My sale page has offered three bull calves for sale for about a month. Due to some problems with the classified ads at the Miniature Hereford Association website, I was delayed in getting an ad placed as soon as I had hoped. That site does generate traffic but it takes a bit of time. Well, weaning time is here, and the castrate/don't castrate decision time is here as well...and no interest in the calves has surfaced. That's not a surprise. Boys are just too plentiful and most small herd (and property) owners just can't afford the space.
My recent herd reduction has provided enough cushion in grass production to allow me to carry three, probably no more than four steers, for an additional 18 - 20 months. So I have decided to keep the calves and raise them as grass-fed beef. Doing so will allow me to at least double, almost triple the price I was asking for them. (see the minis for sale page)
Awareness of the health benefits of grass-fed beef has become fairly wide-spread. This is easily seen in the prices found in the major grocery stores; a grass-fed ribeye in our area can set you back $15 per pound and up. Tapping into this market by raising grass-fed beef could be a valid option for a small rancher with a small herd of minis. And miniature Herefords are particularly suited to doing so. Here's why:
- Minis are docile, easy breeding animals,
- Their daily need for grass is less than typical large-frame cattle of today,
- The smaller carcass yields smaller cuts, well-suited to smaller portions for an increasingly health-conscious public,
- Pasture grown without routine antibiotics and no hormones appeals to many beef buyers,
- Minis are typically grown on small properties by owners who have raised the animals in an environment and attention to care that many feel is lacking in feed-lot cattle.
A week ago I delivered three steers aged 27-28 months old to the meat processor. They are all sold as halves at least, perhaps a couple of quarters. I am selling to family and friends for $4.50 per pound of the hanging carcass weight. After all is said and done the price per pound to the customers will be about $7.18 per pound. That is a low price because these are grass-fed animals, free of any antibiotics and hormones, born and raised here by me. They have the first pick of the best grass I have at any time of year.
I researched a lot of other ranches online that sell grass-fed beef. The lowest price I found was $3.50 per pound of carcass weight. The highest I found was (I think) a little over $10.00 per pound. Most were in the $5.50 to $8.00 range. Even at this $4.50/ lb carcass price, I will receive about $2500 per animal. I don't know my net right now because I don't usually keep those kinds of records. Still, it's better than giving calves away for ridiculously low prices. The price will vary with owner, animal quality, location, and marketing ability.
I don't mean to make it sound too easy. Raising grass-fed beef does require resources and management that needs to be considered. I'll address these issues as I have and am encountering them. I'll start with a simplistic breakdown that looks at gross sales return as soon as I figure out how to insert a spreadsheet into this website. Later I'll delve into the cost of keeping a steer for two years.