Farmers market lessons

[PPRM]

Ok, my other post was long, so I decided to break my thoughts up...


We are really doing well......So much so that I tend to run out of Beef for this. And usually it is the cuts I charge the most for that I run out of first.....

I have posted in the past and gotten some really great feedback from here. I also hope some of my thoughts have helped others. I decided that maybe we could all help each oter with some sharing of ideas...What works and what does not....


First off, I am expanding my offerings. You'd be surprised at the ethnic groups thrilled to see a Good Oxtail offered. I also am marketing Soupbones as dog treats.....Heck, I may get some Dog Bones going. It is a way to get the yeild up by selling these parts....Other parts I have started selling are Liver and Heart....


Second, the value of a name and special.....I have started selling Chuck Steaks and Flat Iron Steaks.....Last week, we sold just a few Flat Iron Steaks. I have them priced at $5.00 per pound. This week I sold maybe 45 pounds of Flat Iron Steaks as I promoted them more.

I ran a special, Chuck Steaks 5 pounds for $18.00 or Flat Iron Steaks 5 pounds for $20.00......People bought the Flat Irons like crazy and almost ignored the Chuck Steaks....People will pay more.

I had two observations. I had a little flyer I printed up with facts about Flat Iron Steaks and a couple of Recipe's. It made people more comfortable purchasing something they were unfamiliar with....BUT THE NAME IS HUGE.....People just like the name, "Flat Iron Steaks". It has a rustic sound to it that has an effect you can see in people's body laguage...

LOL, I am thinking of calling my Chuck Steaks "Brushpopper's" or something like that....


I am also noticing that targeting a special in the $20 rnge seems to work well.....

Next weeks special will be "Brushpopper's" with PPRM's marinade tips on enhancing flavor, not covering it up...LOL

Any thoughts from others on what has worked and what as not is appreciated,

PPRM

 

[katrina]

Question? Are you going drug free?? And they are grass fat right??
How do you keep the meat cold?? What or how lean is your hamberger??
I think this is so cool.... Way to take the bull by the horns!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Turkey Track Bar]

Hi PPRM!

Congrats! It's exciting to see you're doing so well with this venture.

Your State Beef Council should be able to provide you some marketing literature (generally at no cost to you) on the Beef Value Cuts to help you better market them. We find we eat our Flat Iron Steaks quicker than any other steaks off of our carcasses. We just love them. Tender, juicy, and just the right size. I think, but am not sure the trade name for the Chuck Steaks is the "Ranch Cut." You might ask the Beef Council about that too. Online there is a website for the beef value cuts.

http://www.beefretail.org/newpbeefvaluecuts.aspx

Good luck...I think you're an inspiration to us all.

Have a great 4th of July week...please be safe.

Cheers---

TTB :wink:

 

[Turkey Track Bar]

Hi PPRM!

Congrats! It's exciting to see you're doing so well with this venture.

Your State Beef Council should be able to provide you some marketing literature (generally at no cost to you) on the Beef Value Cuts to help you better market them. We find we eat our Flat Iron Steaks quicker than any other steaks off of our carcasses. We just love them. Tender, juicy, and just the right size. I think, but am not sure the trade name for the Chuck Steaks is the "Ranch Cut." You might ask the Beef Council about that too. Online there is a website for the beef value cuts.

http://www.beefretail.org/newpbeefvaluecuts.aspx

Good luck...I think you're an inspiration to us all.

Have a great 4th of July week...please be safe.

Cheers---

TTB :wink:

Opps....sorry I just read your other topic...sorry, this is not so relevant, as it looks like you've already done this!

Sorry!!



Cheers---

TTB :wink:

 

[PPRM]

Question? Are you going drug free?? And they are grass fat right??
How do you keep the meat cold?? What or how lean is your hamberger??
I think this is so cool.... Way to take the bull by the horns!!!!!!!!!!

We are selling Beef from Calves we have raised that have never been given Hormones or Antibiotics.....I have been selling 1/2's since 1992 or so, but just last year or maybe 2 years ago started the selling of packages. It is USDA Inspected. On the Antibiotices, I had a hiefer 3 weeks from butchering come down with a respiratory illness Thursday....I gave her a shot and marked the ear.....She will go to Tyson and that will cost me about $350 in value....


We dry age for 21 days which makes us have to sell frozen. The repeat busines is incredible. A nieghbor says his dad told him, "I dunno, he wants a lot for his Hamburger!" I charge $3.50 per pound...He tried one pack and now buys nothing else. I am just saying throw out all the misperceptions of selling frozen meat. You can and can sell a lot of it!

I do finish my cattle on Corn. I personally like it better than grass fat, so it is what I sell. I feed them to a point and then have to decide if I need to butcher them or fed them fatter for Tyson....I have wanted to test my Burger for fat content, but never have gotten it done. All I know is whe you fry it up, there is no fat to drain off.....I have looked into grass fat as i get asked a lot..i may keep a few more hiefers, get a calf out of them and cull the ones that don't perform and sell them into the Grass Fat....It is the only way I know to get the size I want for grass fat...Most grass fat calves are close to 24 months or very small from th guys I have seen..

Here is my personal thought on Fat and our Industry.....I have found I can get flavor and tendernes with Dry Aging for 21 days. Te mainstream Beef Channel can't do that. Number one, they sell fresh, not frozen. Number two, the cooler space is expensive, so dry aging for 3 weeks is not likely to go over. So, the mainstram uses fat to ensure flavor and tenderness.....I don't have to...

By Selling Natural Beef, I am not one that bangs the drum to condemn the mainstram way of doing it, I offer it as that is what people ask for. I try to sell Beef in general. I was out of T-bone Steaks this week and refered people to a Special Safeway was having for instance....I have lots of customers, I don't need to bad mouth any others to sell, just tell what I do..


PPRM

 

[PPRM]

Hi PPRM!

Congrats! It's exciting to see you're doing so well with this venture.

Your State Beef Council should be able to provide you some marketing literature (generally at no cost to you) on the Beef Value Cuts to help you better market them. We find we eat our Flat Iron Steaks quicker than any other steaks off of our carcasses. We just love them. Tender, juicy, and just the right size. I think, but am not sure the trade name for the Chuck Steaks is the "Ranch Cut." You might ask the Beef Council about that too. Online there is a website for the beef value cuts.

http://www.beefretail.org/newpbeefvaluecuts.aspx

Good luck...I think you're an inspiration to us all.

Have a great 4th of July week...please be safe.

Cheers---

TTB :wink:

TTB,

Thanks so much for the Link! I just went there and will definetly spend more time.....The opportunity to take product I sell for $3-3.50 per pound and get $5-6.00 a pound is huge for us...

I was a supporter of the beef check-off a long time ago. It came into being just before i graduated from college. The prospects for jobs in this industry were horrible. However, Life is much better now....

I would be willing to pay for some literature. The reason is it does benefit me directly where it generally indirectly benefits most producers. I had a brand inspector once say, "I am not sure if you should be charged a Beef council fee on the cattle you have sold as Halves" I said, "Don't worry about it, I would pay double what you guys collect as I have seen the difference it has made"....So, that is my perspectve,

Thanks again TTB.........

Hee Hee, another thread I am thinking of..."Recipes that are simple and don't cover the flavor of Beef" ....I want to help my costomers, but most recipes I see are way too complicated and seem to cover the flavor of meat. I just don't see the point, LOL,..PPRM's Recipe....Grill the meat, add pepper as needed......if the meat is bad, grab the steak sauce, LOL,

PPRM

 

[Shortgrass]

Do your cuts need to be USDA inspected? I was under the impression that I can legally sell live beef, but when it is cut & wrapped that an inspection iss required.

 

[andybob]

When we moved to England, we realised that direct sales was the only way we were going to build up a new livestock operation. Initially we started with farmers' markets, then opened up a small shop on the farm, selling free range pork and beef. One Saturday, I was prearing a special order for a weekend BBQ for an expatriot club, the customers comming in asked about the spicy smell of the 'Boerewors' I was making, and all asked to try some, within weeks this became my best seller both to local English families, and to more expats who heared on the "Bush telegraph" that I was selling genuine recipe Boerewors. We branched out into several exotic lines as a result, including starting up with goats. If you want some different names for your beef cuts, try some of the British terms, by rolling and tying some of the forequarter cuts, you can add value as roasts instead of stewing meat, Ground beef increases value as sausages and cubed meat on a skewer, with slices of fat, onion and sweet peppers (dry fruit for pork) to make 'sosaties' Kebabs if mutton is used, these can also be kept in a maranade sauce to add different flavours, but always adding value to otherwise cheap cuts.

 

[PPRM]

Do your cuts need to be USDA inspected? I was under the impression that I can legally sell live beef, but when it is cut & wrapped that an inspection iss required.

That is how I started, selling Live Beef. However, I would eventually be faced with peoples kids moving out and a family of two not needing a half or even a quarter.....I needed to be able to sell smaller units and then had to sell inspected meat. Not a bad thing as the plant I am doing this with is small and do a great job.

Initially, my thought was selling 50 pound variety packages so that I could ensure I would not have a bunch of left over cuts. However,once I became inspected I found the bigger opportunity is in selling individual packages,


PPRM

 

[PPRM]

When we moved to England, we realised that direct sales was the only way we were going to build up a new livestock operation. Initially we started with farmers' markets, then opened up a small shop on the farm, selling free range pork and beef. One Saturday, I was prearing a special order for a weekend BBQ for an expatriot club, the customers comming in asked about the spicy smell of the 'Boerewors' I was making, and all asked to try some, within weeks this became my best seller both to local English families, and to more expats who heared on the "Bush telegraph" that I was selling genuine recipe Boerewors. We branched out into several exotic lines as a result, including starting up with goats. If you want some different names for your beef cuts, try some of the British terms, by rolling and tying some of the forequarter cuts, you can add value as roasts instead of stewing meat, Ground beef increases value as sausages and cubed meat on a skewer, with slices of fat, onion and sweet peppers (dry fruit for pork) to make 'sosaties' Kebabs if mutton is used, these can also be kept in a maranade sauce to add different flavours, but always adding value to otherwise cheap cuts.

Some good Ideas there.....I am looking at the next steps....maybe getting a Food Handlers License so I can sell cooked meat off of a Treager is one of them....Nothing to draw people in like the smell of cooking Beef..... I can turn Low end cuts into better money....

I do have to ask what a "Boerewors" is though, LOL...

PPRM

 

[andybob]

I do have to ask what a "Boerewors" is though, LOL...

PPRM[/quote]
Boerewors are a spicy non linked beef or venison sausage, popular for BBQ's very addictive even to people not from Southern Africa, if you would like to try a recipe, I can PM you an old family recipe that has proved popular wherever I have made it.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

I got to wonderin, since I've never heard of a Flat iron steak anywhere but on here, as to all the different names for different cuts of meat. Found a website that lists a whole slew of different names for stuff...thought you might find a name you'd rather call your chuck steak or "Brushpopper" LOL

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~jvdillon/beef.html

 

[PPRM]

I do have to ask what a "Boerewors" is though, LOL...

PPRM

Boerewors are a spicy non linked beef or venison sausage, popular for BBQ's very addictive even to people not from Southern Africa, if you would like to try a recipe, I can PM you an old family recipe that has proved popular wherever I have made it.[/quote]

That would be appreciated!

PPRM

 

[PPRM]

I got to wonderin, since I've never heard of a Flat iron steak anywhere but on here, as to all the different names for different cuts of meat. Found a website that lists a whole slew of different names for stuff...thought you might find a name you'd rather call your chuck steak or "Brushpopper" LOL

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~jvdillon/beef.html

Thanks Lilly!

PPRM