Small Butcher Shops Comeback

On Drudge there is a link to an article about small butcher shops in the Miami and Palm Beach areas.Said business is booming for them and they ain't cheap said that what sells
is meat with no antibiotics,no growth hormones,no nitrates and being able to trace where the animals were raised.Also cited a poll that 4 in 10 consumers these days look for organic and non GMO food.Looks like the 'fad' ain't going anywhere
soon(LOL)

Hat's off to them. I used butcher shops/slaughter houses when the kids were growing up doing everything I could to get them fed and raised and geez even having some fun some times. Never figured how they could make a good living at it considering all that's involved.

On GMO or no GMO. Wonder just how far the subject goes......you raise a corn crop...save the seeds from the best producing plants.....have a livestock operation, breed the best animals.....sell semen from your best for others to GMO their herd...........

Wonder how many full bellies in the world are full because of crop modifications to produce the best with the least input? Wonder how many have absolutely no idea as to what's in what they eat or where it comes from.

Question asked by ? to ?: Where does your food come from.......daaaaaa. The grocery store???????

Part of the current fad of No this No that. This Free, that Free.....sometimes I think why don't you just make it 100% Free and not bother to produce it! To me it's all about getting "your" hand around the container of their product. Dupe the public. Twist wording, catch phrases, scare tactics, on and on.

Big difference between hybred and GMO that a lot don't seem to understand. Hybred is just taking a pair of plants and polinating the first with pollen from second for several sets of plants to get traits wanted. GMO os changing something in a lab that cannot happen in nature and hybred does happen in nature. I am for hybred but not GMO.

In the area of the country where I live, just about every town had, or has, a privately owned meat processor. I can only think of three that have gone out of business in my lifetime. All the ones remaining are running at near full capacity every week. The one where I took my butcher hogs to would slaughter forty hogs a week just for their retail business. All of them buy animals from the area farmers. If you want to know which farmers they buy their animals from, you only need to ask. The only time you hear GMO is if a small farmer goes that route, and sells his animals privately. They still have the animals processed at one of these processors, so the meat can be inspected by a government food inspector.

Kind of like advertising "gluten free" on a product made from corn.

Now if we could get some small slaughter houses back, It kills my back when I do a pig. I paid one place about 40 miles away to do it once but .50 a pound and they did not let it hang was not worth it. One old Gent told me once that son you have to let it hang for at least two days to let the sin come out.

Many small butcher shops have found additional profits in processing deer for hunters. They have to work OT and Sundays to keep up.

Yes there is a difference between hybrid and GMO, hybrid is haphazard while GMO is controlled selection, on other words GMO has more safety nets in place than a hybrid breeding program could ever think about http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/are_gmos_safe_yes_the_case_against_them_is_full_of_fraud_lies_and_errors.html
Untitled URL Link

Neighboring farmer I worked for in the summers in high school was trying to make it in beef cattle- he and his dad (he was only 5 years older than me) set up a butcher shop to retail their beef. I worked for him in the evenings and weekends cutting and wrapping. He was doing OK, I think, but then the local supermarket chain offered him a job as meatcutter. Steady wages, benefits, vacations, etc., and that was that for the home meat shop.

That's not so in my area . I think we have only one left right in area. We doo have a few guys that do it out of their garage but I wouldn't call them a butcher shop.

I think that has happened more than once, regulations have really put the hurt on small businesses like that,I always have had a soft spot for the guys that run small butcher shop, they have helped me out more than once when I had a cow that was close to 2000 lbs break a leg on a Saturday evening, a good friend that worked at one took her in and spent till 1 in the morning butchering her , probably couldn't even do that anymore , but saved me 900 lbs of meat

Considering what I learned on last years cross country train ride and what I see with my daughters urbanite friends, I would agree with that poll. It does seem to be a solid trend at the moment.

(quoted from post at 04:38:06 07/03/18) Hat's off to them. I used butcher shops/slaughter houses when the kids were growing up doing everything I could to get them fed and raised and geez even having some fun some times. Never figured how they could make a good living at it considering all that's involved.

On GMO or no GMO. Wonder just how far the subject goes......you raise a corn crop...save the seeds from the best producing plants.....have a livestock operation, breed the best animals.....sell semen from your best for others to GMO their herd...........

Wonder how many full bellies in the world are full because of crop modifications to produce the best with the least input? Wonder how many have absolutely no idea as to what's in what they eat or where it comes from.

Question asked by ? to ?: Where does your food come from.......daaaaaa. The grocery store???????

Part of the current fad of No this No that. This Free, that Free.....sometimes I think why don't you just make it 100% Free and not bother to produce it! To me it's all about getting "your" hand around the container of their product. Dupe the public. Twist wording, catch phrases, scare tactics, on and on.

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LOL! Really? We are taking what could be food and putting it in our gas tanks! And you go on about full bellies? Well lets start looking at this. The US produces only about 45% or the worlds food to start with so you ain't feeding the world, or even half of it. So any US farmer claiming that they are filling bellies all the while trying to get the government to force more BIO fuels on the nation are not being completely honest! If you were so concerned about filling bellies you'd demand that they stop making fuel out of crops and dedicate those crops to feeding those starving in the world! I understand you are not farming for the heck of it. You are trying to make a living. What you are not used to is the consumer saying "I don't want that". Well that is what the consumer is doing today. You are now going to have to meet what the consumer is expecting. Basically the farmer lost. The tree huggers convinced people that all the chemicals are dangerous. And no, they are not going to take your word for it. They see you as a business in it for profit. While the farmer was on farm forums going on about how dumb city folks are the tree huggers were gaining national media attention. Then PETA jumped in. Now most folks are not going to stop eating meat because of PETA but they don't like the idea of animals being maltreated. And the Farmer got on farm forums and made fun of city slickers. Now the city slicker want's non GMO food and free range eggs. It's no longer a fad either. Not when you go to the grocery store and look at just how much space is dedicated to "cage free" "free range" "grass fed" and or organic foods. Don't matter how flawed the system is or how easy it is or isn't to cheat. That is what the consumer wants. And farmers are not use to bowing to customer demand. You are not going to fix anything here. You need to get on health food forums and convince the CONSUMER, some 320 million people, that 3.5 million are right.

Rick

I've seen "gluten free" on other non-wheat products also. Potato chips is one of them. Good marketing ploy, capitalizing on another "in" trend by an uneducated public. It isn't false advertising. Corn and taters truely are gluten free. Successful advertising is all about convincing gullible and trendy consumers they are getting something special. I've always considered the advertising business legal lying.

One we have is expanding. One thing that they missed was the reduction in stress on the critters. One guy told me about a steer that got loose in town everything was chasing it and finally someone shot it . When it was butchered to save the meat it was black from all the adrenaline running through it from being so spooked they tried to feed it to the dog and even he didn't want it.
If you think about it cattle that have been always in one pen are suddenly chased on a truck transported several hours possible run through a sales ring then into a building smelling of blood if that critter ain't tense it would be a miracle.
A critter run to a local butchers would still be loaded and transported and run into a strange building would have some stress but not near as much.

We have our game processors but the upscale, high end, trendy butcher shop in town is way too expensive for most people. They are selling locally raised meats and poultry but H/S it?s expensive. I can?t afford it.

Oldtanker......you rock !

Know anybody that ate GMO and died? Ever take any medicine.........produced in a lab? I guess you can't call Betty Crocker kitchens labs......or can you? Show me the proof and I'll buy into it. No proof, no story.

That's another catch phrase....I think I saw it on a can of soda pop recently....some place where any idiot would know it didn't exist in the product.

sounds like you better read up and get facts about ethanol you are far off base

On the eggs, I buy the best I can and get them from a farm across the street when I can....with doo do all over them. Neighbor feeds them mealy worms
from TSC when they can get them and lettuce and all kinds of stuff. Really a difference in the taste and I eat between 2-4 a day and my cholesterol is
normal and I take no drugs for it.

(quoted from post at 09:53:15 07/03/18) Know anybody that ate GMO and died? Ever take any medicine.........produced in a lab? I guess you can't call Betty Crocker kitchens labs......or can you? Show me the proof and I'll buy into it. No proof, no story.

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I wasn't taking sides here. I telling you like it is, not how I wish it were. How much other stuff did they use for years, decades even before they realized there was a problem? And the chemical companies have a poor track record. That means the average consumer doesn't trust them. And really? When it comes to marketing your crops? You have to have a salable product to sell it. If no one wants it you get low prices and go broke. So it matters not what you believe or what I believe, it's what the average consumer believes. Don't matter what you buy into......and like I said, I haven't taken sides in this. I telling you what the average person is seeing and hearing. And most of it is negative. Just the way it is.

Gene, I know about ethanol. I was basically making the statement that if a person is so concerned with feeding the bellies of the world they wouldn't grow crops destined for the gas tank. Guess what, the average consumer knows that too. This too hurts the farmers credibility when trying to convince people that what is produced is safe. My fault, I should have made it clear. Think about it. Almost everyone has access to the internet. So you tell me how the American farmer feeds the world and I check and find that you don't. Then you tell me how important it is to feed the starving bellies and I know that a certain amount of what you grow goes to BIO fuels. Keep in mind that the average person doesn't know there is a difference in types of crops. So now the average person egged on by the tree huggers and PETA is convinced you lie. Now tell them again how safe GMO's are? And this is what the farmer is fighting. Preaching to each other on this forum is doing nothing to fix the problem.

Rick

(quoted from post at 10:01:46 07/03/18) sounds like you better read up and get facts about ethanol you are far off base

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LOL like this, a direct quote from the federal government: "Ethanol reduces fuel economy" and is "corrosive"! Them the facts you want me to read up on? And yes I found that with a simple search on a government site.

What I meant was that the acreage used to plant crops destined for the fuel tank could be planted to crops to feed the masses. And that's how the average consumer sees it too.

Rick

(quoted from post at 10:01:46 07/03/18) sounds like you better read up and get facts about ethanol you are far off base

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OH Forgot to ask, just where am I supposed to find these facts you think we should know? For every site you can show me that says BIO fuels are good I bet I can find at least one if not more that will say just the opposite.

Rick

I'm a disbeliever in your facts!

(quoted from post at 11:17:07 07/03/18) I'm a disbeliever in your facts!

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LOL was't asking anyone to believe any facts if that was directed at me. Just posted something I found on a government site. And most of us on here have hashed out GMO, organic and BIO fuels. I don't recall anyone changing anyone's mind. What I am saying is you have to take this to the consumer. Either that or watch your market share grow ever smaller.

Rick

(quoted from post at 14:15:34 07/03/18) Now if we could get some small slaughter houses back, It kills my back when I do a pig. I paid one place about 40 miles away to do it once but .50 a pound and they did not let it hang was not worth it. One old Gent told me once that son you have to let it hang for at least two days to let the sin come out.

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You normally don't let pork hand. The animal should be big enough to butch at around six months. We all know that the younger the animal is, the more tender the meat is.
Beef should be hung for a few days though.

I remember the big push for people to eat more poultry. The idea was that red meat was bad, and white meat was more healthy. Beef and pork prices dropped like a rock. Then the pork producers coined the phrase; the other white meat. That brought the pork prices back up. The average consumer can be lead around by their noses. Farmers just need to get a good grip on those noses too.

Good it?s just to bad here everybody is a farmer or knows a farmer and won?t buy into the (fad) . Maybe eventually I there will be a market and I can make a living off my little 200 acres

They?ll believe what ever the mainstream media and
Facebook feeds them so long as it?s anti agriculture

(quoted from post at 12:19:20 07/03/18)
I remember the big push for people to eat more poultry. The idea was that red meat was bad, and white meat was more healthy. Beef and pork prices dropped like a rock. Then the pork producers coined the phrase; the other white meat. That brought the pork prices back up. The average consumer can be lead around by their noses. Farmers just need to get a good grip on those noses too.

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LOL everyone can be lead around by their noses. Why in the heck do you think people will sit and argue for days about which tractor is best? Most have never even operated the tractors the hate the most.

Thing of it is if you have seen chemical companies for over a century have accidents and produce "safe" only to find out that the accidents were preventable and often those safe chemicals that turned out to be not so safe? Well the chemical companies often knew about that too. And now all of a sudden people are supposed to trust the chemical companies? And then the see this guy on the news in a nice farm yard setting leaning on a 500,000 tractor crying about not making any money. And they are supposed to believe them too? This is where it breaks down. Perceptions! If you knew nothing about farming and saw that on TV you'd be inclined to believe the other side too. Last time I saw something on the news about the plight of farmers they interviewed that farmer and his wife. Shots taken around a very nice farm site. A few very nice large buildings. Nice house too. They had one shot of the farmer next to a near new JD combine the next to a near new JD 4X4 tractor. I read the comments, mostly city folks. Most were wondering why a guy with millions in assets was crying. General attitude was "the farmer is not our friend and doesn't care if our food is safe as long as he makes a profit". And that's just how they see it. And the farmer is either going to have to bend to will of the consumer or they are going to have to mount a campaign to change people's minds. People who see a farm as a business and farmers as business owners.

Look at it this way. Several local towns got Wal Marts over the last 25 years. Lot of places claimed that if they let Wal Mart in they they were going to have to close up shop. And most of those businesses are still here. Yea they lowered prices by 10 to 15%. But they are still open and are doing fine. Lot of the locals have figured out that those business were ripping their friends and neighbors off left and right for a lot of years before Wal Mart. Most of these people will never trust those shop owners again. Well they feel the same way about farmers. Heck we've even got farmers against each other.

Bottom line is the consumer is the one with the buying power. They also like to live. They want to be healthy too. Most are willing to spend a little more to eat what they think is better for them. So IF GMO's are safe then the GMO farmers need to get that across to the buying public.

Rick

When I was selling freezer pigs the people were happy that I never use antibiotics in the feed. But I did use wormer in the feed when I started the pigs on feed. I told the customers that I didn't want anyone to eat a wormy pig. They were okay with that.

One thing I forgot to mention about the small butcher shops. That is the liver sausage (leberwurst) and head cheese (Kopf kase) they still make. Come to think about it's been awhile since I've had either one. Maybe I better go see how things are going with them and pick up some head cheese and liver sausage.

That?s the thing I don?t spray herbicide unless I have to but it?s
nice have that tool . I don?t even give my calves 8 way or
doctor them with anything unless they?re sick but it?s nice to
have that tool .. the organic dairy I worked for lost 24 cows
guess what no way to dr em and if you do there goes your
certification they have some unicorn vaccines and stuff that
don?t work . Why limit the food supply with the population
growing and the expected population growth ?

I like asking for an order of the free gluten at restaurants.

......and "bleeding heart". What they seem to ignore is the fact that somebody needs to pay the bill? Easy to ignore the hard, realistic, facts.

Was at Sugar Mountain Farm (SugarMtnFarm.com) not quite two weeks ago. They do their own butchering in their own shop right there at the farm. Some of you folks out east might want to check it out, it's the real deal for organic raised pigs. It's on the side of a mountain in Vermont, but then isn't every thing in Vermont? Got to meet Walter the owner and one of his sons. Nice people. Yeah he's a little "pricey" but hey to each their own.

There used to be a guy around here that would come out to your farm and do the kill at your place then haul the carcass back and finish it in his shop. He had a panel truck with a chain fall on an overhead rail that he could pull out to hang the animal while it bled out. Put the guts and blood in big 55gal. drums with lids on them. Not a job I would want. Guess I'm one of those kids you all are always talking about that just doesn't want to work.

I find people aren't so much worried about how the farmer raised it, but want to buy from some one who's going to be honest with them about how and what was used in the production.

Boy them green mountains sure are pretty, got nothing like that around here (SWMI).

JD

(quoted from post at 05:21:51 07/04/18) ......and "bleeding heart". What they seem to ignore is the fact that somebody needs to pay the bill? Easy to ignore the hard, realistic, facts.

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Mark, as a consumer what bill? That's the point. It isn't the consumer's bill. So if you want the consumers money to pay bills you either offer them something they just cannot get elsewhere or you provide what they want. It's that simple. Why do you think that people say "the customer is always right"? That's because the customer is the one spending the money you need in your pocket. And today the food customer has other options. And when they pick the other stuff over your stuff you now have 4 options. 1: Change! 2: Convince them you stuff is as good as the other. 3: Keep doing what you are doing and make less money. Or 4: Quit.

OK, cold hard fact. Some farmers may be struggling but as long as there is food in the store to buy it's not the average consumers problem! It's the farmers problem! And sense most farmers care little about city slicker problems why should the city slicker care about his?

You will note I haven't taken sides in the food fight. I have just addressed the problems with people's take on the food issues, the fact that more and more people are buying into what they think is the healthier option, and the fact that farmers raising GMO crops, caged birds and feed lot animals have done very poorly at addressing the masses concerning food safety. They have also failed to convince the general public that ethanol mandates are good.

Rick