butcher can you tell me about the terrible overheads and all staff being cuunts (Just for Ms Scutt) and how the government is killing small business and how you're doing us all a favour and how you're the backbone of the country again?

You're the grumpiest butcher in the world. So put-upon by everyone, all hampering you at every turn in your magnanimous decision to run a business.

Bazz, lot feeding cattle is here to stay.

There are several reasons for this, less mustering, less land less turnaround time.

With prime farmland being simp,y too expensive now, unless one inherits, or, is a multi conglomerate, forget it.

Belly, the export market is more of a worry when it stops, as it floods the local market with more meat than it can Handle.

Hallie, nice rant, love you too.

May I suggest you speak with almost anyone in business today, they will all tell a similar story.

As for all staff being ......, sorry, that has never been my opinion.

i agree feedloting with grain..is expensive/but as i hear it..SPROUTED grain..is great to eat..[one ton of grain reportedly goes into ten ton of fodder]

i see feedlots in high rises[methane harvesting aqua culture etc]
just in old ofice space..[change a few fluero's]..put in some guttering..you got hydro..greenhouse[like litle farmlets..where 'the farmer'..lives on and runs the whole floor[or building]

but first we need to let some of these castles in the shies owners go bust..then in time grown locally will simply be as glose as next door[of course perma culture will be practiced plus aquaculture]

sort of like they come home to become meat
made healthier than they ever been..till they pass on naturally[my experiments show treating old chickens with apple cider viniger in their water softens up tough flesh[that calcifies with age..by carefull loving attention the old meat can be made easy eating..

but i used to love them old bull tbone for 199 kg
the tougher the better[but just think if road kill was harvested..like they medevaced wounded out of war zones..same thing but for our beastly brothers..the best life then the highest honbour

if you grock?

HB ...I think the same formula works with most fresh food today Rehctub. When I was a kid it was usual for most families to spend about 30% of their income on basic foods.

Basic foods is the answer. Nowadays I would suggest less than 30% of ones grocery spend would be on basic foods, with the remainder being spent on pre made or processed foods.

My wife comes home with a $4 pack of spuds, par cooked in sauce, yet we could buy 3 kg of plain spuds for the same money.

As for food prices in general, I am of the opinion they are still cheap, when comparing to most other necessities, like power, fuel etc.

In reality, we should be paying a lot more if food had kept pace with these, it's just that food can be substituted with other foods, or cheaper imports.

My fear is that we will come to a point where we loose too many farmers and will have little option than to rely on imports, in fact, that's already happening, however,

Current reports that we are becoming net importers of food are somewhat distorted in my view, as one reason for this is that a large portion of what we produce is exclusively for export.

Our isolation may well effect this moving forward.

Farming is fast becoming to risky an investment for many, mainly due to outlays, without guaranteed returns.

HB has you down to pat Rechtub, you must be the only butch in this country who never smiles.
You can tell a butcher in the street his smile is a lane wide.
His right thumb is much wider than the other ,pressing down the scales.
He has a joke for you, new one every day,and an extra snag for his favorite Lady's.
Really think no one is farming?
Thought one local bloke was using road kill in his pies, the Grey fur started me thinking.

In the late 80's I was getting 240 cents/kilo for grassfed 2 year olds, direct to Wingham abattoir. I don't remember beef in the butcher shop being excessively expensive.
How much have retail meat prices risen in the last 20 odd years, when on the hoof prices have dropped?
Some people have managed to do pretty well, haven't they?