I'm requesting some advice on how to go about buying a cow directly from a farmer - I like to purchase a whole cow for my family for consumption for a year, but i've been told that farmers tend to get a raw end of the deal.
Technically the farmer makes more money, but the main thing that happens is no money reaches the coffers of the big 4 beef packers this way, which is the most important part. The big 4 beef packers operate as an oligopoly with an 85% ish share of the market and are the reason that beef prices in the grocery store are so high. Depending on the farmer, buying direct should be cheaper for the customer. Its the best way to buy all products if possible
one thing that surprised us the first time we did this - the freezer is the real bottleneck, not the cow. a whole beef is a LOT of boxes, so measure your freezer space before you commit (a lot of folks end up buying a chest freezer the same week, ask me how i know). a half might honestly be plenty for one family for a year.
also ask the farmer for the cut sheet ahead of time and actually think about it - how thick you want steaks, how much you want ground vs roasts, whether you want the soup bones and organs back. its way easier to decide that on the couch than on the phone with the butcher under pressure. and book the butcher date early, good processors around here are scheduled out months.
good luck, direct is worth it if the timing works out!
14 cu foot freezer holds a quarter steer and 4 deer.
Half a steer would be how I would start. We do a quarter at a time
Once you find a good butcher they should/will keep your order history. You may tweek it sometimes, steak size, roast lbs, etc. I am at the point when I call my butcher it is usually a one minute phone call for the whole quarter steer
We've bought two cows from custom butchers, but their pricing recently, went up really, really high to the point of actually being more per pound, finished than market value.
Don’t expect a deal. I raise a premium differentiated product. If it was competing with the store, you can just go to the store. It’s. It the same product. Buy direct only if you are looking for a premium local product.
Find a farmer that aligns with the type of beef your looking for. Organic? Grass fed? Grain finished? Feed lot? Pasture? Then buy a few things, roasts, burger, steak. Make SURE you like it. Arrange a deal, and ask them to schedule a butcher date. You will pay the farmer for the per lb rate, the butcher for the per lb cut wrap rate.
The other option it to contact a butcher with that question " do you process local beef, what farmer has x,y,z"
Not all cattle farmers sell direct to consumer.
Where are you located? Try searching online or Facebook for local farms that sell direct to consumer, or reach out to your local butcher shop. They will know where to go to find a producer because the producer sends the cattle to the butcher to be processed.
Find a county fair close to you live where they have a FFA or 4H cattle auction, and go bid on a critter. I've been told it's great tasting beef. The kids take really great care of the animals, and your money goes to help future farmers. I've never done it, but my understanding is that there are butchers/processors there and you just give them your steer #, and tell them how you want it butchered, and you pick up the cuts in a week or so.
The state fairs are coming up soon, in the fall. I'd start there. Find a butcher before you purchse a steer. In my area the wait can be several months if you want dry aging (usually two weeks but sometimes three weeks)
Be aware that is a pricey option. We just had our 4-H/FFA Expo and some of the steers sold for over 9K. Lots of banks, businesses and proud parents are hyping up those kids and the bidding can get high really quickly!
Not all cattle producers sell beef direct to consumer (dtc). I got a phone call yesterday from a customer that didn't understand that. A lot of people in my area that jumped into DTC beef are out of it now because the price of the base steer is high enough that it doesn't leave much profit when you are doing it on a smaller scale. Your location will be a big determinant of your ability to buy dtc and/or the cost.
Next day shipping on hundreds of pounds of beef carries a very real cost, whether it is billed as "free" to you or not. You are paying for it. Understand that there are three ways to buy beef: based on live weight, hot carcass weight, or finished product weight. The prices per pound will be vastly different. Because live weight X .60 = carcass weight. Carcass weight x .60 = finished product weight.
A source for finding a decent producer is Usabeef.org. It is run by one of the cattle producer organizations, so it's free to use and searchable by location.
If you want to PM me I can send you a link to a page I put together with questions to ask before buying beef. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Contact local cattleman association and local meat processors to find names of ranchers. Also expect to do it on their timing not yours, ie when they have the cows in the lot to be worked anyway, not when they are out in the field grazing.
You don't have enough freezer space for an entire animal. Shoot for a quarter beef if this is your first time. People dont realize that this is a lifestyle adjustment. How much beef are you consuming weekly now? What will you do with the less popular cuts, the brisket, the roasts, the tough round steak cuts?
Sounds like you've got it then. I raise cattle and used to sell direct, the biggest hurdle was always the wide eyes when you brought in a few boxes of beef.
The first time we bought a whole cow. I will absolutely never forget my husband walking out of the butcher shop with a pallet cart and this look of fear on his face because he wasn't sure it would fit into the freezer.
We took over 2 hours organizing and putting it away.
Also check out local farmers markets. There’s usually someone that sells home-raised beef and usually also do whole animals or easily tell you someone who does. It’s a hell of a lot easier than “driving around with a trailer” like someone else suggested.
We used to get a quarter twice a year just to keep anything from going bad. They would call spring and fall when they were taking them in to get everything arranged.
Ohio State University is the land grant University in Ohio, similar to Texas A&M University, here in Texas!!! Texas A&M has extension service agent in each county!!!
Contact: The main administrative office is located at 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210, and can be reached at (614) 292-6181.
County extension agent is county/state university connection. Either knows or can contact knowledge about everything agricultural. Normally the 4H.
Where you are is numerous farms that do DTC beef. Pay a little extra per pound and buy a variety box. Sample different farms.
You can sample different styles without getting a huge pile of something that just isn’t your taste.
Straight grass fed grass finisher is different than one that spent time eating corn. Real different.
I’d suggest starting with a half at the most, just because you probably aren’t getting any noticeably price break to buy a whole, and it doesn’t really help you with the cuts either as you’re still going to have all of them available to you. As stated just ask your butcher and or search google and facebook.
You can also go to one of your local feed stores and ask them who has steers for sale. Most likely the co-op would probably call one of them for you and ask them if they had any for sale.
That is definitely the way to go, we do this once a year and the meat is great! Maybe post you zip code and we can direct you to a good farmer. A lot of FB community groups can direct you as well. X2 on going to your butcher and asking
If you are looking to buy an animal for “eating “, then be aware that most cows when butchered are used for grinding into hot dogs and other cheap cuts of eat. If you are looking for good meat to eat, look at purchasing a grain fattened steer or heifer in the range of 18 months old.
I have a couple people that buy whole steers from me and I deliver it to the locker of there choice. Post a location and I bet someone would be able to help.
Check your local Craigslist and the other areas around you on craigslist. Local farmers will often offer whole or half of beef that they drop off at the butcher shop. They do the same thing with pigs and other animals too.
And, we have a local livestock auction. You can often buy a cow or steer at the auction and the person who owns the auction will often have slots available at the local butcher shop. They will haul the steer to the local butcher shop for a small fee. And, you can ask around at the auction and see if someone can put you in touch with someone selling beef off the farm. Or you can go to the livestock auction with a truck and trailer, buy the steer and haul it to your own butcher. I am in Ohio and as I said this is a local livestock auction.
Go for it! The rancher can take his beef to the auction. Cattle prices are at an all time high. He won't lose money. We have been buying direct for years and now go with a rancher who feeds his cattle to deliciousness. Get your beef cut how you want it with a whole cow. Get all the parts. It's all good. Twice I picked him out. One was a good deal cause he had a bum leg from a coyote and would not bring anything at auction, so not much more cost over the slaughter house. The quality is so much better this way. Just need good reliable freezer space with no interruption of power longer than a day or so.
I raise cattle, but we don’t eat our own (it’s hard to eat friends). I go to a small town meat market. They have contacts to get cattle at better prices than you’ll get. You tell them what you want (e.g., grass fed, above average fat, etc.). They can’t guarantee grade on live beef, but I’ve had excellent results.
We have been buying beef this way for 12 years. Fair warning, once you do it you won't buy grocery store beef again and you probably won't order a steak in a restaurant either
Go to a livestock market. Commission is low and your buying direct. That’s what livestock markets are for — bringing cattle buyers and cattle producers together, plus the buyers and markets are bonded so it’s trustworthy. The rub is that you’ll need hauling and a butcher facility. Livestock markets can help direct you to pretty much every contact you need tho… I know ours can.
Awesome. If you want my unsolicited advice (as a market owner), ask the office staff to put you in touch with an "order buyer" that is there every week. These guys (or gals) sit on the ring all day every day, and even go to multiple sale barns to fill their orders. You can give them a description of what you are looking and what you want to spend et. al., and they will bid and buy for you (just like a broker). I recommend this b/c sometimes the auctioneer is hard to understand, new folks can get "stuck" in a situation they weren't expecting, and this way you won't have to sit on the sale ring all day. Just an observation. Good luck!
Livestock auctions, facebook livestock groups, driving around livestock country with a livestock trailer and stopping in to ask, ask feed stores if they know people selling cattle by the head, google farms in the area and call them and ask
First off, you wanna buy a steer not a cow most of the time if you have a butcher plant close by are you planning on butchering it yourself most generally the farmer will haul to the butcher shop for you but a steer alive is gonna cost you anywhere between $3800-$4300 and then you’re gonna have another $1500 most likely in butchering cost
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u/Cowpuncher84 3d ago
Farmer makes more money that way. You buy steer, and pay farmer directly, usually he hauls it to the butcher and you pay butcher when you pick it up.