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Wal Mart and the BEEF they sell

OT what happened to the COOL law that passed in Montana?

I wasn't for that passing because it meant the meat (source unkown-which is most of the meat in Montana) would have a card beside it that read "Origin Unknown." To me that is a TURN-OFF and not good for our industry.

At least up to now, people haven't cared where their meat comes from. They been buying it out of the meat case for years. Both my mother and my daughter worked in the meat department of grocery stores. At one time there was a card displayed that read "Foreign meat sold here" and it didn't cause any reaction. None.

I think the time and money needs spent on consumer demand. That's what is going to dictate the price of meat and the profit for us.

I don't want to get in a debate about this, because I can go to Bull Session for that. I am merely expressing my opinion.
 
I was in the grocery store yesterday, lookin at meat, never have really paid that much attention to the "stickers" But this was a different store than I normally shop at. First off their selection was pitiful all the way around, secondly about half the counter was covered with stickers that said "Angus Beef", the other half had stickers that said "USDA Select" The angus stickered stuff looked like trash, the USDA Select stuff was far better looking meat, and a whole lot cheaper in price. None of it however had a label for origin that I could see. I hate shoppin for meat, our freezer steer has an appt June 1, I'll be sooooooo glad when he's done and i don't hafta shop for meat.
Oh and a Angus t-bone was 10.98 a lb!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock: and looked like it'd only be good for grindin up for hamburger meat.....maybe.

I've got nothin against angus cattle or the beef. I'm just statin what I saw.
 
Like I've said before I don't buy meat any where but our small town butcher,after we run low on our homegrown meat....but like Lilly I've looked at meat in stores,what are they doing to make the meat almost a bright red??Anyone else notice that??
 
The brightness is probably from the gas (isn't it carbon dioxide?) that has been added to the meat for that purpose.

My mother and daughter having worked in the meat deptments both say the meat that looks brown is the very best as it has aged in the wrapper. You can usually get a good buy on it because shoppers are turned off by the looks of it. Is that what bothered you Lilly, that it was a little brown and not totally bright red?
 
Your mom and daughter were right FH... The best meat was always in the pulls and you could get some darn good prices.... Still remember when I got a whole CAB tenderloin out of the pulls. Cooked it up that night and yummy yummy. the people who workd up front thought it was becasue us meat people were just cheap or something... Didn't beleive us when we said it was the best...
 
Faster horses said:
OT what happened to the COOL law that passed in Montana?

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I think it goes into effect the end of June- altho the Packers/Retailers are fighting hard to get the US Congress to take away more of our States rights and pass the federal law which would not allow States to pass restrictions on food/meat more restrictive than the Federal regulations... I haven't heard much on how that bill is doing......

I love Packers and some of their backers- they say they oppose mandates and laws- unless its something that benefits them- like continuing to lie to the consumers... :roll: ...
 
I have to say that First time Iwas in Texas I had REAL beef. OMGAWD I was use to Walmart and other stores. Though it was good......After I went back home and made hamburgers I could tell a difference. I found a butcher shop ~meat was the same price as the store a litter harder to get to but well worth the effort. They went out of business .......new peopel who moved into the neighborhood said it was upsetting the children in the school across the street to see them haul in sides of cows. Went on a "Blitz". Store couldnt fight so they closed. Said it was easier to move closer to thier ranch and sell from there. Too bad they are 4 hours away

I have to thank easty for teaching me that brown is ok...hit the sale bin.
It is still not that good. :cry:
What I want to know is what can you as producers do to help teach the masses about "real" beef?
What can I do to help get the word that the meat we are eating is NOT GOOD? I have been told I am good at bugging people ....I dont mind contacting buyers for Wal mart ~Harris Teter~Bi-Lo~Food Lion. I tell everyone I know but unless they get a taste it does no good. uuggggg
I cant wait to get back to Texas to get real beef. .........I miss it. I havent been eating alot of meat here.
hmmmmm Got an idea but need to finish coffee and see it it would be possible. Race week ya know..........LOL LOTs of people.
 
Most of the time when we run outta meat we buy from the man that owns the packin house that does our steers for us. I don't know how many of the independant small family owned packers sell meat themselves, but he does. Pork too. At a much better price than what you see in the grocery store. We were in there just a few days ago, checkin his schedule for when we can take our steer in, and I was lookin at his prices on his chalk board. T-bones were 5.45 lb.
 
Isn't schwan's terribly expensive? It's been years since we had a schwan's man, I see the trucks around, but never have had one pull in and offer to put us on his route. Long time ago tho, seemed like they were super high, motherin law usta buy shrimp from them.
 
Jersey Lilly, they are high. But their meat is terrific and there is no waste. You don't have to touch their meat except to cook it. You don't need to trim any fat off or debone it. That's already been done. I buy their Hamburger Steak (I think it is called), when we run out of burger. It's really, really good. People that I work with buy other kinds of meat from them because they are never disappointed.

"Cheap" and "Delicious" don't usually go together. :wink:
 
Hanta Yo,

I am going to paste and copy your posts on this if it is ok with you. I'd like to use it in some e-mails to my beef customers...

One I have used is, "Beef is my choice...Why would I ever buy something I know is going to be Fowl?"

PPRM
 
Sorry, Hanta just looked at this thread.

You are right that Tyson is using select meat for Walmart and creating in many cases a bad eating experience for unwitting consumers.

This is a job for the Beef Checkoff!!!!

You can buy cheap anything. Beef has to be known not as a cheap commodity (hamburger already fits that bill and works well in it) but as a quality food item. When customers can not tell by the package what they are getting, then there needs to be a national advertising program to push the industry in that direction. I doubt it can happen because essentially, given the structure of the checkoff, the Sec. of Agriculture can put the stops on a program that might hit at a business model that a Tysons has made.

There are so many grades of meat and so many cuts that it can be confusing for customers. They need to be educated about it to get quality at a good price. The extra prices from retail because of quality need to make it down to the cattleman's door. Under our current system, there is not the transmissability of that happening enough.

I like red meat a lot and I eat a lot of it. I would much rather raise it myself or buy it from a neighbor (I usually trade off with neighbors so we don't have to have a whole beef in the freezer for just our family).

Most people buying beef don't know the ins and outs of buying beef at good value at the store and they need to be educated on it. If we do not do that as an industry, we will not be trusted at meal time.

Select meat is fine for the loin primal but too much of the rest of it needs to go in the grind. Fine if you want hamburger, but that is what a good cow can do. Feed is cheap now and everyone should be able to enjoy a fat piece of meat (choice or better) at a decent price. Instead, we import cheap meat for the grind and sell select at Walmart doing a disservice to the industry on what beef should be like.

Tyson sells chicken at walmart next to beef and they make more money on it. What do you think they would do? It is one reason the packers were required to get out of the beef substitutes in prior court orders about market abuse and the PSA.

I'm getting hungry and going to get a bit of beef for dinner.

Keep working on it. Don't let the packer part of the industry dictate everything. They are trying to line their own pockets (can't blame them). The cattle raisers just don't have to help them do it when it comes at the expense of people eating more beef.
 
PPRM said:
Hanta Yo,

I am going to paste and copy your posts on this if it is ok with you. I'd like to use it in some e-mails to my beef customers...

One I have used is, "Beef is my choice...Why would I ever buy something I know is going to be Fowl?"

PPRM
Click to expand...

That's fine by me, PPRM - I love good beef - we eat what we grow, however we had so much extra hamburger we didn't have a beef for our freezer this past year, but oh, yes, we'll have one for this year :nod: :nod: :nod:
 
Econ101 said:
Sorry, Hanta just looked at this thread.

You are right that Tyson is using select meat for Walmart and creating in many cases a bad eating experience for unwitting consumers.

This is a job for the Beef Checkoff!!!!

You can buy cheap anything. Beef has to be known not as a cheap commodity (hamburger already fits that bill and works well in it) but as a quality food item. When customers can not tell by the package what they are getting, then there needs to be a national advertising program to push the industry in that direction. I doubt it can happen because essentially, given the structure of the checkoff, the Sec. of Agriculture can put the stops on a program that might hit at a business model that a Tysons has made.

There are so many grades of meat and so many cuts that it can be confusing for customers. They need to be educated about it to get quality at a good price. The extra prices from retail because of quality need to make it down to the cattleman's door. Under our current system, there is not the transmissability of that happening enough.

I like red meat a lot and I eat a lot of it. I would much rather raise it myself or buy it from a neighbor (I usually trade off with neighbors so we don't have to have a whole beef in the freezer for just our family).

Most people buying beef don't know the ins and outs of buying beef at good value at the store and they need to be educated on it. If we do not do that as an industry, we will not be trusted at meal time.

Select meat is fine for the loin primal but too much of the rest of it needs to go in the grind. Fine if you want hamburger, but that is what a good cow can do. Feed is cheap now and everyone should be able to enjoy a fat piece of meat (choice or better) at a decent price. Instead, we import cheap meat for the grind and sell select at Walmart doing a disservice to the industry on what beef should be like.

Tyson sells chicken at walmart next to beef and they make more money on it. What do you think they would do? It is one reason the packers were required to get out of the beef substitutes in prior court orders about market abuse and the PSA.

I'm getting hungry and going to get a bit of beef for dinner.

Keep working on it. Don't let the packer part of the industry dictate everything. They are trying to line their own pockets (can't blame them). The cattle raisers just don't have to help them do it when it comes at the expense of people eating more beef.
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Econ101,

We are starting right here. 4th of July doings in our area, our local CattleWomen group will have a booth during the 2nd and 3rd at the fairgrounds. Will have a large poster of wholesale cuts of meat, where they are located on a carcass, along with the retail cuts. (Tear sheets to give to public) Will also have the value-added cuts (compliments of our beef checkoff), will also be serving one of the contestant's recipes for this last National Beef Cook-Off, with all the contestants' recipes available in pamphlet, I've also done some digging and printed out lots of pictures indicating the Quality Grades and information on the Yield Grades. Guess what? This is being funded by our Checkoff dollars, if you want more information on this please PM me. CattleWomen all over the US use checkoff dollars to promote/educate the consumer about beef. We also have to justify (with proof) where the dollars are spent. For this booth, it will cost about $130.00 for 2 days, probably less. I have to apply for the funds, then I have to send in a very comprehensive report WITH PICS of the booth which is required to have the checkoff logo placed several places in the booth, so people will know it is funded by our checkoff dollars. IF the report complies, and IF the receipts of expenditures are included, we will be reimbursed by Beef Council. That's how it works in Montana. Montana CattleWomen and Beef Council have a pretty good relationship and we (MCW) would like to keep it that way. We have to justify every penny spent, but this allows alot of local CattleWomen to be able to do more promoting/educating because there is some money there to help them do it. CattleWomen is my passion, so is promoting/educating about beef. Basically that is what CattleWomen is all about. 8) 8) 8)

I am editing this post because I forgot a couple things. The poster and the tear sheets depicting where our cuts come from - funded by Beef Checkoff. The National Beef Cook-Off, which occurs every other year (and I had the privilege of attending the last one) is funded by Beef CheckOff. Our National Beef Ambassador program is funded by Beef CheckOff. The CheckOff funds so many great programs...I wonder how many people know about these? I guess probably not too many, so that's why I am posting this stuff here.... :P

Anyone have any questions, let 'er rip.

Edit #2, BTW, I will post pictures of our booth here, so you will know what it looked like and will let you know how many people we reached. 8)
 
Hanta:
Econ101,

We are starting right here. 4th of July doings in our area, our local CattleWomen group will have a booth during the 2nd and 3rd at the fairgrounds. Will have a large poster of wholesale cuts of meat, where they are located on a carcass, along with the retail cuts. (Tear sheets to give to public) Will also have the value-added cuts (compliments of our beef checkoff), will also be serving one of the contestant's recipes for this last National Beef Cook-Off, with all the contestants' recipes available in pamphlet, I've also done some digging and printed out lots of pictures indicating the Quality Grades and information on the Yield Grades. Guess what? This is being funded by our Checkoff dollars, if you want more information on this please PM me. CattleWomen all over the US use checkoff dollars to promote/educate the consumer about beef. We also have to justify (with proof) where the dollars are spent. For this booth, it will cost about $130.00 for 2 days, probably less. I have to apply for the funds, then I have to send in a very comprehensive report WITH PICS of the booth which is required to have the checkoff logo placed several places in the booth, so people will know it is funded by our checkoff dollars. IF the report complies, and IF the receipts of expenditures are included, we will be reimbursed by Beef Council. That's how it works in Montana. Montana CattleWomen and Beef Council have a pretty good relationship and we (MCW) would like to keep it that way. We have to justify every penny spent, but this allows alot of local CattleWomen to be able to do more promoting/educating because there is some money there to help them do it. CattleWomen is my passion, so is promoting/educating about beef. Basically that is what CattleWomen is all about. Cool Cool Cool

I am editing this post because I forgot a couple things. The poster and the tear sheets depicting where our cuts come from - funded by Beef Checkoff. The National Beef Cook-Off, which occurs every other year (and I had the privilege of attending the last one) is funded by Beef CheckOff. Our National Beef Ambassador program is funded by Beef CheckOff. The CheckOff funds so many great programs...I wonder how many people know about these? I guess probably not too many, so that's why I am posting this stuff here.... Razz

Anyone have any questions, let 'er rip.

Edit #2, BTW, I will post pictures of our booth here, so you will know what it looked like and will let you know how many people we reached. Cool
Click to expand...

Hanta, way to go. You are putting your beliefs in action and donating time and energy to a good cause.

I don't mean to denigrate this kind of work when I talk about the problems with the beef checkoff.

The question is, how do we get the information you are giving to the general public? I would agree that what you are doing is great but is it really reaching the audience where it could make a difference in demand?

The real way to find the answer is in how beef compares to chicken in consumption over time. The answer to that has been a resounding no. The chicken industry has been able to hide the costs and risks of production from those it gets into the business. The poultry industry has been able to not only get better advertising over health issues between beef and chicken, but also in lowering costs of supplies from producers by interference with the regulatory agencies involved in business. Then the beef checkoff has funded university studies that suggest, with no real professional crediblity, that the blame of this is on more women working in the workforce. To me it is incredible.


Has the poultry industry been better able to convince the public with the misleading information they promote to get out? The results say yes. Only the Atkins diet came out to put the breaks on that deal, not the beef checkoff. It is a missed opportunity.

Please try to parse out the arguments I make. If you have a pile of good and bad mixed in, you should be able to separate the good and the bad instead of making a judgement on the whole pile. I support the beef checkoff program. I have reservations on how effective it has been when looking at the meats industry as a whole. You have to do this to make things better. Your efforts are to be applauded. The results of the beef checkoff program over the long term are not. That can be seen in the fact that more people are eating more chicken than beef when looking at the history of the meats industry. You can't blame it all on women working in the workplace.

There is often a study by Dr. Ron Ward of University of Florida on the dollar benefits of the beef checkoff program. I have yet to find the actual study to be able to see if the assumptions and models for the conclusions are correct.

Can anyone get me a link to the actual study and not the quotes or news articles from the study?
 
Know what's worse than cheap beef tasting bad-it's expensive meat tasting bad-the wotrst steak I've ever had was in Plentywood,Montana lasty summer during the 4H show-barely edible and cost almost twenty bucks. There's alot of beef goes through the system that I don't think anybody could make taste great. I stopped at 7-11 the other day-what the beef business needs to develop is a finger food like chicken strips that people can eat while driving-might be away to move some of those off type critters-there's beef jerky but it's pretty pricey. I shudder to think how much product those convenience stores move-they are busy night and day in our town.
 
Mrs.Greg said:
I'm sorry I can't tell you if Canada does it,we only use our own meat,and when we run out we have two excellent butcher shops in our small town,we're spoiled.I guess thats sure somthing I should be up on huh?
About Safeway,in Alta. they really support 4-H :D and show up at achievement day,they but alot of 4-H steers!
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For a change she is right.Good support for 4 -H beef,and it is the best on bar-b-q 8)
 

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