Thank you. Gonna be a different year. We are losing a generation on this hunt. The FIL just got his knee replaced and his brother is not in good enough shape to go. So now it's just my Brother in law, his cousin, my son and I. And possibly my nephew.
The reasons start and end with the big four meat packers. Money talks and they are able to grease the palms of congress to import cheaper beef to mix with our US product and sell as such. The sumbitches got it repealed and no one can go up against the big 4. There has been hearing after hearing about the meat packing industries but it doesn't go anywhere.Question. There is NO labeling restriction? Meaning 100% raised on foreign soil and then imported live and steps foot in the US and no labeling of "hencho in Mexico" is required? Or it can be raised, slaughtered, processed, and packaged in Mexico and there are NO requirements to mark as imported beef? Isn't that required for seafood? Why is beef treated differently? I realize I may not be asking the right person, but you are a start...
Over the last years we have moved to local raised and processed qtr beef and half hog. The supplementing with store purchases. Just feels better knowing we are supporting locals.
I'm in a situation where I end up hunting both seasons (dep tags for 2nd season), no shortage of deer. One Son and I generally split half a beef from a buddy yearly, so we tell the locker to save the beef fat for us. Not uncommon that I can grind 150lbs of 90% lean venison burger a year in addition to roasts for jerky and some sausage and sticks from the locker.
From the little I've seen, a lot of the imports come from Australia. But I too had no idea that US producers could take that foreign beef and still label it as US beef. That needs to change, profits be damned.
Yes. The production cycle to get a replacement heifer ready to breed is 21-24 months. And you get one live birth per breeding.
I know that, but it doesn’t mean I’m ill informed. Cattle on feed and herd size should also be somewhat correlated. I get that heifers that would normally go into a cow calf operation are being sent to feedlots, but that obviously isn’t sustainable.
I grew up in a small cow-calf operation, so I don’t necessarily disagree, but it’s also hard for me to have a ton of empathy when feeders are at these crazy prices.
I read this summer an article by an ag economist who states it is simply “supply and demand” principles. The drought of the past 10 years has decreased grazing acres for beef and created a hardship in other feed stuffs for feeder cattle and as a result, the past several years, farmers and ranchers have had to cut back herd sizes thus supply is diwn and butcher houses are playing hard call on prices with producers. Meanwhile, others in the production chain are adding their price increases to the meat products and “the consumer” pays the freight. It has not much to do with Covid but lack of water and feed for cattle and the producers are being directly affected.
I won’t spend at either.
I blame London broil price on Brexit.
This is why all the meat I buy is supplied by a local farmer. I don't mind paying higher prices when I can look a guy in the eye and know I'm feeding him and his family.
