Cryovac

[Ben H]

I get more and more frustrated with my butcher with every animal I send. I use them for two reasons and two reasons only. They are 10-15 minutes away and they are one of the few USDA inspected plants in the state.

The problem I have is too many of the packages are loosing their seal. With the two animals I processed in June to sell at the farmers market I estimate I 've have over $200 worth of meat I can't sell because the plastic looses its vacume and starts getting frost in it.

Some have nicks that break the seal from handling. Maybe there is a better plastic that could be used. I had been setting the hamburg pattie packages to the side and thawed a bunch of those out to use up this weekend, throwing out the ones that were freezer burned. One thing I noticed is that most of those ones that had lost their seal, I could easily, with little effort, pull the plastic apart at the seal. I'm thinking they are not taking the time to hold it under the heat long enough. Should I be able to pull that seal apart by hand at all let alone with little effort?

On a side not, if you want to drop your draw, here is what they charge.

$45 Kill Fee
$85 Rendering Fee
$.60/lb cut/wrap cryovac $.40/lb for paper I think
an additional $.40/lb for pre-formed patties.
Does anyone in the US charge more then that?

 

[Anonymous]

Yours must be taking the packaged weight for the $.60 lb...

Mine uses the hanging weight...I still have the bill laying here on my desk for the steer I had slaughtered last month- weighed 708 on the rail at $.44 Lb--$311-- charged $45 +hide for butchering so the total cost was $356...That included having some burger pattied--everything packaged for 2 (since kids are gone) and the round steak cubed.....

 

[Goodpasture]

OT, that is about what mine charges. Kill fee is less though. I pay $40 for him to kill in the field. Kill fee if I haul is $25

 

[Ben H]

I was wrong, the kill fee is $40

The $0.60 is definately by hanging weight.

One cow, carcass weight 1040
+262 lbs patties
$853

Heifer, carcass weight 676
$530.60

$1384.40 for the two

oh yeah, forgot to mentione my % retail. ( I figured the weight of what I brought home to freezer compared to the hanging weight)

46.16% for the heifer. I was up in New Brunswick for my National Guard training and they called leaving a message that the animal was over 30 months...when it wasn't.
45.55% for the cow
The cow I got cut up into hamburb, patties, Ribeyes and Tenderloins.

A guy who leases some pasture from the same place I do used to work for them, he won't take animals there because they apparently waste too much in trimming.

RAPE!

 

[Anonymous]

I was wrong, the kill fee is $40

The $0.60 is definately by hanging weight.

One cow, carcass weight 1040
+262 lbs patties
$853

Heifer, carcass weight 676
$530.60

$1384.40 for the two

RAPE!

YIPE----Did he give you Vaseline first :wink: :lol:

 

[PPRM]

What remedy did he offer on the damaged packages? Or have you mentioned it to him....

Most my calves come in at about $350-400 or so with all the costs...I do have a lot of Jerky made....

I am not a Cryovac fan...I like the old fashiond Butcher paper, double wrapped deal myself,

Pat

 

[Ben H]

last time I had the problem, I estimated that possibly as high as 10% of packages lost their seal. Their reply was something like "hmmmm, that's interesting" offering nothing. When I took the meat home to the freezer very few had lost a seal. I was a little more satisified at the time and told the shop that. It's appeard as I dig further in the freezer that the ones I put away, I was checking as I put them in, some are starting to loose their seal. I always cut the package open, for some reason on Sunday I tried pulling the seal apart and was shocked at how easy it was. I assumed you shouldn't be able to do that. Now that I thnk about it, they did say that if I had any not sealed properly I could bring them back and they'd re-seal them. Because there were so few when I first unloaded the meat into the freezer, I just set them aside and used them first. It's later on down the road that they loose their seal and by the time I notice, it's too late.

One thing I like about the plastic is that it keeps longer after you thaw it out. I can also thawit out in a water bath...as long as it's sealed properly. The other thing is that customers who come to the farm or farmers market can see the steak they are buying in the plastic.

I realize things cost more in Maine/New England but this is kinda rediculous. My catthe Vet is not bad, actually haven't had her here for the cows in a long time. The equine vets are crazy, I don't want to know how much we've dumped into breeding costs for mares the last two years and not gotten one single pregnency. Maybe sometime I'll find one of the bills to show the breakdown of some of their costs.

NOTE: Those percent yields are all boneless.

 

[Jason]

Your yields are fine, some don't realize the amount of bone.

Here costs are $38 to kill if you haul in to the inspected facility, $80 for a mobile uninspected kill, both take hides.

$0.55 carcass weight at one place, $0.50 at the inspected kill facility, but they charge another $0.08 on the grind.

Animals finished to packer levels take a whole lot more trim.

As for the seal, take them up on the reseal deal. Check every package, with labor as it is, some kid that really could care less is likely doing the machine and not taking the time to do it well.

If they get a good guy in there he will most likely need better wages to stay and their rates will have to climb to cover costs.

The horse kill facility here is looking for 40 people, I heard they are offering between $18-$20 an hour.

Try penciling those wages on 2 people for an average of 1.5 animals a day plus facility overhead utilites etc. It's getting tough to make a buck at anything that is labor intensive.

 

[rustynail]

the butcher i use charges $5 kill fee, $20 for disposal, keeps the hide and charges $0.32 per pound for how ever you want it cut up, wrapped in heavy freezer paper and frozen. i think that is a pretty good deal and i'm satisfied with his work. used one other butcher across the road from him and felt like i did not get all of my meat.

G3

 

[Northern Rancher]

At first I thought this post was about Ted Williams lol.

 

[Steve]

Ben H

One thing I noticed is that most of those ones that had lost their seal, I could easily, with little effort, pull the plastic apart at the seal. I'm thinking they are not taking the time to hold it under the heat long enough. Should I be able to pull that seal apart by hand at all let alone with little effort?

I find two problems when using our high end vacuum sealer...one is moisture or meat contaminants on the seal area, and that is the worse of the two... it is hardly noticeable unless you check every seal..

to correct it we double seal...and have very few problems...(with our unit we can pull the material back and re-seal, I don't think they can do that with the cryovac,)

the other is the heat element may be worn out..they don't last forever, especially on the commercial units..

 

[cedardell]

Ask for a refund. Also could be packing it fresh. Needs to be around 40 degrees when packed.