And I suspect they'll be as grateful of that as I am now.Įven if you can't raise your own, you can look for a local ranch, and purchase from them. I love that my children grow up knowing where the food comes from. While raising your own grass fed beef isn't for everyone, if you have acreage, it's something to consider. I'll never have to worry about my children eating pink slime. (It costs too much for our tiny operation) Our cattle are cared for humanly. Our own pasture is managed organically, even though we're not certified. We buy our hay locally from local fields so I know they haven't been treated. Peace of mind– I know exactly what goes in to our cows. Plus, you get to decide which cuts of meat you want and how it's packaged. The average rate in our area is between $2.10 and $2.75 a lb, making every cut of beef around $3.00 a pound, including your expensive cuts of steak. Beef tastes better when allowed to age and as we don't have the proper hanging facilities, we hire ours out. If you butcher and wrap it yourself, then this cost is eliminated. Our local butcher charges a $55 kill fee (divided by how much of the beef you purchase) and $.50 per lb cut and wrap. Price-While the cost of feed can be a lot up front, the cost of natural grass fed beef is much cheaper to raise than to buy in the store. (This isn't a sales pitch as we can't meet the demand now) After having our beef, his wife refused to ever go back to store bought beef. I'd talked about the difference so passionately that a co-worker bought half a beef from us. Taste-You can't beat the taste of naturally grass fed beef. (This only happened to us one year and was with a bull we didn't mind cross-breeding.) You'll need to know the signs to watch for with an expecting cow. Unless, you're lucky enough to have a bull in the neighboring field who hops the fence when it's time, and then goes back home. They need a constant supply of fresh clean water, and during the winter, feeding.īreeding-If you keep a cow to breed back every year, you either have to purchase a bull, artificially inseminate, or haul your cow to a bull or a bull to your cow every year. Be ready to herd them back.Ĭare-Cattle don't take an extreme amount of care, but they do require some. However, cattle can be notorious for getting out of any fence. It's fairly easy to put up and unlike electric fence where you have to worry about the electrical ground, weeds/brush touching the wire, and a constant power source, barbed wire is good to go. Our hay bill is usually around $900 for the year, depending on the season, and going rate.įencing-There's the initial cost of fencing. Depending upon your climate, an acre per cow is a good rule of thumb.Ĭost of feed-Even with adequate pasture, you'll have to purchase feed for the winter months. Space-Unlike chickens, cows need more than just a backyard, so you need some acreage to raise cattle. Like any homesteading venture, there are pros and cons. I use the term herd generously as we only have 6 cows. We now have our own herd of natural grass fed beef. It was the difference between real sweet cream butter and margarine. I couldn't believe the amount of liquid I had to drain even though I'd purchased lean. The odor (it wasn't rancid or bad, but it smells different) made my nose curl. I had no idea how different it was, and not in a good way. After my husband and I were first married, we ran out of beef (never to be repeated) and had to purchase some meat from the store until butchering time rolled back around. The sound of my father's old red Ford pickup truck rolling across the dirt track of the long abandoned railroad track called the herd better than any cattle dog.Įvery evening from October to May, I drove the truck while Dad tossed out about 35 bales of hay from the back. White face Herefords dotted the green pasture like daisies. I grew up on a small cattle ranch nestled in against the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains.
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