Retail Beef Outlook

[All-American]

Brisket was up to $5.49/pound at Costco on Friday. I'm gonna have to change my cheapskate ways.

Good night.

We bought a brisket a few weeks ago when the price seemed reasonable-- less than $3 a pound-- and threw it in the freezer, not knowing when we might need it. That turned out to be today. So we are good for lunch if anybody wants to head down to the Denver area in about an hour or so.

[cowboy]

Good night.

We bought a brisket a few weeks ago when the price seemed reasonable-- less than $3 a pound-- and threw it in the freezer, not knowing when we might need it. That turned out to be today. So we are good for lunch if anybody wants to head down to the Denver area in about an hour or so.

Processing capacity is a huge bottleneck right now. We have a lot of cattle that are slaughter-ready, but processing plants are only operating at about 70% capacity. It started with sick workers, but now a lot of social distancing-type protection in the plants is constraining throughput. Imports don't help much because most beef is imported on the rail and processed into subprimals here. We're getting some boxed beef from Brazil, but not enough to keep prices down. I expect this to keep retail prices high through the summer. On the bright side, a small facility opened in Cody, and I'll be able to get 30 head processed there in July to sell locally. If shipping weren't so stinking expensive I'd send all of you some beef.

[Pelado]

Processing capacity is a huge bottleneck right now. We have a lot of cattle that are slaughter-ready, but processing plants are only operating at about 70% capacity. It started with sick workers, but now a lot of social distancing-type protection in the plants is constraining throughput. Imports don't help much because most beef is imported on the rail and processed into subprimals here. We're getting some boxed beef from Brazil, but not enough to keep prices down. I expect this to keep retail prices high through the summer. On the bright side, a small facility opened in Cody, and I'll be able to get 30 head processed there in July to sell locally. If shipping weren't so stinking expensive I'd send all of you some beef.

When should I show up in Cody?

[cowboy]

July 16th.

[CJF]

July 16th.

I know you were kidding but I looked anyway. It is 7 hours each way. I’d have to bring back a lot of beef to make that work. Bummer.

[All-American]

I know you were kidding but I looked anyway. It is 7 hours each way. I’d have to bring back a lot of beef to make that work. Bummer.

Next to Yellowstone though. Make a nice road trip. Get an RV and a chest freezer and you’re golden.


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[cowboy]

I know you were kidding but I looked anyway. It is 7 hours each way. I’d have to bring back a lot of beef to make that work. Bummer.

They're not all spoken for, but yeah, it's tough to make work. I've thought about putting a number of orders together and sending a pallet down on a commercial transport, but everyone would have to pick it up at a central location, which would be a pain.

[Pelado]

I've got a local guy selling beef at $3.50/pound hanging weight (expecting around 600 pounds per head), planning to go to the butcher in two months. Is that a decent price, or should I get my meat elsewhere?

[Bo Diddley]

Prime brisket at Sam's in Provo was $2.98/pound this morning.

[Eddie]

I saw brisket on sale at Smith's last night for $3.99/pound last night and was tempted.

None at Coscto today when I went to take a peak.

[Bo Diddley]

I saw brisket on sale at Smith's last night for $3.99/pound last night and was tempted.

None at Coscto today when I went to take a peak.

I bought one up in South Jordan yesterday for $5/pound. The Sam's one is going in the freezer.

[cowboy]

I've got a local guy selling beef at $3.50/pound hanging weight (expecting around 600 pounds per head), planning to go to the butcher in two months. Is that a decent price, or should I get my meat elsewhere?

Hanging weight should be 800 to 900 lbs unless he's trying to sell you a cow. I would ask how old the animal is, what it's been fed, and what the live weight is. Should be less than 30 months, high grain ration for at least 90 days, and 1200 lbs or more. It will cost around $0.90/lb to get it processed, and you usually end up with about 65% of the hanging weight as take-home product.

[myboynoah]

Yes!

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[All-American]

Yes!

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I pledge to do my part to save the world.

[myboynoah]

I pledge to do my part to save the world.