Sending to market?

[fluttervale]

When you send animals (beef, pork, lamb) to market, how does that work?

Do you "sell" it to your processor, or is there some other procedure?

Just curious--I don't have my farm yet. It occurred to me while sitting in traffic that I did NOT need to be stuck in.

 

[animalmom]

Do you mean what happens when you take your animals to the butcher, as in for your own use? Or, are you asking about sending, say a herd of cows to auction?

If you mean what happens at the butcher's, our experience is he or his helpers help unload the animal and you go away. When he has finished processing the meat, to your specifications, you pay $.xx per pound hanging weight plus a few extra cents per pound for him to vacuum wrap. You arrange a date to pick up and you pick up the meat, frozen more solid than you can do at home, pay the man, and drive away wondering where you are going to find room in the freezer for all that meat.

If your butcher is any good he'll hang the carcass for as long as possible, if you ask him. We normally "age" our beef for 30 days. We've taken some extra wethers to him and he hung them for 10 days. It all depends on the amount of fat, and what you personally like. We know home-grown Texans who blanch at the thought of aging their beef. As I said, that is all a matter of taste.

If you take a herd of cows to the auction you will get a check, usually in the mail a few days after the auction, for the amount they sold for minus any commission.

As I say, that is our experience.

We've not dealt with selling to a meat processing plant, just our local butcher or the auction house.

Helpful?

 

[SheepGirl]

When I take sheep or lambs to auction, you just back up to the loading dock and they are put into a pen. You wait there for a minute until a worker comes by and takes down your information and information about the animals. Auction tags are then placed on the animal and then they are herded into a pen and you go and sit in the ring or you can walk on the catwalks looking at the pens of animals below you.

When the auction starts, anybody with a number can bid...a butcher, jockey, a farmer, or someone looking for a pet. When your animal has sold, you wait a couple minutes and then you can go to the office and they will have the check for you with auction fees and checkoff fees taken out already.

 

[fluttervale]

Thank you both. I was wondering about selling them "at market" vs. keeping the meat. For example, I raise 6 feeder pigs but only need 4 of them. The other two are sold to whomever for meat.

I did not realize that they were sold live and then butchered. That explains a lot!