Author Topic: Roommates wants to buy a cow share  (Read 6088 times)

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« on: June 03, 2015, 06:15:50 AM »
Normally not something cringe worthy, right? Well it is if you are buying it from a middle man. Instead of buying from a farmer's market, he is going to buy from some group that buys it from the farmers. He said it's cause he doesn't want to drive out to the middle of nowhere, and ignored me when I told him that you can get them at farmer's markets or many farmers have drop sites (I know one that delivers to a spot 10 minutes away). Instead of paying like $5/lb for grassfed beef, he is going to end up paying $8.

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2015, 07:13:26 AM »
Some people seem to like paying more for nothing.

Cromacster

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1695
  • Location: Minnesnowta
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2015, 07:49:40 AM »
One source I have used in the twin cities is:

VDL Grassfed

His prices for grassfed meat are pretty good.  The beef is good.  The pork and chicken products are outstanding.  He will also sell whole, half and quarter beef shares. 

He delivers to the twin cities about once a month....although it's probably a 10 min drive from where you live, so maybe not ;-D

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2015, 09:47:46 AM »
One source I have used in the twin cities is:

VDL Grassfed

His prices for grassfed meat are pretty good.  The beef is good.  The pork and chicken products are outstanding.  He will also sell whole, half and quarter beef shares. 

He delivers to the twin cities about once a month....although it's probably a 10 min drive from where you live, so maybe not ;-D

Yeah, tell me about it. I recommended a farmer that I have bought from to him and he wasn't interested. Thanks for the link, I just emailed it to him. He may reconsider since the middle man is currently out of meat, go figure.

RunHappy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2015, 10:49:36 AM »
Maybe it is just the person he is getting the meat from, I know several people who are doing this and it ends up cheaper for them.

Elderwood17

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 523
  • Location: Western North Carolina
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2015, 11:39:59 AM »
When we all lived in the same town, We used to buy a "cow" as a family with my parents keeping a half and my brother and I each getting a quarter.  It came out much cheaper than buying meats from any grocer, but my dad was a cattle man back in the day so he knew what he was doing.

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2015, 11:52:31 AM »
When we all lived in the same town, We used to buy a "cow" as a family with my parents keeping a half and my brother and I each getting a quarter.  It came out much cheaper than buying meats from any grocer, but my dad was a cattle man back in the day so he knew what he was doing.

Makes sense, nowadays it isn't hard to find a farmer that offers cow shares. Generally they have enough demand that you can buy a 1/8 or 1/4 or 1/2, depending on how many you are feeding and how big your freezer is, and the prices comes out to really cheap (compared to WF or other comparable meat). When I buy my own place I want to buy an 1/8.

My comment is that my roommate isn't willing to find a farmer (even though I've sent him a few links), but instead wants to buy it off a wholesaler, essentially a middle man that buys it from a farmer and takes on his cut. It's his money and think that it is better for him than buying the meat from a grocery store, but it's his money.

Hunny156

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 482
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2015, 01:22:23 PM »
I'll admit, the last time I looked into this was at least 7 years ago, in the Hudson Valley area on NY.  You had to commit to a full cow, but the farmer would divvy up the meat in 2, so you had to take 1/2 a cow.  Which I was fine with.  My biggest problem was finding anyone who had the cash ($400 back then) to go in with me.  Even though everyone conceded the meat would be of far better quality and the price/pound cheaper than ground beef for all cuts.  So frustrating!

I stopped eating meat, so that "solved" that problem, but I wonder if these meat brokers exist now because people are willing to pay more/pound, to get a smaller share of the cow?  Makes perfect financial sense, lol!

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2015, 03:08:24 PM »

I stopped eating meat, so that "solved" that problem, but I wonder if these meat brokers exist now because people are willing to pay more/pound, to get a smaller share of the cow?  Makes perfect financial sense, lol!

Yes, this would be the case, and if this were so I would have no problem. The problem is that I have shown him various links to farmer's that both deliver to the twin cities and are willing to do them in 1/8 and 1/4 shares. They can do so because they have enough demand for all their meat that they can just as easily process an entire cow into 1/8 and 1/4 shares as they do for 1/2.

RunHappy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2015, 04:15:45 PM »

I stopped eating meat, so that "solved" that problem, but I wonder if these meat brokers exist now because people are willing to pay more/pound, to get a smaller share of the cow?  Makes perfect financial sense, lol!

Yes, this would be the case, and if this were so I would have no problem. The problem is that I have shown him various links to farmer's that both deliver to the twin cities and are willing to do them in 1/8 and 1/4 shares. They can do so because they have enough demand for all their meat that they can just as easily process an entire cow into 1/8 and 1/4 shares as they do for 1/2.

Sounds like your roomie is anti-math.  no help for those.

NorCal

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1464
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #10 on: June 03, 2015, 05:10:26 PM »
Yea, splitting a cow is generally a good deal, but $8/lb is probably too much (depending on your local market).

My rule of thumb is that you should be paying on a per/lb basis about what ground beef costs in the super-market.  You're just getting much better cuts of meat.  This rule works pretty well, as beef is generally produced somewhat local.  Prices have been all over the map in CA for the last few years with the drought.  I've seen it anywhere between $4/lb (usually imported from Korea) to $8/lb during the worst part of the drought.

I typically split a quarter-beef with two other families, as we just have a traditional size freezer.

I do recommend staying away from the truly all-grass fed beef.  There's very little flavor.  The best cows are switched from grass to grains a few months before slaughter.

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2015, 08:35:04 AM »
Happy note, my roommate is going to a farmer's market this weekend and said he'll talk to a farmer there. Turns out that the middle man he wants to buy from is out of beef at the moment.

MrsPete

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3505
Re: Roommates wants to buy a cow share
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2015, 10:41:29 AM »
We did the buy-a-share thing for years, but the per-pound cost was less than $3/lb.  That was the hanging weight though; we didn't actually get it all because parts were bone, etc.  It worked out to about the same as buying beef on a moderate sale. 

The kicker was that it was EXCELLENT QUALITY.  Way better than we typically get at the grocery store, and I don't buy cheap ground beef.  It was also better wrapped, so it lasted well in the freezer. 

The negative was that we'd get more roasts than we personally cared to get.

We didn't have to travel anywhere -- well, any real distance -- to pick up our meat.  When we ordered, we'd pick the date and time, and we'd meet them at the pick-up spot.  Ours was only about two miles from home. 

However, the co-op from which we were buying changed management, and the prices skyrocketed.  We haven't bought from them in years.