Bitcoin Forum

My family has pastured grass-fed beef on our farm for several decades.  It's not really a serious business.  We mostly just do it in order to maintain the family farm.  But after watching this TED Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI), I'm thinking maybe we should expand.  I'm curious whether there is any interest in "straight from the rancher" beef for Bitcoins.  Depending on the response, perhaps we can make it happen.

The first caveat is that it would have to be limited to the US only.  So I'm sure that eliminates half of you.

But the idea I'm considering is that you can purchase a whole cow at a time.  You can buy a calf, and the price would include pasture until it reaches market weight.  It would be your cow.  You can take delivery at any time.  Or once it's mature, we send it to the butcher, and have it processed and shipped to you at cost.

This is good, quality beef.  You get a whole cow.  So there's no chance of getting bad cuts, or a bunch of hamburger like sometimes happens when buying parts of a cow.  You tell the butcher how you want it cut.  Think of it as an investment in healthy eating.

Would there be any interest in this among the Bitcoin community?

where izzet?

US only for now.  The farm is in Oklahoma.

I would be very interested in buying grass-fed beef for BTC in EU.

#2 - #5

if i could get my hand on some GOOD beef from private ownership... chicken, too.

What does a cow cost roughly?

I think you are onto something, but I dont think a whole cow is it. First off, I imagine there are a lot of people that do not realize just how much beef that actually is. Second, how much is it going to cost to send that much meat around the country? And even without the cost of ice / containers, just the fees for the shipping weight alone would be crazy. And while I am not sure, I would think USDA regulations still apply whether you are selling, trading, or giving away the meat.

please quote me a price in BTC for a full cow. Butchered, packaged, shipped frozen to MA.

I have been thinking about doing this locally, but I will entertain your offer because its in BTC.

*edit*

can you let my cow sleep on a mattress and drink beer?

Never mind my last post. Just sell a deep freeze with the cow, pack it all in there and ship it like that!

That's awesome.  Extra BTC for daily hand-massage Kobe style, right? 
Bits to Beef?  Bitcoin Butchery?  BitBeef?  I'm see a new market opening up!

It would be around 60 BTC.

why try and sell whole cows here for btc?
Use the btc as an investment :) Make the investment pay for the costs and then split the profits of actually selling the meat locally to people/butchers, wouldn't that attract a lot more investors?

I would be interested, but I purchased a quarter beef last November.  Great idea!

At what size are they considered ready for the butcher? Is there any benefit to letting them live longer/grow larger? Are the cows given any hormones or antibiotics?

I'd definitely be intersted if someone were to do this in canada...

Just did an order with a somewhat-local farmer and a butcher, to quarter a cow between me/the wife, my bro/his wife, my parents, the wife's parents.  1200 pound "on the hoof" ended up yielding close to 825 pounds of meat. All 4 receivers got an equal portion of all cuts.

We ended up paying $2.50CAD/pound killed/dressed/butchered/packaged (butcher paper wrapped).  The wife and I will be repacked ours in vacuum seal bags, as we cannot eat 206 pounds of beef within the 3-month freezer life of paper-wrapped beef.  FoodSaver claims over 6 months freezer life for beef.

We expect to want to do this again next year... We're gonna need a bigger freezer.

I have wanted to do this, the local farmer in my home town that does this had a waiting list and I never made it on.

Perhaps to save on shipping you should teach the cow how to use GPS and just have him walk to the destination. That will guarantee a very lean cow.

What quantity & cuts do you get from a whole cow?

Can I order 1 tenderloin and 1 set of Porterhouse steaks for example?

you get quite a variety. you get roasts, steaks, ribs, etc, and then the bits that don't make it into the "prime" cuts, become ground beef. Even having beef 3-4 times a week, we haven't made much of a dent in our hoard o' cow in 2 months.

I think its a great idea and you are clearly seeing some interest.

I definitely would be interested if you were closer. But I buy grassfed beef and dairy from a guy locally already.

Best of luck.

I'm sure the more people that invest, the cheaper it will be. Why don't a couple of us buy or split and see what he can do for a price?

A whole cow has two loins, so yes you can have one cut into porterhouse steaks and the other cut into a tenderloin.

Here's a good video showing all the parts of a side of beef:
part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIo8s62zu84)
part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWB7bHDhJg)

(it is a little out of date though)

do todays cows have other parts? :p

I always think its cool when people are selling different things for Bitcoins. Having said that, I bet you would be most profitable if you sold your meat like Omaha Steaks does. Instead of parting it out per cow or half cow (because not a lot of people really know what that means), create a sort of menu of options of which cuts are for sale and at what price. People see "Filet Mignon" and they are willing to pay a lot more than they would for "part of a cow". But hats off to you, might patronize you in the future.

BTW, love the vintage Beef videos. They would NEVER make a video like that now-its not "PC".