[AT] value added meat processing?? (OT)

Thu Dec 7 03:33:13 PST 2006

That is the food coop page.  They are a great association.  That is how 
I can sell my products.  It is Market 5 that is a problem.
Cecil

Kevin wrote:
>
> I would dissassociate my self from them,
> they have you listed near the top of their page.
>
>            BeardenBlackbellies.com
>            Cecil & Rhonda Bearden
>
>            Piedmont, OK
>           4414 Ash St. NE
>            Piedmont, OK 73078
>            crbearden at copper.net
>            405-641-8547 (home)
>
>
>      Product Types: Processed Lamb Cuts or Whole Lambs. Live Lambs and 
> Sheep Available
>
>      About Us
>      BeardenBlackbellies is the product of 7 years of shepherding 
> American Blackbelly Sheep. Alsoncalled Barbado sheep. From our 
> original flock of 14 bought for brush control, we have nurtured them 
> into a flock of 70 producing ewes. Our sheep range freely on 80 acres 
> of native pasture. Wheat, Ryegrass or Triticale is available as a 
> green winter forage. We provide hay and some grain along with salt and 
> minerals for a balanced diet.
>
>      American Blackbellies are a naturally polled hair sheep 
> originating from the island of Barbados, then crossed with the French 
> Mouflon sheep to produce large curled horns on the rams, then crossed 
> with Ramboulliet to tame them down. Blackbellies have a remarkable 
> resemblance to deer in both appearance and attitudes. Blackbellies 
> shed naturally each year. The hair fleece has less lanolin and 
> Blackbelly meat is a sweeter meat with less "mutton" taste than wooled 
> sheep. Blackbelly is a lean meat with most of the fat deposits on the 
> outside of the cut to hold in the natural juices while grilling or 
> roasting.
>
>      We are members of the Blackbelly Sheep Association. Their website 
> is www.BBSAI.ORG
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cecil Bearden" <crbearden at copper.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 6:27 AM
> Subject: Re: [AT] value added meat processing?? (OT)
>
>
>> I just thought I would let you all be amused, irritated, bemused, or
>> whatever word or emotion you would like to use to describe the treatment
>> I had from the processor I used for my lambs.
>>
>> I went through the process of getting labels approved and everything so
>> that I could sell processed lamb through the OK food Coop 
>> www.oklahomafood.coop  I had to select a processor also.  I selected
>> Market 54 in Weatherford OK.  It was a 65 mile haul.  The other was
>> Ralph's in Perkins, and as I had received a royal you know what with the
>> last lambs I took to the sale barn at Perkins, I just did not want to go
>> to Perkins again..
>>
>> The difference in distance was 6 miles, so what the heck.  Also the
>> owner of the plant in Weatherford lives here in Piedmont.  So 2 months
>> ahead of time, I scheduled them to be processed the Thursday before
>> Thanksgiving week.  I was supposed to pick up the meat on Friday after
>> Thanksgiving.
>>
>> I was also supposed to pick up the heads, hides, and offal.  I was told
>> this was a problem as the other processor did not want to pick up sheep
>> parts due to the scrape and mad cow crap...  I agreed as I thought I
>> could sell the hides and use the horns for something.  Knife handles
>> perhaps.
>>
>> Wednesday before I was to haul them, I was told an electrical problem
>> occurred and they could not take them until the following Tuesday when
>> the state inspector was was available for inspection.  And to wait until
>> later in the morning because he had to process Buffalo that morning. 
>> That was fine, as I am not one to get gone early due to a stomach
>> problem I have had for over 30 years.  I was willing to do whatever it
>> took to get this done as I had scheduled the meats for sale over the
>> Holidays with the food cooperative.  I also wanted to build a
>> relationship with a processor.  That is the way I have done business
>> with vendors for over 40 years.  We both have to stay in business, so I
>> find someone to work with for both our benefits.
>>
>> I showed up at 10:00 am on Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving.  The
>> owner unloaded the 4 barrels I had brought for the heads and hides and
>> offal and carried them about 50 yards!!!  He then proceeded to berate me
>> for bringing 19 head instead of the scheduled 11.  (I had 18 rams, when
>> I counted them 2 months prior I only counted 11 with horns, go 
>> figure! I also had one fence crawler that I was going to process for 
>> myself to
>> decide on the difference in taste with age.)  He also chewed on my butt
>> for about 10  minutes because 25 hunters had showed up with deer for
>> processing that morning.  ( Was that my fault?)
>>
>> I was told that he could not process all of them that day.  I did not
>> like the spaces in his pens, but agreed to let them stay.  I went into
>> town and got some 55 gal liners for the barrels and brought them back
>> and talked to him again about how I wanted it done.
>> $10 ea. on Wednesday and called him and asked that since he came home to
>> piedmont at night anyway, would he bring the hides so I could salt
>> them.  He said he did not know he was to save the hides.....  I told him
>> that I discussed that several times and he agreed to save the hides as I
>> had them sold for $15 ea.  (figured I better use a good offense as this
>> guy was going to cost me).  e said he would look through his hide
>> barrels and see if he could find them.  I got a call at 4:45 pm that he
>> had found 11 hides and the rest were gone.  He would bring them when he
>> got back about 9pm.  He then started to tell me how crazy everything was
>> because of deer season.  I asked why that was my fault, and he began to
>> berate me for bringing 8 more head than scheduled, and he just wanted to
>> get through this without getting p----d off!!!!!    Hmmm!!   I just said
>> OK and hung up.  I had just got my diesel truck out of the dealership
>> about 30 minutes earlier and had to pay $700 for repairs when I thought
>> it would have been about $250...  I was not going to get into a fight
>> even though I could have fought a grizzly bear about then.  I had to go
>> to another town about 20 miles away and get some salt for the hides and
>> some fuel conditioner for my truck as I was leaving for Cape Giradeau MO
>> in the morning and would have to salt the hides that evening.
>>
>> I got the hides about 8:30pm in 2 tubs.  When I got them home and
>> started salting them, the heads and the lower joints of the back legs
>> were still attached.  That blackbelly hide is the softest hide you  can
>> find, but also the toughest to cut.  I finally found that sharp tin
>> snips will cut it..  I also found a chines web site that states that
>> hair sheep produce the finest glove leather available.
>> About 10:30 I got the hides salted and went inside.
>>
>> I got a call on Monday morning about 7:00 am about how I wanted the meat
>> cut.  I had left labels in a file box with them when I delivered the
>> live animals.  We discussed how it was to be cut with the labels we had
>> since I had more animals, and we decided to use as large of cuts as
>> possible.  The is made the leg an entire hindquarter. The rib roast is
>> the entire ribcage with the loin attached.  We also had rib chops,
>> ground lamb, spareribs, shoulder roast, and fries.   I was told the meat
>> would be ready for pickup on Tuesday morning.  I might note that the
>> state inspector is only there on Tuesday and Thursday and has to be
>> present when the meat is processed.
>>
>> I took off work another day on Tuesday and I had bought a freezer, put
>> it on a wheeled platform, so that I could move it with my little
>> forklift.  I had a generator on my truck to run the freezer while in
>> transport, and had a couple of ice chests just in case.  I got to the
>> processor about 10:00 am after getting everything hooked up for the
>> first time. and we loaded all the meat into the freezer with a few cuts
>> in one chest and the ewe I had processed in another chest.  I returned
>> home to count my packages.
>>
>> When I got home the first thing I notices was that there was no weight
>> on the packages.  The OK ag dept was very specific as the labels had to
>> have a net weight line on them.  I now have a scale thanks to 
>> E-bay.... I also had only 33 legs of lamb..  18 X 2 was 36 back in 
>> 3rd grade,  I
>> did not think It had changed....  I also noted there were no Fries, I
>> had labels for them.  I also had left my file box with the labels with
>> them.  I called and was told that I had not told the girl in the front
>> that I wanted the Fries saved, and that during deer season things are
>> just too crazy around there...  I also was told that don't deal with the
>> owner, make sure that I deal with the girl in the front office.....
>> I said thanks and Merry Christmas.   I told my Dad that the fries were
>> saved, I just did not get them.
>>
>> So...  I had the hides sold for $10 ea and he lost 8 that is $80
>> I now have the heads sold to an artist for $10 ea and that is another 
>> $80
>> There was probably 18lbs of fries at $5 and that is another $90
>>
>> I was charged $35 per head for processing for a total of $665
>>
>> My wife said if I go back there again I am crazy....
>>
>> Cecil in Piedmont, OK
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> AT mailing list
>> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at 
>
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> AT mailing list
> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
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