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Don’t feed cattle steroids or pharmaceuticals .And I don’t use growth hormones although they are proven safe and vet recommended. I just don’t believe that well bred animals need them.

That actually sounds good ! Isn't there some ingredient in some bread brands that is actually a ingredient used in mats? A couple of people have mentioned it I just can't remember the name. If it's true then you and those who make home made bread are lucky

Wow! Really farmergeorge? Says the guy who raises cattle and doesn't have to pay a supermarket for any meat. Want to tell us what other animals you raise and harvest for your family? What exactly do you have to pay for in your every day existence for survival? Food wise?  
 
I did do something about that 63 dollar roast, i left it on the shelf. And BTW it was a cheaper cut of beef, i think it was an inside round.  
 
It had always been that our family eats what we can afford. I was wanting a pork chop for supper, went to a store and saw a two pack for a little over ten bucks, hmm, check the four pack, price was still five bucks a chop. So my choice? A frozen chicken cutlet stuffed with meat and cheese that cost me two dollars a serving.  
 
I wouldn't eat the tongue of any animal, thank you very much! As for liver, nope! If those two choices were the only two i would soon become a vegetarian!  
 
There you are with a plethora of choices to put on your plate daily but you come on here and tell others that they need to eat cuts of meat that most people can't/won't. Just wow is all i can say to you!

I'm surprised you're so offended - usually you're very level-headed when you post! While I don't portend to speak of FG, I interpreted from his post that we sometimes need to change our expectations.  
 
Part of why meat is so expensive (why any food, frankly, is so expensive) is because we throw so much away. There are literally parts of the animal they can't even give away, even if they are nutritious, delicious and fit the need of nutrition.  
 
What we consider food is largely a cultural construct - think about what some of the traditional foods are in our own cultures or cultures around us are, and frankly many of them are disgusting to our modern palate at first glance. But many of them are delicious, the vast majority is extremely nutritious, and lots of those iconic meals have roots in using up "the nasty bits", to quote Anthony Bourdain.

If you have a freezer for storage it definately is much cheaper to buy a beef by the half. As was mentioned in another post basically the hamburger is about the same price but the more expensive cuts are about 50% of what you would pay in the store.

Look no further than the measures and demands that the governments have placed on industry and businesses as a response to the virus. Realize that those calling for stricter/expanded measures may be oblivious to the fact that they are silently calling for higher prices on everything you can think of. Having said that, I'm all for protecting those most at risk, but realize that as a society we have to carry on and not let the virus control our lives and unfortunately that's what happened. The costs to society for going down that route is immeasurable at the moment and food prices going up are unfortunately just a nibble of what lies ahead

One of the problems of buying a side or quarter is that the money, not inconsiderable, has to be found up front, not easy for folks on a tight budget (the ones who would benefit most). You then have to have another freezer just for the meat and pray that the power stays ok, especially in summer.  
Eating cheaper cuts is fine if you like the taste, personally I find beef heart and liver too strong, pigs liver also, lambs liver is milder but not usually available at all. I buy beef tongue when it appears, boil and press it for use as cold meat in a sandwich. Ham hocks are overpriced but do make a good base for soup, sometimes come on special.  
The local Co-op this week had Brisket on at $3.99 lb. great I think, buy a joint, slow roast, then can. Stupid fella, the only piece they had came in at $72, forget that one.  
In most rural areas there are no local butchers any more, the supermarket meat comes pre-cut on the delivery truck and is then wrapped and priced in store, and sometimes wrongly labelled, keep your eyes open folks.  
The problem is that as consumers we have killed the local butcher, baker, greengrocer etc. because we do not want to walk from shop to shop carrying a bag or three. It all gets done in one shop at a large store with a convenient cart to wheel to the vehicle. We are now paying for that convenience.

to my post above.  
Never have I seen oxtail or fresh lamb or rabbit in our local stores. Stewing steak is often dearer than buying grilling steak so we buy the latter and cut it ourselves. Nor have I seen beef skirt or scrag end of lamb, wonderful in an Irish stew, especially warmed up the next day.  
I enjoy a breast of lamb stuffed and rolled but have not found it in stores here. Why is New Zealand lamb cheaper than home produced?  
I also enjoy fresh smoked Haddock but have never seen it in Superstore or Sobeys/Safeways.  
Maybe someone here can tell me why the sausages from stores seem to bleed orange into the pan when cooking, I'm sure that it is not a natural part of the animal.

I buy lamb from sobeys south end..bonless leg or bone in leg. They also carry shanks and chops and rack of lamb.  
 
Also have had luck from co-op as well. Sometimes you have to ask the people in the back if they have lamb. I believe you can even order a leg from them.  
 
We also buy boneless lamb leg from Costco. Very very good grade.  
 
For stewing lamb, no luck except in Winnipeg in ethnic grocery stores.

Our local co-op had frozen lamb leg a while ago (Australian imported) and bought a couple but never have any fresh, seems most Canadians have never eaten lamb.  
This is a shame because we can get around seven meals for two from a leg, which works out around five bucks a meal. Roast first then sliced, frozen and used for sandwiches, or even warmed to go with another roast.  
Waiting for them to put a reduced price sticker on what they have left, says he with great hope.

We tend to buy the value packs of meat when they're on sale, then split it up and freeze it. 4 kg cases of chicken breast were $26 a couple weeks ago. I found a 4 kg box of back attached chicken legs for under $15 a while ago. Lean ground beef is $2.99/ lb right now. Sirloin tip roast or steak is $4.98/ lb. The sale prices i can find now are pretty much the same as they were last year. I believe I found sirloin steaks a bit cheaper, but it was an amazing sale.

I am merely illustrating the waste caused by consumer choices and the Fact that many perfectly safe and nutritious cuts are not consumed by many people today when in the past they were commonly consumed.  
Secondly the cost that I pay daily for the survival of my family food wise is the raising of my cattle and growing sufficient grass for the summer along with growing and harvesting sufficient fodder , bedding and grain to see my herd through the long winter months and ensuring that sufficient fresh water is available to my cattle through the entire year. The cost is immense financially, in time, labour and equipment plus maintenance and repairs coupled with the difficulty to control variables such as weather and market volatility amongst others.  
Other costs that I bear for my family are the labour, time and effort to grow as much vegetables and fruit in my garden as possible along with associated harvesting, canning, blanching and freezing.  
None of this work is convenient or easy and it takes effort but it does help to have shelves and freezers full for the leaner months and reduce dependency on the grocery store.

You are definitely blessed to be able to live that lifestyle and on your own land...alot of people would give up alot to be able to live like that. Is your home/farm generational ?

this is fairly common practice with most mixed farmers. It may shock you that most people that live in the city of Brandon are not able to raise their own beef within the city limits. People that grow a garden, can, and preserve what they grow. You make it sound like your the only one that does this. If you feel your making great sacrifices in your life, you should change your vocation.

The reason that New Zealand lamb is cheaper than domestic lamb is simple. New Zealand lamb is not lamb at all, it is mutton from older sheep , always has been the case and it is of inferior quality to domestic lamb.

I live in town with my family and own a third share in our family farm that we bought when we moved to Canada. I saved for twenty years while working as a vehicle technician to buy into the farm business.

You completely missed the important point that with careful purchasing sand willingness to work and prepare from raw ingredients it is possible to reduce ones grocery bill significantly. Many of us are now accustomed ( or even forced) to shopping in the larger grocery stores where value and quality is not always great and choices can be limited. Many of us are also fooled by large retailers into thinking that unhealthy highly processed foods are cheaper . This is largely an education deficiency which has been encouraged by processors and retailers.

I was only trying to be matter of fact. I don't appreciate FG and his high horse that he rides on sometimes.  
I do understand that some cuts of an animal are considered cultural treats. My ancestors used the blood of buffaloes for pudding and there's no way I would be willing to even try that! I'll leave the nasty bits to the gourmands if that's what they want to try. I on the other hand don't. And if some people enjoy cricket powder in their protein bars, good for them! I'm still not going to try anything made with crickets.  
 
I didn't appreciate the comment FG made about people whining and doing nothing to change things. And then throwing in the part where he thinks people might want to eat ox tongue because the butcher will only discard it.  
 
FG has no idea of what i can/cannot afford to buy to put food on the table. I wish i lived on a farm and could have cattle and chickens for their meat and eggs but I don't.  
 
Anyway I do like your posts as they do try to inform us and are kind also.

to stuff beef heart and we liked it.  
Last time i bought some frozen pork hocks for soup, and they were pricey, some of the meat was sour so had to chuck it out.  
Stewing beef is expensive like you said in your next post.  
One supermarket usually offers a great price on meat like smoked ham and every time i bake a ham and throw the rest in the freezer it just tastes off when using it later on. So now I'm thinking that I shouldn't buy at that store for the great price and will probably buy elsewhere in the hope that I can use more of the meat and not have to toss it. Who wants sour meat? Yuck!

If I come across that way i apologize, it is because food production has been our family business for five generations on two continents and we are passionate about providing the highest quality and most nutritious product. It took most of my working life to buy into this business so it is very important to me.  
I maintain that improved consumer decisions can only be brought about through better education, and that needs to start with our kids and better home economics teaching.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-08-31 00:04:21