Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Jersey Steers for beef?

I get a couple of Steers every year and sell all but a 1/4. I get a farm exemption on 4 of my 5 acres that saves me $1000 a year in taxes. Liberal social engineering at work. I'm a little reluctant to sell the Jersey meat to others having never tried it myself. This is the Craigslist post that sparked my curiosity. I think he needs some math tutoring.
I have some young yearling feeder steers. The biggest weighing about 700 pounds. They range in pricing from $150 up to $250 per head, or give me a reasonable offer on all of them. I will do part or all trades for Hay or farm equipment. The Auction says they are bringing about 50 cents per pound for these type cattle. Which makes them a very good Buy. They are jersey steers. Please call if you are interested, as they are going to the auction on tues. morning if no one buys them off the farm. 503 769-3692 or 503 910-5380.

Jersey beef is good tasting, just not a lot of it. Get them castrated asap, though. I have a theory that with breeds of cattle, the gentler the cow, the meaner the bull. A jersey cow is as gentle as they come but the bulls are the meanest.

That is a good deal!

About half price compared to a 500-600lb angus cross steer calf.

Howdy guys! I'm new here and just saw this older thread.
Maybe I can give a little advice on Jersey beef. My family has raised/milked Jerseys for 5 generations. So I've raised and eaten more than my fare share of it - either from the kitchen or from my campfire. Have half a yearling in the freezer and two new steer bottle calves just started for next fall.

YES- In most areas of the country, Jersey bull calves are cheap.

YES- Jersey bottle babies 'can' be a little fickle to raise if you do not have clean, dry housing, and know a little about dairy calf health/feed requirements. If you're buying a calf, make sure it is "farm fresh" (coming to you directly from the farm it was born on) and not from a stock yard or calf dealer. If the farm has a milking herd, then chances are good that the calf was born there.

YES- They are slower to grow. A well cared for yearling tops out at about 650 on hoof. One of my hugest pet peeves is that folks think because they are small cattle that Jerseys survive on air. They may be little, but they can definitely put the hay and grain away! You want Jersey beef? You gotta feed it twice a day every day.

BUT- The beef from a year old steer is only slightly past what would be considered older veal calves. Grain is very fine and marbling in cut from a yearling is practically nil. But don't let that make you think it isn't tender. It's just YOUNG. Beef from older Jerseys have a distinct yellow fat which provides what I feel is a wonderful flavor.

A 650 lb (live weight) yearling Jersey bull (not castrated) yields about 200 lbs of beef, as well as the tongue, liver, heart and 50-80 lbs of soup bones. Steers will give slightly better yields. Percentage-of-yield wise, pretty similar to a "backyard" beef calf or even a deer.

The biggest problem most people have in getting a Jersey butchered is that they have the butcher hang the carcass way too long. Young Jerseys (younger than 15 mo.) do not require more than 3 or 4 days hanging cure time. A mature animal might need 5-6 days. Most slaughter houses age "beef" beef 6-8 days. You have to request the shorter hang time and convince the packing house that it is best for a small dairy animal. Not all packers are so willing. Check to see if your state has a minimum hang time.

GOSH! I sure do ramble on. Don't I? I'll shut up now. About time to feed the calves anyways.
Hope some of this may help your Jersey beef experience.

Thanks for your insight, and welcome to the fire.

If you can find MoorMan's� Range Minerals you can feed Jersey calves up to butcher weight on whole corn and when we did it it was economically feasible. Don't try it without the minerals.

Welcome CCMomma! Everybody kept an old ancient lookin', sway backed Jersey milk-cow around when I was a kid.

Japanese Wagyu beef farmers concur with Bart.