Smithfield Butts

[Packmanjim]

Could this have anything to do with commodity prices being so high? The farmer is selling sooner because it costs to much to feed these critters?

I think you nailed it.

 

[boogiesnap]

Smithfield was a great Virginia company until recently. They sold out to China.

I noticed the smaller, hacked up, butts about 2 months ago. I bought 2 cases of them [bang head] at $1.21lb. Great deal....so I thought. I always had great luck with Smithfield, and thought maybe this was a flook.

Two weeks later I bought another case. Same thing. 5-6lbs average. The butts were hacked to pieces. Very disappointed.

I contacted Smithfield and provided photos of what I received. I got a response stating they were going to forward my email to some other department. I never heard anything further.

They've defiantly lost me as a customer, as if they really care.

:shock:

 

[landarc]

It has nothing to do with China, as that sale has not yet been finalled.

It has something to do with getting a lot more young and underfed hogs in the market due to prices and...

the stores have an option as to what line of pork they bring in, and they are buying the cheapest option from Smithfield. I see this with Farmer John out here, I see folks getting great butts from them, but, I can never seem to find them, I find weird half-butts and such. Now, IBP has been very consistent for me, but, that is the brand carried by my local restaurant supply.

 

[FlavorSavor]

I asked the grocery store meat manager where I buy my butts about different grades of Smithfield pork. He's been the meat guy for over 20 years. He had no idea what I was talking about.

 

[boogiesnap]

I asked the grocery store meat manager where I buy my butts about different grades of Smithfield pork. He's been the meat guy for over 20 years. He had no idea what I was talking about.

is he the buyer? only that person would really have access to that kind of info.

 

[FlavorSavor]

is he the buyer? only that person would really have access to that kind of info.

Yeah, he does the purchasing. This is a small locally owned and operated grocery store. They typically do not have an additional two cases of pork butts on hand, so I order my cases of meat days in advance. I would ask for Smithfield butts specifically because traditionally I'd get a nice product. When I read the above comments about lesser expensive options I gave him a call to clarify so we would not make this mistake again.

However, if someone has product numbers for better quality meat, I'm all ears. It's embarrassing to me to even have butts that look like that on my pit.

 

[dmprantz]

Grocery stores typically acquire "commodity pork" which is the cheapest stuff they can get fit for human consumption. It's the production and finishing farms who decide what goes into that commodity pork, and grocery stores just take what they can get. Those farms acquire and breed stock based in part on what will give them "adequate" quality, but more than anything else, increase their profits the most. Different farms start with different stock, but in those cases, you're buying whatever people can get for the best price. Anything above the cheapest acceptable product is sold through different channels.

dmp

EDIT: I believe that Smithfield is the only retail brand which manages everything from the genetic breeding stock to the case, so they have an advantage in some areas, but it's the same process in the end. The stuff you buy in the store is whatever the can produce to provide the most profits while managing acceptable values for retail traits.