Posted on 05/03/2020 2:45:48 PM PDT by John S Mosby
I agree. My SIL was pulling cedars this weekend.
It’s strange (to me) that grass fed beef is so popular. I actually prefer the taste of grain fed beef, or a mixture of pasture followed by grain.
Actually, if the ranchers held on to that beef until processing plants are back to full production, we would end up with better quality beef. Just keep tjem on grass for a couple of weeks longer. I know that some of this grass needs to mature for hay, but its only a couple of weeks difference, so you get one less cutting.
And its been forever since I’ve seen veal in the stores. We could use some of that, too. They are just trying to find ways to keep beef at 15.00/lb.
Thank you, FRiend. Care to make a contact point if you’re interested in VA, GA, FL, SC, and NC-— private message me.
Hunters for the Homeless-— licensed to shoot wild hogs at the county dump. Meat inspectors certify it clean, then their volunteer organization does the butchering, sausaging and pork fat rendering.
Lean,wild non-hormonal on the hoof clean. You are so right.
But instead, this goes (some it, anyway, wink wink) to feed homeless more protein than some hardworking US citizen families get.
Yes, and they have all the computer programs to perpetuate the price/lb. which they need to make a profit-— at least in this current tax year. They could make even more— if/when the tax relief for losses is passed, or at least utilized.
You are correct AB!
This is the “mass quantities” feed the US and the World system that does benefit the “middlemen” so to speak— the feedlots that take off the “ranging strain” from smaller farmers.
If the feedlots are run by large ranch consortiums they could (could) turn the stock back out, continue to feed them up (it is a numbers/management game $s/head of stock), and balance losses. Re-start would be at a breakneck speed, and the cost of doing that (the Fed inspectors back on line, competent “knackers” and carvers and the hydraulic hide removers, mechanics for machinery) against the seasonal volume. Sonny Perdue is a quite competent— but he has to be going flat out on all this. Gonna check with GA friends of his.
BTW— since was 14 first reading your namesake— it made an impression— we were living in the flyway for a SAC base with regular Red Alert drills-— an entire wing of 52s with very short interval of take off. That sure made an impression (but got over the rocket rattle of the day- when the “Russians” were Soviets- something the idiot dems seem to forget that chi-coms.... still are commies). You been some interesting places in the heart of all that. Thank you, and thanks for continuing the Sunday show monitoring.
Please keep us posted. This is a topic I’m interested in but don’t know much about. But willing to make phone calls depending on what knowledgeable freepers think should be done.
Yes that does seem so- if the processor isn’t able to fill, why can’t the supplier go elsewhere? I definitely don’t have much knowledge of this- just passing along what I had heard.
EXCEPT, the majority of meat packers aren’t packing, because so many of their workers are coming down with coronavirus, and the rest are too afraid to come in and risk it.
People on this thread keep talking about farmers, ranchers, and butchers.
The thing they don’t realize is that 85% of the meat in this country is sold from farms/ranches to feedlots, or in case of chickens anbd hogs, raised in enormous barn like structures, and then sent to the major packing houses.
Which are closed.
Pres. Trump declared these meat packers/slaughter houses essential infrastructure, so nobody could order them closed, except:
The workers won’t work.
THIS is the problem.
It is not going to be solved by ranchers direct to small butchers to folks. There isn’t the volume. We have 330 million people in the USA. Suppose, well, except for lousy hunters*, everyone eats meat.
At best, only 5-10% will be able to get meat via direct from farm/small butcher. Economy of scale at the meat packers mean without their capacity there is a shortage. Ispo facto.
*Indian word for lousy hunter = Vegetarian/Vegan
Go elsewhere to which processor though? None are running at capacity due to fear of corona.
Here’s an idea. Offer the meat packer/slaughter house workers double the wages until this crisis is over. I think every one who is currently afraid of coming in and getting sick will find it financially worth it to take the risk with enough cash.
Meat prices will go up, but we’ll avoid an all out shortage/empty meat shelves.
You bet— trying to keep up through fellow farmers and school chum big ranchers.
For the resourceful FReepers, for self-preservation- there may be what another poster here offers to do— go and pick up the cows, harvested on pickup and packed into refrigerated truck to their butcher business— to carve up and package for freezing. Whole animal at a time. This may be a certified butcher, state wise, etc.
Thank you for explaining. It seems a pity that we have so many people who are out of work, and plants shutting down for lack of workers.
Thankfully we have a wonderful farmers market in our small town, with a great family run ranch selling there that we have bought meat from for years. I’m pretty positive they have their own small scale place where they get processing done so hoping they won’t be impacted. But that isn’t the case for the average American so I hope the legislators get their act together and get something passed quickly to mitigate this next potential covicatastrophe!
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