The past few years I've been processing and selling 1000-1100 lb Hereford yearling steers by the pound. At the sale barn that steer generally would have brought $1.30-1.35 or around $1400.  Selling as I have been, at our local farmers market or from the farm, that steer will bring $2400-2500 gross. But it is a lot more work. By the time you take off processing and driving around, nnot to mention my time, It's probably a wash with the sale barn. 

Demand is there but recently I've been doing less farmers market and more to local restaurants to cut down on my time requirements.

However this spring I sold bred cows etc and down-sized my herd significantly. Decided to go to sales from the farm to my regular customers and family.

Yesterday we went to one of the local restaurants that I used to sell a lot of ground beef but now has switched to a different supplier. Just to check it out I ordered a patty-melt. It was awful. Definitely put=together, manufactured (lean + added fat) ground beef, totally different than mine. I felt bad that I had to stop supplying them. This had been a big seller for them. I won't order another.

As mentioned by others here, there is a pride in knowing you are supplying a healthy, quality product to others in the community. My pool of "others" is just going to have to shrink.

With current cattle prices I'm not sure selling freezer beef currently makes as much economic sense as it did in the past. It's more of a break=even labor of love.