I live in a county of 10k and there are 3 businesses in my county (butcher, processors, smokehouses). I can buy a cow from a farmer I know, he delivers it to the butcher, and I pay the farmer roughly $3 per pound for the finished beef and pay the butcher about $0.60 per pound for processing. I then divide the costs and the beef between 4 families and we are setup for a year with steaks, ground beef and roasts.
Ive seen lots of cows in NorthEast Colorado (Sterling, CO sticks out in my memory), contact a small farmer/rancher and ask them if you're interested. Many of them raise a product (cows) that is better quality than "feedlot cattle" and they can make more in private sale than they get from a packing plant that pays lower rates for small quantities and higher rates to feedlots that bring in larger quantities. The Denver Stock Show is still the premiere stock show in the Midwest, so Denver is still a "Cow Town", big time!
I live in a county of 10k and there are 3 businesses in my county (butcher, processors, smokehouses). I can buy a cow from a farmer I know, he delivers it to the butcher, and I pay the farmer roughly $3 per pound for the finished beef and pay the butcher about $0.60 per pound for processing. I then divide the costs and the beef between 4 families and we are setup for a year with steaks, ground beef and roasts.
that's awesome!
Ive seen lots of cows in NorthEast Colorado (Sterling, CO sticks out in my memory), contact a small farmer/rancher and ask them if you're interested. Many of them raise a product (cows) that is better quality than "feedlot cattle" and they can make more in private sale than they get from a packing plant that pays lower rates for small quantities and higher rates to feedlots that bring in larger quantities. The Denver Stock Show is still the premiere stock show in the Midwest, so Denver is still a "Cow Town", big time!