Buying My First Cow
This is most definitely not a vegan friendly post.
Last night we went out to dinner as my army buddy was up on business for a few days and during the dinner I bought a cow. This was obviously not planned as I had no idea he had bought 4 calves a couple of years ago and they will be ready for market in February next year. When he said do you want half or the whole thing I made it easier and said head to tail which will cost about R18K or $1K which is a lot to outlay in one go. If purchasing the same quantity from the butcher this would be upwards of R45K or ($2.5K).
He bought these at R700 ($40) each from another cattle farmer in the area as he lives in a farming community and apparently people do this. The cow when it goes to market minus the bones which is about 30% and deducted of the total weight will be around 300Kg's of meat.
Why is meat so expensive?
Why I said yes without hesitation was the price being around R60 per kilogram of meat which is roughly $3.50 per kg. This includes the butchering price dressing the cow to your needs which is R14 or $0.80c per kg. The problem of finding space for the meat is February's problem and will share this with my daughter giving her family 100kg's of various cuts leaving me with 200kg's. I will get the cow butchered according to our needs which will include the various meat cuts plus sausages and minced meat.
Living in South Africa we have meat daily or I feel as though I have been cheated somehow. Eating Beef is I would guess a twice a week occurrence as it is more expensive than chicken and Pork and is similar in price to lamb. Meat in SA with inflation has been on the up and being offered meat for less than half the price is a no brainer.
I actually said pity this is not lamb and he said that the other farmers have deals so yes lamb would be available if we wanted any. This is music to my ears as I have been looking for a farm direct to my kitchen type deal and now we have one.
I did not really think this deal over and said I would take the entire cow because the deal is that good. I am sure if there are certain cuts I do not want I can sell them on with no problem. Steaks at certain times of the year are 2.5 x this price and the fillet is at least 3 x this price. Mince is double this price and everyone uses mince so nothing will go to waste. This purchase will save us a small fortune on groceries each month and now I just need to add a lamb to the order and we shall be styling it.
Many years ago we used to buy half a lamb a month from a farm supplier and that business was bought out by a butcher in the area. This affected their sales so much as each delivery there would be a good hundred people waiting for the truck to arrive who would no longer be buying form the local butcher.
These days you have to be price conscious when you go shopping and I know my prices and spot a deal a mile away. He only has 4 cows available and he is going to increase his herd after this test run with the plan these will be available more regularly. He is a bit of a wheeler and dealer as he will end up with free meat for his own consumption plus another R35K ($2K) in profit after all costs are tallied up like winter feed etc.
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Interesting, I have never bought a whole cow :) I would be able to fill our freezer with meat if I bought a cow, but my wife only eats non-previously frozen meat so that is a no go for us...
I am also not a massive fan of previously frozen meat, but for certain cuts that is ok except steak. We shall see as I am sure I will sell quite a bit.
Beef meat is the best out there. I just went to a cabin in the mountains last weekend and we did some great beef BBQ, it was pretty nice. I think you did a good deal and for me without meat - my brain simply doesn't work at 100%.
I prefer lamb personally, but then a good steak is also hard to beat.
I laughed when you said you felt cheated if you didn't have some sort of meat every day, because I feel the same way.
Many, many years ago my husband and I used to do that. We never bought a whole cow, but would buy a half while a friend of his bought the other half. It was nice being able to say how you wanted it cut and how the freezer looked once it was filled. It was like beef wonderland in there! LOL Sometimes we'd purchase a case of chickens too. It was very nice, the price was cheaper and made a big reduction in the weekly market bill, that made up for it very quickly.
It is true though lol. I had a vegan meal once and this was eating out and just felt so wrong. When I woke up the next day I made a promise to myself that this would not happen again as eating vegetables is great when accompanied by some type of meat. It does make a big difference to the grocery bill if your meat is half the price.
That roughly R60 per kilo including the R14 processing is wild value, especially when steaks and fillet run two to three times that in the shops. Splitting 300 kilos and tailoring the cuts into steaks, sausages and mince will stretch the grocery budget for months, though February is going to look like a round of freezer Tetris. Love that you can tap the same network for lamb too, that farm direct link is gold. Are you going heavy on mince and sausages or saving a big chunk for roasts?
Did this once and bought 1/4 cow. It is definitely the way to go. So much better than the supermarket and significantly cheaper. Not to mention the one time hassle is much better than frequent shopping trips!