put back a half or a whole depnding on what somebody wanted when we butchered in years past. I would rather eat burgers than any thing else in beef. I don't give a rats for steak or roast really. After eating old tough milk cows burger it is.
 
Kelly in TX, You never did say where in Texas you are ??--Let us know & we that are in Texas may be interested.--I'm in East Texas south of Tyler.
 
The thing is, you know how to prepare food. Probably have a kitchen, with a working stove, a refrigerator, pots and pans. Other ingredients like salt and pepper, and spices. Understand how to refrigerate and prepare leftovers. Most poor people are poor for a reason. They never learned to cook, budget or plan. Just live for today. If your hungry go buy something to eat.
I agree with you completely, and I am not interested in paying as much for two hamburgers as what we can buy a whole pound of meat, rolls and some condiments. You can buy a whole chicken, take it home and roast it, and a 10lb bag of potatoes for about the same price as two dinners at KFC. But you have to be smart enough to know how to prepare the meal, and have enough ambition to do the cooking and wash up after.. There is a very good reason why some folks succeed in life, while others with the very same opportunity will fail.
 
I am lucky I can sell all I can raise. I keep it reasonable....around $2 plus processing in a normal year. Prolly 2.25 at least this year. Black Angus and Holstein. People love the Holstein.
 
Wow. I am really surprised relatives don't want to buy it. If you were closeby, I'd buy 50-60 pounds... but Texas is a lonnng way from Tropical MN.
 
Went to a local PIZZA PLACE TODAY AND NOTICED A SIGN ON THE DOOR AND AT DIFFERENT PLACES AROUND INSIDE. THE SIGN SAID DUE TO INFLATION PRICES ON MENU ARE WROMG. i HAD NOT SEEN SIGNS LIKE THAT BEFORE AND i WON'T GO BACK UNTIL THEY CAN AFFORD TO AT LEAST CHANGE THEIR MENUS. JUST MY FEELINGS.
 
Hey all, I appreciate the responses. I got some good ideas from the responses. Thanks! FYI I live between San Marcos and New Braunfels or midway between Austin and San Antonio.
So far at least 230 pounds has been spoken for-None to YTers. I wasn't intending to sell to YTers or advertise to them. kelly
 
Highest income in many communities is the guy with the McDonalds franchise. Makes the most money of any one in town. But pays wages that usually means his employees are eligible for government subsidies....food stamps and medicaid. Says he can not afford to pay more and we nod in agreement...even knowing how much he makes.
 
You get one person like that and all the farmer wannabees think that if you build it, they'll come. I don't care what you're trying to sell, you can't sell anything unless you have a buyer.
 
Most likely the other customers just check online with their phones for the new prices.
 
Developing buyers is the job of the seller,many farmers are really good at producing but very poor when it come to selling to the general public.Millions of pounds of beef of all kinds are sold daily in the USA so the market is there just a matter of which suppliers do a better job of selling.
 
(quoted from post at 12:10:30 07/27/22) Developing buyers is the job of the seller,many farmers are really good at producing but very poor when it come to selling to the general public.Millions of pounds of beef of all kinds are sold daily in the USA so the market is there just a matter of which suppliers do a better job of selling.
Click to expand...

Since 90+% of all beef is sold through supermarkets and is purchased as part of an overall grocery shopping trip, it's not marketing as much as it is convenience.

Developing buyers is as much a matter of "right place right time" as anything. You can take out pennysaver ads until you go broke and not develop a single regular customer. Aside from standing in the front yard with your pants around your ankles shouting "MEAT FOR SALE!" (and having folks totally misinterpret) there really isn't much a small rural farmer can do to market or "develop buyers."
 
That is all part of marketing.In my area some growers have customers in densely populated DC and Northern VA deliver right to a person's house.Numerous farmers markets around my area too,people here have above average incomes and do not mind paying for something they want.The business is not going to fall into your lap got to go out and work for it but plenty of people are being successful.And if you look for a reason to fail you probably will fail.I guess if you live in a very rural area 200 miles from a population center it probably won't work but even in rural areas these days plenty of people don't grow any garden type food.
 
Wish I could be there to buy some. My sister just sold her house in New Braunfels and is moving to the Victoria area to be near her daughter's family. They are due to arrive here by car, Saturday.
We have flown to both San Antonio and to Austin (preferred) many times for visits in the past.
 
TF,

Not everyone has a ready-made market like you do. You talk about how the business does not fall into your lap, when it LITERALLY fell into yours.

How about some useful advice for those that live in the real world?
 
You aren't selling burger at $2.10. Your hanging beef is going to have a lot of waste that doesn't make it into the freezer once it is boned out and ground. Bone doesn't grind, along with how meticulous the cutter is, and other misc you don't want in burger. Also figure a few % on shrink from hot weight to cold and aged.

I'd bet you are at closer to $4 a pound than $2.10 all said and done.
 
(quoted from post at 10:41:48 07/27/22) Highest income in many communities is the guy with the McDonalds franchise. Makes the most money of any one in town. But pays wages that usually means his employees are eligible for government subsidies....food stamps and medicaid. Says he can not afford to pay more and we nod in agreement...even knowing how much he makes.
Click to expand...

I'm not buving that story. We have 380,00 folks in our town so lots and lots of fast food places - and most of those have signs out to hire at $13 to $14 an hour so start. Local McDonalds start high school kids at $14 and moves them to $15.50 within a few weeks. And no restaurant owner is getting rich with the current economy. We had a great economy until 18 months ago but those days are gone.
 
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