"Jim Webster" wrote in message
...

Gordon Couger wrote in message
...
Jim,

From a discussion on AgBioview:

"When I stayed in England I was amazed at the high cost of food. Meat
was
two to three times the price I was used to paying in the Safeway. When
these English people stayed with me in Washington D.C. they couldn't
believe the amount of meat in the local super-market and how cheap it
was.
I was afraid they were going to OD on steak before they went home."

As I recall when we worked out the price to feed a beef your selling
price
wasn't a great deal different than mine. Where did de money go?

Gordon

supermarkets buy cheap and sell dear. They drive down the costs and jack
up the margins. That is what impressed me about US cutting plants etc,
they can pay more for the meat at the farm gate yet still get it to the
consumer at a lower price.

Must admit our lads who went to South Dakota were not impressed with the
quality of the beef, but would be used to grass fed. One commented that
if he did move, he would stick his own bullock in the freezer after
rearing it his way. I expect American dinner guests at his house would
find it rather strong tasting and probably not tender/juicy enough for
them. Such is personal taste.

There is no question that that you dance with the one that brung you on
taste. It's like me and fresh green beans. I like the ones out of the can
better because that's what I am used to. My dad's just the opposite. He
likes the home canned or fresh the best.

I don't like grass fats beef at all. Both my wife's dad and my dad an I ran
feed lots and we like a really fat calf. Her dad would take them to 1,200 or
1,300 pounds shooting for high prime. We were aiming for high choice at a
later market when people were getting more health conscious.

I expect that your rules and regulations transfer in to real costs in the
slaughter house. Seems I remember you have wash them and shave their bellies
and a good deal more. Possibly even removing the major nerves such as the
sciatic nerve from the hind quarter.

I am involved with helping people find microscopes around the world and I
find the folks from the UK and EU are not nearly as free and easy dealing as
I am used too.

I will see a very good friend that has been living just outside of London
for the last 30 years day after tomorrow. I has been 15 years or so since I
saw him it is always intersting to get his prospective. He is an independent
reservoir geologist for the North Sea. He company wanted to move his family
to Houston, Texas and send him to Siberia. He retired and went to work for
himself. Siberia is not so bad but living in Houston, no way He would have
to pay US taxes.

Jim, that leaves you a healthy room for profit in selling to your neighbors
and still save them a nice sum. I can't do that here. I have to produce a
lot better quality than they can get in the store and sell it for the same
as store price and I can't make that work because I can get the feed
conversion that the big lots do because I don't have their feed processing
machinery. I learned that lesson 35 years ago.

Gordon