my neighbors parents had a ranch, we would always buy at least 1/2 a cow from them every year.
I ate next door a lot too cause they liked to do lots of barbecues.
even expensive steak houses do not compare
What are cattle prices like now..... I think it might surprise a few
Before the 70s, most farmers in the midwest commonly fed out cattle. A lot had their own beef herds, and would raise them from birth, wean at 7-8 months, putting on full feed after that. I grew up on such a farm, and had my own herd as an adult until age 46, when I got out of farming entirely.
In my trucking career I once drove through the town of Everly, IA, whose high school mascot was the ‘Cattlefeeders’. They had a string of very successful girls basketball teams long ago. That part of Iowa sent a lot of beef to the slaughterhouses.
https://www.hartleysentinel.com/story/2023/07/27/news/remembering-the-cattlefeeders/3164.html
Mom and Dad, along with my aunt and uncle, would split a beef from my cousin’s farm every year.
Most of the family was farmers, but I don’t think we have any anymore.
Venison is sounding pretty good, and we often have a herd of about 12 deer stroll by our windows. But we’re not hunters. Yet.
Similar situation here. My grandfather was a rancher. Twice a year he would slaughter a young cow and bring us the meat. My dad had to buy a large freezer. We ate beef 4 nights a week.