Price of meat vs game

[TassieTiger]

I must confess, I don’t do a lot of personal shopping but two days ago I went to a butcher and asked for a small roasting leg of lamb / leg pork or similar to try out a new fire pit / spit roast I’d built.

So the piece in the picture was $48...And I was a weee bit shocked.
Will there be a point - or are we there already - where main stream and readily available game is a more “wanted” commodity than it is now? Even if it’s for a mince interface or a filler type meat ?

[Ziege]

going to the butcher for beef or lamb is a massive shot in the proverbial, I only get chicken or pork from the butcher now cos its just not worth the cost, in saying that neither is the supermarket, its all a ripoff, something I can buy off a primary producer for $100 somehow ends up being $400+ after processing... only takes less than 15 mins to process a sheep

[Blr243]

If i drive to Somerset dam and get a hind it’s free. But my petrol is not. My driving time my hunting time. Carrying the meat on my back up hills for an hour. Surrounded by flies blood dripping all over my back and down between my cheeks into my undies. Speargrass in my trousers .. Boning out skinning. Bagging. Buy a deep freezer too .... it’s a nice thought to do it all solo and save money especially when a small lump is fifty bucks We live in an age of specialisation where it oft n makes more sense to buy it at the supermarket...... I must be getting soft. Tassie When your new 4570 arrives there will be nothing left of th first Fallow u shoot

[Ziege]

well for me, I always had a deep freeze, i can drive up to something I shoot for the fraction of the store price, so no dragging or lugging or getting covered in whatever. I just cant bring myself to buy it from the store, I personally make all my own mince and smallgoods too, its a one time cost vs paying a tonne for it each time, just like reloading, its a bigger cost at the start, knives, mincer, freezer, etc... but in the end its a hell of a lot cheaper, same with chooks etc too, fattening up unwanted roosters from nearby breeders/poultry farms is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying them from the store. Usually a bigger better tasting bird too.

[TassieTiger]

I wonder how many ppl can afford to buy prime cuts and therefore, I wonder if, like mutton did in the depression, will roo/rabbit/venison ever become a staple...many primary producers in Tas have contracts to send their produce over seas at great profit...driving up local prices...I just can’t see prime beef/lamb/pork doing anything but getting more and more expensive...and that leaves a vacuum.

Edit - do ppl notice a difference in aging their venison ? How do you age your meat if you don’t have cool room ?

[Skinna]

Yes i rekon it will become more popular for sure...

I already know of a butcher that suppliments roo mince in with beef mince as an option--it drastically reduces the end user price, he makes more profit & sells out every day...!!

As for processing a sheep in 15 mins...well thats another story...i wouldnt have thought a qualified slaughterman or boner would do that by hand...but i guess that depends on what one qualifies as "processed"...either way i know im slow at it, but its still worthwhile none the less...

I had time to kill one day a month or 2 back ago after i came back from the farm with a few bunnies in the fridge...walked past a butcher to see a couple of bunny's in the display case...fuk me--$20 a pop...!!...they werent "big" either...sheesh...!!...going by that i had more meat in the fridge that it cost in fuel...!!..but i had to skin em myself...
So i walked around & looked at various prices of lamb & pork legs, loin, & steaks...fuk me--gravy beef, chuck steak & "Beef stir fry strips" (aka--rubber bands) at exorbitant prices...!!! ...& i live on the side of town where prices are very reasonable...

A few people i know--lets call them everyday consumers--think im a bit of a weirdo cave man type having stir-fry with venison (when i can get it) or young skippy...goat stews...thai grenn curry or crumbed bunny... or dropping the legs & straps off a sheep the farmer is about to shoot & bury (surprisingly this gets the strangest looks..!) ...venison sheep or bunny patties...or tempura young bunny straps when numbers are about (fukn yummo!!)...

But sheesh...an expensive day at the supermarket for me is when i buy bacon & need to top up vegies for the week or fortnight...hell it might cost me all of $30 or $40...
I tell these people that & ask them how much their fortnightly meat cost is...the look on their face is a dead giveaway the cogs are turning...!!!
Fuel & associated firearm costs may ultimately balance out, or even outweigh that of me eating a heap of supermarket meat, but i know id rather spend the time out shooting & stinking of a camp fire than taking a gamble on a pack of forequarter chops or rump that are reared with the sole intention to put money in the pockets of the shareholders & another million in the bank of the supermarket chains' CEO...!!

The last knuckle of venison i sliced up, i gave some steaks to a mate to try...he's not much the meat cook so he followed my instructions to the letter (yet still overcooked them)...well his missus refused to cook em for him let alone try them...
The next day i got a barrage of pics & thankful texts saying how he loved the flavour, his kids loved them as well & argued over who gets the last steak on dads plate, & he's happy to trade fish for more of them...

In some ways these vegans do us a favour i rekon...as long as they stay on their side of the fence & firearms & hunting laws remain easy & accessible, im happy for them to not understand the difference between "cruel" & "confronting"...

Now Tassie...got plans & material/supplier list for the meat turner'er...?--looks a good simple little set-up...
Im keen to have a looksee...

[Ziege]

good luck, not a chance over here, roos maybe, but rabbits and deer no way in WA, calici virus and so on has rabbits down to sweet FA, and deer have always been sparce here.

[Ziege]

As for processing a sheep in 15 mins...well thats another story...i wouldnt have thought a qualified slaughterman or boner would do that by hand...but i guess that depends on what one qualifies as "processed"...either way i know im slow at it, but its still worthwhile none the less...

Not an abattoir, but we can kill, skin and hang 5 sheep in less than half an hour,

then once the meat is set we can fully process those 5 sheep in less than an hour,

I used to work in the abs when I was 17,18,19 and I could bone and process 4 pigs in an hour 3 months into the job and 5 in an hour 6 months in, after first year i was nearly doubling that.

I dont know anyone that processes with knives alone, saws are fast and clean, band saws are even cleaner and faster.

my main point was I dont see how in any way that a butcher can go from getting a sheep for $150 to charging more than double for it... its just not that labor intensive. the people paying those mark ups are to blame ultimately.

[Skinna]

As for processing a sheep in 15 mins...well thats another story...i wouldnt have thought a qualified slaughterman or boner would do that by hand...but i guess that depends on what one qualifies as "processed"...either way i know im slow at it, but its still worthwhile none the less...

Not an abattoir, but we can kill, skin and hang 5 sheep in less than half an hour,

then once the meat is set we can fully process those 5 sheep in less than an hour,

I used to work in the abs when I was 17,18,19 and I could bone and process 4 pigs in an hour 3 months into the job and 5 in an hour 6 months in, after first year i was nearly doubling that.

I dont know anyone that processes with knives alone, saws are fast and clean, band saws are even cleaner and faster.

my main point was I dont see how in any way that a butcher can go from getting a sheep for $150 to charging more than double for it... its just not that labor intensive. the people paying those mark ups are to blame ultimately.

I wouldnt have thought the average butcher was buying from the farmers gate...surely they getting from the middle man...there are so many levels of profit taking in meat...from farmer, transport to feed lot, to feed lot owner value adding to his crops, to next lot of transport, to middleman organiser, another level of transport to abattoir, next lot of transport to re-seller...if every re-seller getting their 20% & transport getting their $60/hr, it adds up quickly.

[Blr243]

I saw on landline today somebody trucked cattle all the way from the Kimberly’s to meatworks at Roma in cent q

[Ziege]

I wouldnt have thought the average butcher was buying from the farmers gate...surely they getting from the middle man...there are so many levels of profit taking in meat...from farmer, transport to feed lot, to feed lot owner value adding to his crops, to next lot of transport, to middleman organiser, another level of transport to abattoir, next lot of transport to re-seller...if every re-seller getting their 20% & transport getting their $60/hr, it adds up quickly.

well mate put it this way, when abattoirs were paying as low as 0.80c per kilo live weight a few years back for mutton, butchers were still asking $45 a kilo for leg roast. thats a mark up of 56.25 times the cost from the primary producer. Even now its closer to $2.70 a kilo live weight depending where you are. That is still a mark up of roughly 16.5 times the cost from the primary producer. sure ya lose some to offal and guts and skin and so on, freight isnt much per head, last time we sent to the city it was $3 a head transport, this was only 2 weeks ago. in any case, if they can get pork to the shelf for $10 a kilo or less there is no excuse for the lamb/mutton product to cost 5 times as much on average.

[TassieTiger]

Yes i rekon it will become more popular for sure...

I already know of a butcher that suppliments roo mince in with beef mince as an option--it drastically reduces the end user price, he makes more profit & sells out every day...!!

As for processing a sheep in 15 mins...well thats another story...i wouldnt have thought a qualified slaughterman or boner would do that by hand...but i guess that depends on what one qualifies as "processed"...either way i know im slow at it, but its still worthwhile none the less...

I had time to kill one day a month or 2 back ago after i came back from the farm with a few bunnies in the fridge...walked past a butcher to see a couple of bunny's in the display case...fuk me--$20 a pop...!!...they werent "big" either...sheesh...!!...going by that i had more meat in the fridge that it cost in fuel...!!..but i had to skin em myself...
So i walked around & looked at various prices of lamb & pork legs, loin, & steaks...fuk me--gravy beef, chuck steak & "Beef stir fry strips" (aka--rubber bands) at exorbitant prices...!!! ...& i live on the side of town where prices are very reasonable...

A few people i know--lets call them everyday consumers--think im a bit of a weirdo cave man type having stir-fry with venison (when i can get it) or young skippy...goat stews...thai grenn curry or crumbed bunny... or dropping the legs & straps off a sheep the farmer is about to shoot & bury (surprisingly this gets the strangest looks..!) ...venison sheep or bunny patties...or tempura young bunny straps when numbers are about (fukn yummo!!)...

But sheesh...an expensive day at the supermarket for me is when i buy bacon & need to top up vegies for the week or fortnight...hell it might cost me all of $30 or $40...
I tell these people that & ask them how much their fortnightly meat cost is...the look on their face is a dead giveaway the cogs are turning...!!!
Fuel & associated firearm costs may ultimately balance out, or even outweigh that of me eating a heap of supermarket meat, but i know id rather spend the time out shooting & stinking of a camp fire than taking a gamble on a pack of forequarter chops or rump that are reared with the sole intention to put money in the pockets of the shareholders & another million in the bank of the supermarket chains' CEO...!!

The last knuckle of venison i sliced up, i gave some steaks to a mate to try...he's not much the meat cook so he followed my instructions to the letter (yet still overcooked them)...well his missus refused to cook em for him let alone try them...
The next day i got a barrage of pics & thankful texts saying how he loved the flavour, his kids loved them as well & argued over who gets the last steak on dads plate, & he's happy to trade fish for more of them...

In some ways these vegans do us a favour i rekon...as long as they stay on their side of the fence & firearms & hunting laws remain easy & accessible, im happy for them to not understand the difference between "cruel" & "confronting"...

Now Tassie...got plans & material/supplier list for the meat turner'er...?--looks a good simple little set-up...
Im keen to have a looksee...

I reckin your right mate - those prices are beyond reasonable. I bought this leg from a country butcher who deals direct - it was $29 a kilo and apparently on “special”...fark me.

Had that same shop had a venison roast for $20 a kg? I know what would have ended up on spit..

The meat turner is nothing special - DC spit motor, $20, Bunnings stainless rods, $35 - two droppers and some fence wire lol. The bloody lamb cost more lol.

There’s a really interesting pod cast I’m listening too at moment re the biological reasoning behind why veganism is 1. Against natural law and 2. Bloody unhealthy...it goes on to show case data etc re all these vegan oils vs ldl cholesterol etc...again, main stream media manipulate crap like sugar and margarine being better for you than animal fats etc. It’s opening my eyes...

And yes - price of bunnies in supermarkets ? Think they are cross bred with crayfish!!!

Would be interesting to hear what ppl around the country can purchase a lamb / side of beef / porker for - I’m out of that loop at moment but that’s because I’ve been too busy but I do know the farmers locally - and they are doing very nicely...

Ps - you guys have got some skills. Kill, gut, skin a fallow for me? An hour at bloody least lol.

[Skinna]

Think i take a lot longer tassie...i suck at gutting & take my time to skin cos i want the fur.

I know im slow...Whats this DC motor & where from...?

[TassieTiger]

Here ya go-
https://www.bunnings.com.au/gasmate-4-5 ... lsrc=aw.ds

[TassieTiger]

One thing I’ve never thought of and it’d not be easy but might be different for patties - minced rabbit with minced roo with a bit of minced fatty beef ?

[Grandadbushy]

Well here's an example of cost variation up here for pork, $150 for 2 suckers , $250 bag pellets ie 10 bags @ $25 per bag, $40 for worming , pigs dressed out at 72kg ,(no head) = $440, total weight for both144kg, now to buy its a 52kg pig @ $11per kg (dressed)= $572 + 98c to cut up = $50.96 total $622.96 if you buy off the shelf at a butchers it ranges from $14 per kg to $ 25 per kg depending where you shop, your bigger chain stores will cost less depending on what you buy , with 2 pigs from a butcher will cost $1245.92 compared to my 2 @ $440 not bad saving hey ? But not everyone can do what i do and i feel for them, so forget the hard work of hunting and hunt for your meat if you can, meat is going to get more expensive

[Blr243]

On one of my bush trips I found about ten pigs in a trap and I hate the thought of them going thirsty left in their too long so I shot them. And I never leave them there I always drag them out and put them about ten metres away to keep the trap clean ...only trouble is when I walked around the other side of the trap to open the door I saw it had been wired shut. That’s when I realised the owner was keeping them for personal killers and I had just shot his dinner. Whoops. They were all good eating size too.

[Blr243]

I just saw an electric mincer brand new 130 bucks in bris. In stock not online ....not sure how many kilos it would do before burning out.

[marksman]

l have been doing the home butchering for years and get a real shock when occasionally we buy meat,
l like your new fire pit TT, your onto it mate
l prefer to use lard or pork fat when making mince or sausages ect... it takes the gamey taste away, even with roo
the next couple of years is going to be hard on some people trying to keep there heads above water and l think there will be a surge for game meats

[Ziege]

the issue with feeding these things, good eating sized pigs here only cost around the $100 mark, so im baffled as to who the heck would be paying more, if you wanna make sausage you can find the odd boar in the two to two and half times the normal eating size for around $220 it baffles me why anyone buys bulk pork from stores when a whole pig is so cheap, and yes I get it some people dont know how to butcher a pig, but its not a hard skill to learn.

[eddievic]

Well here's an example of cost variation up here for pork, $150 for 2 suckers , $250 bag pellets ie 10 bags @ $25 per bag, $40 for worming , pigs dressed out at 72kg ,(no head) = $440, total weight for both144kg, now to buy its a 52kg pig @ $11per kg (dressed)= $572 + 98c to cut up = $50.96 total $622.96 if you buy off the shelf at a butchers it ranges from $14 per kg to $ 25 per kg depending where you shop, your bigger chain stores will cost less depending on what you buy , with 2 pigs from a butcher will cost $1245.92 compared to my 2 @ $440 not bad saving hey ? But not everyone can do what i do and i feel for them, so forget the hard work of hunting and hunt for your meat if you can, meat is going to get more expensive

You gotta ad in cost of labour as in time to feed, kill and dress, the building of housing and fencing and the repairs. A lot of people think well i was not doing anything so my time cost is zero which is not correct.

But you are still way ahead.

[Larry]

I think the economics of game meat is a bit like reloading. If you take into account all the associated costs and the time spent hunting the game and then processing it. It is more than likely to be more expensive than in the supermarket,
When I first had a cow home butchered by a mobile butcher it was $150, A few years ago I paid $450 this includes the visit to kill the animal then skin it, quarter it and hang it for a week in a cool room that is left on site for a week. Then a week later he comes back and cut the meat to the cuts you want.

[TassieTiger]

I think the economics of game meat is a bit like reloading. If you take into account all the associated costs and the time spent hunting the game and then processing it. It is more than likely to be more expensive than in the supermarket,
When I first had a cow home butchered by a mobile butcher it was $150, A few years ago I paid $450 this includes the visit to kill the animal then skin it, quarter it and hang it for a week in a cool room that is left on site for a week. Then a week later he comes back and cut the meat to the cuts you want.

Very true Larry. But there will come a point where it no longer aligns - I don’t know what that no might be...
GDB, those prices are pretty decent compared to local - I believe Japan and other countries are locking down everything...
Last year - premium cherries grown locally in Tas on some over seas contracts(Japan), were...ready for this ? $1 each Japan...ONE DOLLAR per cherry.
As Skinna also said - $27 for a pair of skinny ass rabbits?
I was offered a side of beef earlier in year for $1400 fully butchered. I’m guessing that’s about 80kg of meat or $18 a kg which is pretty cheap.
Easter last year - flathead fillets topped $75-80 a kilo!!!!

There has to be a point where meat is just too expensive...

[Grandadbushy]

eddievic why ad in time and labour for your own pigs ?, i know butchers do and they have to but, how long does it take to kill a pig ? not long , i'm not having a shot at the butchers i'm just showing the big difference in price from growing your own and the cost of buying from a butcher, also my time is zero because i have it , it's just like hunting if you counted in your time as a cost you wouldn't be able to afford to hunt , where a butchers time is not zero because he has to be paid for his time otherwise he will go broke, you see this is where people always think time is money even when you are doing it to save money or for fun , if you have the time ,resources, and energy to do something it doesn't cost you anything except your free time and food, But if you are selling something or buying from a second or third party then time and resources are money , you take into consideration with a pig lets say a wild one, how much fuel to get it , cost of bullet, rifle , food and any other thing you take with you, it will not be a cost like buying your meat ,now growing your own i've had my pens for years, one bullet, one rifle had for years, no fuel, things i use every day, so where's the extra cost, then there's the butcher, time cost if killing his own , buying from slaughter yard ,time costs--- freight---slaughter fees, refridgeration costs, labour costs, now this gets us back to '' Price of meat v Game '' ''absolutely'', if you buy quantities of meat then it's going to be dearer than game meat unless you travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to get it , so you'd buy it then as a case of have to, but you wouldn't have the joy of hunting your own meat which is a big thing with a lot of people.

[trekin]

Well here's an example of cost variation up here for pork, $150 for 2 suckers , $250 bag pellets ie 10 bags @ $25 per bag, $40 for worming , pigs dressed out at 72kg ,(no head) = $440, total weight for both144kg, now to buy its a 52kg pig @ $11per kg (dressed)= $572 + 98c to cut up = $50.96 total $622.96 if you buy off the shelf at a butchers it ranges from $14 per kg to $ 25 per kg depending where you shop, your bigger chain stores will cost less depending on what you buy , with 2 pigs from a butcher will cost $1245.92 compared to my 2 @ $440 not bad saving hey ? But not everyone can do what i do and i feel for them, so forget the hard work of hunting and hunt for your meat if you can, meat is going to get more expensive

You gotta ad in cost of labour as in time to feed, kill and dress, the building of housing and fencing and the repairs. A lot of people think well i was not doing anything so my time cost is zero which is not correct.

But you are still way ahead.

And a lot of those costs can also be added when going to shop as well, your time, fuel, wear and tear on your vehicle and these costs can start getting up there if it is, say a 40km round trip to your nearest, or 360 round to the nearest regional city for slightly "cheaper" goods.

[Grandadbushy]

Jesus Christ TT mate prices down there are a little higher than up here but give it time, i can access beef ''bulk'' for around $10kg not cut up it's about $1.75 to cut , the meat i use to make my jerky went from $9.67kg to $15kg in 7mths not a bad pay rise for the slaughter yard hey, reason yards have gone '' Hal al '' or however you spell it, 80% of the meat goes over seas, butchers can't buy pigs here anymore and they're not happy, and i don't blame them, there used to be 3 large piggeries within 100klm of me now there's none and they're freighting them 400 to 500 klm now driving the cost through the roof, good old government deregulated the pig industry and all over Australia they crumbled , those that tried to hang on were driven down in price by big shopping companies till it wasn't viable to grow pigs now we import most of our pork, just a sign of the times i suppose.

[Larry]

I agree if the meat is for yourself and you can do it then time is really not money. The way I interpreted the original post though was when will buying game meat be cheaper than farmed meat. That I dont think will happen as all the costs with farmed meat will still be there just there wont be any economy due to scale. Which is why we farm in the first place.

[Ziege]

GDB must be a state issue then, in WA where I live specifically there are 3 brand new large scale piggeries and talk of more going in, its hard to find any pork anywhere here that isnt locally sourced except boneless ham at xmas time.

[TassieTiger]

I agree if the meat is for yourself and you can do it then time is really not money. The way I interpreted the original post though was when will buying game meat be cheaper than farmed meat. That I dont think will happen as all the costs with farmed meat will still be there just there wont be any economy due to scale. Which is why we farm in the first place.

I personally don’t think game will ever catch farmed meat - what I mean to say is if say beef / lamb goes to $100 a kg - and you see a leg of roo at $15 a kg, then when will the cross over be where ppl say to themselves - yep, I’m going the game meat ?

[Skinna]

I agree if the meat is for yourself and you can do it then time is really not money. The way I interpreted the original post though was when will buying game meat be cheaper than farmed meat. That I dont think will happen as all the costs with farmed meat will still be there just there wont be any economy due to scale. Which is why we farm in the first place.

I personally don’t think game will ever catch farmed meat - what I mean to say is if say beef / lamb goes to $100 a kg - and you see a leg of roo at $15 a kg, then when will the cross over be where ppl say to themselves - yep, I’m going the game meat ?

I doubt we'd see price variations like that myself...meat is meat, & with marketing these days, even if roo did hit the average table as a staple, it will be closer to but higher than the price of beef, not exponentially lower. .
Simple Macro's packaged roo steak these days must be well ove $18/kg, & thats not the fillet...!!...Lamb is way cheaper, so cant see Roo coming down unless all the greenie doo-gooders fell in a hole & the "typical" consumer attitude changed...
And that is how marketing works...to breed & farm sheep results in a product that is half the price of sending a bloke out to shoot naturally roaming roos, give him a buck or so /kg & it retails for more than the lamb...
Cost of mobile placed chillers & transport would add to costs, but i imagine the profit margin is still exponentially huge on skippy thanks to monopoly & marketing & greenies...

But i still think your on thr track Tas...more people will be entertaining the thought of 'our' kind of meat over the coming years...