Why Should You Buy Your Fall Beef In The Spring?
It takes so long to get cattle to the point that they are ready to be processed that the supply of available beef is actually set 18 months before you are ready to purchase it. When you start getting into specialty markets like grass fed/finished, all natural, etc. that supply is even more difficult to come by.
You should be shopping for your beef right now, if you are hoping to have it in the fall.
There is something innate in humans that makes them start thinking about putting red meat in the freezer in the fall. Obviously it goes back to the days of surviving and preparing for the winter.
While that type of preparation is no longer necessary, this instinct still impacts demand for beef. There is a whole group of consumers out there, who are going to want farm raised beef, but they are not planning ahead. Therefore, when the first signs of fall start to show up, something will click in their brain. Right at that moment this group will start shopping for farm raised beef, and the demand will shoot through the roof.
This will create a seller’s market and very real possibility that you could miss out!
So Who Orders Beef Six Months In Advance?
The short answer to the above question is – the people that actually put beef in their freezer for the winter!
As we all know, the Treasure Valley is growing faster than any place in the rest of the United States. You can look at this however you like, but one thing is for sure – this creates a seller’s market when it comes to goods and services.
Just try and get some sort of a home service booked these days and you will see just how long you will be on a waiting list. I ordered something as simple as a screen door a few weeks ago, and it was not delivered and installed for about a month.
Of course in a market like this, prices tend to rise. I want to assure you that we have not raised our prices on beef or pork in three years, and I don’t have any plans to do so.
My Inspiration To Keep Prices Where They Are
Just as a side note, I interviewed a gentleman named David Hancock on my podcast, Off-Farm Income, about a year ago. David owns Hancock Family Farms in La Plata, Maryland and appeared on episode #498.
During the interview with David we talked about how he prices his beef and other products. One of his goals was to offer really great food to people at reasonable prices. So, while he saw room in the market to raise his prices, he was not going to do that. I really liked what David had to say about his business model. So, while I see room in our market to raise our prices, we are not going to do that either.
We, like David, strive to be a great deal for folks looking for grass fed beef. But, unlike David, we do not have a large enough farm to produce the volume of beef that he does in Maryland. This means that even though we are not allowing the hot market to drive our prices up, there is nothing we can do about running out of supply!
MicroEconomics 101
Either in high school or college you probably took an entry level economics course. So you understand the dynamics of supply vs. demand and how prices tend to rise when demand exceeds supply.
What happens if there is high demand in a marketplace that is driving prices up, but there is a seller that ignores the pressure to raise prices? Demand for that seller’s particular product rises even more. Soon, they are out of inventory.
That is our situation, and I don’t anticipate having beef for sale for much longer.
I am taking advantage of being the author of this post right here and letting you know that we have only 1.75 steers left to sell for 2019. We are taking steers to the butcher on two separate dates this year (October of 2019 and January 2020). We have 1/2 beef left to sell for October and 1 & 1/4 beef left to sell for January. We would love to hear from you and get you on our list.
How To Source Farm Raised Beef Now
If you miss your chance with us, you should be looking elsewhere right now. I would start with a Google search on grass fed beef in the Boise area. I would also look at Craigslist under the Farm and Garden section for grass fed beef for sale. Frequently you don’t see ads on here until an animal is ready to be processed. However, you may find some farmers who are advertising beef for the fall.
I would also look at local Facebook groups for farming and agriculture. Here are few of the groups that I follow and post in:
- Idaho Heartland Homesteading Farm & Ranch
- Treasure Valley Farm And Garden
- Treasure Valley Buy/Sell/Trade Farm & Garden
- Emmet Farm And Garden
- Idaho Farm And Garden – that’s a picture of our goats from a couple years ago on there
- You might also check all the different Buy/Sell groups, but Facebook will frequently restrict the sale of animals for processing and you might not see those ads there
One Way Or Another, Get Your Beef Ordered Now
We hope to be your beef supplier. But even if we are not, we hope you will buy your beef from a local producer right here in the Treasure Valley. As advocates for farming and for small, local producers, we want to see everyone succeed. So please start looking now, and find one of these great producers to help you fill your freezer when those instincts kick in this year.