current $ beef on the hoof

Ol' Hippie said:

Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

Canadian or US?

jim

US we are in Oregon.

If I'm reading the attached report correctly, about 90 cents per pound. You need to locate an
auction near you, or better yet a beef farmer you trust and buy it direct. Do you have a place to
slaughter and butcher it? And store all the cut and wrapped meat?

Next week when everybody gets back to work, I can ask a farmer friend of mine how much he got for
some grass-fed cattle a month ago. The price is probably down now due to the Mad Cow scare.

Best regards, Bob

Quoted message said:

KO_LS850 Oklahoma City, OK Wed Dec 24, 2003 USDA-OK Dept of Ag Market News

National Slaughter Cattle Summary - Week Ending December 26, 2003

Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle trade and demand light in most major marketing areas
this Christmas Holiday shortened period. Early live sales in Texas mostly 1.00 lower and
limited test on dressed sales in Nebraska mostly
2.00 lower. Boxed beef values Wednesday opening lower at an average of 145.34 and is off 2.06 from
last Friday. Sales of slaughter cattle on a national basis for negotiated cash Trades in this
Holiday shortened week were at 32,147 head through 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Last week's
full count was 124,500 head.

Midwest Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 90.00-
91.60. Dressed Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80 percent Choice, 550-950 lbs. 145.00-147.00.

High Plains Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-65 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs
89.00-91.50.

Slaughter Cows and Bulls (Average Yielding Prices): Slaughter cows and bulls not fully tested this
Christmas Holiday shortened week as many auction markets closed. Packers will have to rely mostly
on directs or those currently in feedlots. USDA's Cutter cow carcass cut-out value closed Tuesday
at 103.67 up
2.68 from last Friday.

%Lean Weight Colorado Oklahoma Alabama Breakers 75-80% 1100-1600 Boners 80-85% 1100-
1500 Many auction markets closed for Holiday Lean 85-90% 1050-1400 Period. Bulls 88-92%
1500-2200

Source: USDA-Oklahoma Dept of Ag Market News, Oklahoma City, OK Robert Miles - Tina Colby
Telephone (405) 232-5425. www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ko_ls850.txt

Ol' Hippie said:

Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

$.95 to $1.30 before processing springhillsfarm.combeef.htmlOpen ↗

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

zxcvbob said:

If I'm reading the attached report correctly, about 90 cents per pound. You need to locate an
auction near you, or better yet a beef farmer you trust and buy it direct. Do you have a place to
slaughter and butcher it? And store all the cut and wrapped meat?

Next week when everybody gets back to work, I can ask a farmer friend of mine how much he got for
some grass-fed cattle a month ago. The price is probably down now due to the Mad Cow scare.

Best regards, Bob

Quoted message said:

KO_LS850 Oklahoma City, OK Wed Dec 24, 2003 USDA-OK Dept of Ag Market News National Slaughter
Cattle Summary - Week Ending December 26, 2003 Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle trade and
demand light in most major marketing areas this Christmas Holiday shortened period. Early live
sales in Texas mostly 1.00 lower and limited test on dressed sales in Nebraska mostly 2.00 lower.
Boxed beef values Wednesday opening lower at an average of 145.34 and is off 2.06 from last
Friday. Sales of slaughter cattle on a national basis for negotiated cash Trades in this Holiday
shortened week were at 32,147 head through 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Last week's full count
was 124,500 head.

Midwest Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs 90.00-
91.60. Dressed Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-80 percent Choice, 550-950 lbs. 145.00-147.00.

High Plains Direct Markets: Live Basis: Steers and Heifers 35-65 percent Choice, 900-1400 lbs
89.00-91.50.

Slaughter Cows and Bulls (Average Yielding Prices): Slaughter cows and bulls not fully tested
this Christmas Holiday shortened week as many auction markets closed. Packers will have to rely
mostly on directs or those currently in feedlots. USDA's Cutter cow carcass cut-out value closed
Tuesday at 103.67 up
2.68 from last Friday. %Lean Weight Colorado Oklahoma Alabama Breakers 75-80% 1100-1600 Boners
80-85% 1100-1500 Many auction markets closed for Holiday Lean 85-90% 1050-1400 Period. Bulls
88-92% 1500-2200 Source: USDA-Oklahoma Dept of Ag Market News, Oklahoma City, OK Robert Miles -
Tina Colby Telephone (405) 232-5425. www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ko_ls850.txt

Or you could buy into a high school student's 4-H project. Probably the best beef you will ever get.

jim

JimLane said:

Or you could buy into a high school student's 4-H project. Probably the best beef you will
ever get.

Shhhh, you're not supposed to tell the world about this!

You have clearly breached the by-laws of The Secret Society for Delectable Meating. Now more people
will bid on 4-H/FFA live stock! The result of purchasing those animals is contributing to the
college funds of the kid's who raised them.

Do you really want to perputate that sort of thing?

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Ol' Hippie said:

Anyone know the going price for beef on the hoof?

US$0.80/lb and dropping. It was $1.00 two weeks ago.

futures.tradingcharts.com14Open ↗

(What follows is from memory, so ymmv).

The government imposes futures trading price change limits like the circuit-breakers on the stock
markets, with a twist.

The limit starts at 1.5 cents per day. But if the move pegs at 1.5 cents in the same direction two
days in a row, it goes to 3 cents. If it pegs again, it goes to 5 cents.

If during any of this it doesn't peg one day, the limit drops to the next lower one (3 cents if it's
already at 5 cents, and so on).

The limits prevent manipulations from being too successful, and they give the government time to
stop manipulations or spin away fear from natural disasters such as this mad-cow thing (although all
they've done so far is scare people even more than necessary, and really, how hard would it be for
the POTUS to grab a mad cow from somewhere else and have it show up in an American herd, then make
up a few press releases...). The limits for futures *options* are quite another thing, and the idea
of an option on a future just blows my mind, so I don't need to go into it.

Oh, and there's a whole page of rules and formulae for figuring out what the 80 cents/lb is for,
considering how variable cattle can be in size and quality. Nominally, it's for a given mix of
"Select" and "Choice" graded cattle none of which is ill to a certain degree on the day of delivery.
The contract is for 40,000 lbs, so 80 cents/lb works out to about $32K/contract. Delivery consists
of taking them from one company's pen at the yard, checking them over, weighing them, and leading
them into another company's pen in the same yard. Whether any trucks get involved before and after
this is not the market's problem.

As for the price at retail, I can assure you that Safeway is still offering "Select" grade strip
steaks for $9.49/lb. They think I'm dumb. They need to read my stuff.

--Blair "Me: Have any Choice? Butcher: You never did..."