If corn drops, feeder cattle get more valuable, Tonsor said. As they made arrangements to sell about 120 head of cattle in March 2020, they reached out to a friend who owns a feed lot that sells animals to a JBS plant in Utah. Pasture yields are 4 tons (3.4 tons dry matter, dm) per acre, which exceeds the stockers needs. In fact, you will be lucky if just you break even, most years. As producers reflect upon how their calves sold this year, it's important to . The 2011-2017 study Factors affecting the auction price of New York feeder cattle, by Minhao Yan, Michael J. Baker and Miguel Gomez evaluated the price per pound of 30,000 head of cattle. When she's not writing, she is spending time in the barn with her horse, Bella. Chances are they can help you generate a few different names to source from. I feel that it could support a couple of head. Also, if the cows have large, round stickers on their bodies or sticky areas of adhesive on their coats, you may want to pass. This leads to the second type, which is to buy those weaners and fatten them to feed-lot size. Second, the buy/sell margin should be positive. But by having some . Implement an immunization schedule for respiratory and clostridial diseases. When a producer of Holstein stockers receives a fall price of $0.70 per pound, and pays only $0.93 per pound in the spring (a price spread of $0.23), the cattle only need to gain 1.4 pounds per day for the producer to break even. Read about the different methods of castrating calves. But, is this really the best time to sell? I find this blog very compelling. The surplus forage is custom round baled, with the beef stocker providing less hay than the Holstein operation. Don Wilson Producers must analyze their individual situation to determine if the value of the additional pounds will be . Angus. Cow-calf operations are the backbone of the beef industry and are made up mostly of smaller operations that own anywhere from 10 to 100 cows. The prices used for this analysis were for 425-poundand 575-poundFeeder Steer Calves (Medium and Large Frame, #1 Muscle Score) from the USDA Florida Cattle Auctions Weekly Summary for the week ending April 13th, 2018. The venture, Sustainable Beef LLC, comes as ranchers say they have struggled against . READ Make more money with your livestock. The only time that the value of gain per pound would be equal to the market price per pound is when there is no difference in price per pound between different weights of feeder calves. Additionally, please note that the price of the calf sold ($1.55/lb.) As in most homesteading projects, you should plan to start small. Costs associated with seeding the pasture are included, but fertilizer costs are not, since existing soil test levels and stocker manure are assumed to provide adequate nutrients for pasture growth. This is possible, but extremely unlikely for many, many years. Larger animals can be sold for more money on the market as they yield more meat. Its often difficult to find calves that are healthy and strong, and a calf that struggles to stay healthy may never grow to its full potential. Anticipating the market is hard with steers meant to be fed out or backgrounded, but relatively easy with bred replacement heifers. Avg. Stocker or backgrounding operations purchase the weaned calf from the commercial cow-calf producers. Crosses will be easier for you to learn on, for starters. Buyers discount heifer calves because heifers present more potential management problems and heifers do not perform as well as steers. However, you will have to absorb that market risk and be exposed for a longer period of time to do that. Angus cattle are one of the most popular breeds of cattle in the US. Number 8860726. But March thru October I am able to. You'll need to own cattle in order to sell cattle. That can be good or bad. Farmers must maintain a high weight-gain rate for the animals, and meet strict quality targets. You could get a good animal, but then again, this kind of farmer may not be the most conscientious about animal care. Everything is cheaper by a good bit this year. My husband teases me about our eight-dollar-per-gallon milk. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed. The more stressed the animal is, the more potential you have for losing a lot of value.. When you get home, youll probably want to go ahead and vaccinate the cattle for the diseases that are common in your area. Livestock auctions generally fall into two categories: regular weekly sales and special sales: Regular sales are held each week at a specific date and time. Much of what you pay for a cow will be out of your control; the market is what it is. Both beef and dairy cows should have straight backs that are not swayed. Cattle fattening is a livestock production practice that reduces animal activities, thereby fattening cattle more quickly. Depending on the age and sex of the animals you may need to drench, vaccinate, identify, mark (castrate) and wean calves. If calves are bawling or commingled from numerous sources together, it means they were just separated from their mother and thrust into a challenging environment. Cattle that are thick, muscular and have records for immunizations also bring the best prices. But when the producer pays $1.39 per pound in the spring (a price spread of $0.69), the cattle need to gain 2.4 pounds per head per day for the operation to reach the break-even point. Registered cattle are a little more complicated than cross-bred cattle, and they will cost a bit more, too. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. These animals likely look a little rough and need TLC. For mature cattle, the normal temperature range is 100.4 to 103.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the pulse is 40 to 80 beats per minute, and the respiration rate at rest is 10 to 30 breaths per minute. Im running pasture animals and didnt have the indoor facility to rehab them.. You may pay more for cattle purchased this way, but you may save yourself some headaches when dealing with a person whose reputation is on the line with every sale. Thanks for that. If it isn't, you need to intervene. Schuster worked with a UW-Madison team including Rick Klemme, CIAS director, Dan Schaefer and Mike Siemens of Animal Sciences, Dan Undersander of Agronomy, and stocker operator and veterinarian Larry Smith to develop a stocker budget. "The prices at the stockyard have come down due to the fact that most people buying cows to fatten them up and send them to the Midwest are not buying . Owning a few cattle can further that goal, since a cow or two can provide meat, milk, and lawn mowing. Check the corn futures contract prices. Most often, these cattle are grazed, meaning its imperative to provide enough good quality forage to sustain the herd. Bought 50 calves at $1.00 a pound in the spring. It is full of information that is spot on. Its important to understand that their feeder calf value of gain is not the same as the market price received, due to the price slide associated with marketing heavier animals. After Detzels first year in the stocker business, he lost $1,000. In this example, beef stockers are purchased for $0.80 per pound and sold for $0.68 per pound, a price spread of $0.12. Sale of domestic calves for fattening. The spring seasonal rally is likely to extend well into April. Email Seller Video Chat. Cattle are herd creatures and your cow will become lonely and probably quite annoying if she doesnt have company in the field. Certified Angus Beef is the market standard, with black Angus bringing premium prices and their red cousins a close second. Success with stocker cattle is akin to walking a fine line. If a cow stops eating for a day or two, begins breathing heavily, or shows other signs of illness, call the vet right away. You just cant know and its a gamble of hundreds of dollars. Marketing your feeder calves doesnt have to be complicated. Schuster says, This cost is almost 10 percent below the 1992 state average, but most likely poorer quality land would be used for grazing. This article originally appeared in the January/February 2020 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine. They modeled financial returns to farmers using beef stockers (those from beef cattle breeds) and Holstein stockers over a six-month grazing season, and used the model to calculate costs and returns on a per head and per acre basis for the stocker and pasture enterprises. Phone: (254) 283-7992. If you dont measure it, you cant manage it, Tonsor said. At the . This is a lot of meat and will fill up a small chest freezer with top grade steak . Feeding Monensin To Developing Heifers: Is It Worth It? The facility can accommodate more than 400 head of 500-pound calves at any one time. Bring a cattle-wise friend along to make sure that you get a good deal. Additionally, its very easy for a respiratory illness to become pneumonia in young cattle especially. A field full of pigweed, broom sedge, blackberry briars, and thistle will starve a cow. ($894/head gross value) and 8-9 weight steer in the same category was ~$137/cwt. Calves with a weight under the standar for their age can indicate some kind of . Many custom feed yards will manage cattle, while you still own them, allowing you to potentially get the cattle price back to where you want it to be by owning cattle throughout their life. One nice thing about this format is that you can frequently text or email the question that you have for the farmer, and he can respond when its convenient for him. Glynn Tonsor, PhD, and Professor of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University suggests the price received for feeder calves is impacted by the simple principle of supply and demand. The difference between the price paid for the calves in spring and received for them in fall, called the price spread, is also a key variable. But Detzel never allowed access on any one lot for more than four days. That would be his other option ..buy a couple of old cows with calves at foot. That is why the prices change so much. In addition, extra costs incurred in increasing the rate of gain would have to be deducted. A few beads of moisture on the nose is fine, but the cow or calf shouldnt be snotty. First of all, determine what type of cattle you are looking for. Dont make the mistake of buying a bargain cow that you see listed on Craigslist. We supply the birds, feed and technical advice, while the farmers care for the chickens by providing the farm, housing and labor. One way to help make sure your calves grow efficiently, while staying healthy is to provide them with the VitaFerm Gain Smart mineral, designed for weaned calves through yearlings. Getting into stockers was a time-versus-return issue. The break-even selling price for Holstein stockers is just under $0.58 per pound, which is a $0.32 price spread. So I hoped to find someone who allready knows a bit more While it could be argued cattle are less work than sheep, they still require a great deal of effort. A forum community dedicated to living sustainably and self sufficiently. This is where farmers go to sell their cull animals, and when the cows are run through the ring, you have no clue about where they came from, what their general health status is, or what diseases they may be carrying. Cattle fattening is a livestock production practice that reduces animal movements thereby fattening cattle more quickly. You dont know these people. A granular additive such as Rumensin or Bovatech may assist with feed efficiency. A simple equation for VOG is: (Sale Price - Purchase Price)/ (Sale Weight - Purchase Weight). Just watch those horns, as they can unintentionally gauge you. The Idea of homesteading with daily work on your own property sounds so fantastic.. the whole idea of self-reliance seems very appealing to me .. its now a new dream for me and my family. You touched on many issues but I need information on finishing the cow prior to butchering. The sector is emerging for employment and income generation for urban and pre-urban . Check with your local extension agent to determine how many animals per acre you can stock on your property. We do enjoy improving our herd, and they do a valuable service in keeping our fields free of brush and trees. Detzel has a few white cows in his herd and one with horns, which he knows are really going to get discounted. This artificial . Like any good business manager, producers need to use the resources available to them with some practical record-keeping information to determine the best time of year for them to market their feeder calves. But there is no further information online to which point it's profitable to feed them. I bought the worst-looking cattle at auction. Your email address will not be published. Dont Get Snookered: The Beginners Guide to Buying Cattle. Dairy cows will be much slimmer than beef animals, but they shouldnt look like walking skeletons. This information would be most helpful. The value of gain (VOG) takes that a step further to determine if the cost of adding weight before selling your calves will help you turn an increased profit. Panting is normal on warm days but the animals shouldnt be constantly coughing. However, be sure to budget for at least two cows if you dont have any other livestock. Last year 500lb feeders were $1.70-2.25 around here. Feeder calf value of gain is a sensitive variable and can change frequently as changes in fundamental supply and demand variables influence the beef cattle market. 14 head of Hereford bred and exposed cows and pairs. Add in your costs and you come up with the highest amount you can pay for calves. Barley as a Fattening Feed for Cattle and Swine in South Dakota J.W . If we spend our time judging each other we give up the time to love each other. What are your resources? Wagyu calves can be 40 times the price of US cattle. But by having some control over costs, rates of gain, and type of stockers, producers can estimate their profits based on spring calf prices and fall feeder prices. There are many methods to add weight to feeder calves that vary considerably. For many homesteaders, the animals are the most exciting part, but dont put the cart before the horse, or in this case the cow before the pasture. Larger animals could be sold for more money on the market as they yield more meat. Dont plan on buying a whole herd of cattle. A producer who is buying Holstein stockers that will gain 2 pounds per day and sell for $0.65 per pound in fall can pay up to $1.09 per pound in spring and break even. we love animals and have so many already. Ask the questions that you have and listen carefully to the answers. Old Man Winter isnt always kind to cattle producers, and therefore, it is more costly to raise a calf through the winter, when you are devoting additional resources to both the mother cow and her offspring. Beef Magazine is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC. The value of gain (VOG) takes that a step further to determine if the cost of adding weight before selling your calves will help you turn an increased profit. Its mostly a humane issue, he says. Load size also contributes to the price buyers are willing to pay. At What Weight should I sell my Feeder Calves, Cash Cattle: Active Friday Trading at Higher Prices, Cattle from Across the Country Set to Return to Aggieville. They calculated the point where returns equal costs (break-even points) by varying daily rate of gain and price spread. These folks can help you set up your grazing, water and marketing plans. They had pneumonia and pink eye. It's kind of learning by doing to find out when it's the right time to sell. Consider if a calf is born 30 days earlier in the calving season and gains 2 pounds per day while on the cow, the calf will weigh 60 pounds more at the same weaning date in the fall. Feedback, questions or accessibility issues: Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems Logo Image, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, UW Extension Publication A3718: Stocker enterprise budgets for grass-based systems, Outwintering dairy cattle: the fate of manure components (Research Brief #35), Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers (Research Brief #37), 2023 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. They are able to eat grass and hay and live away from their mamas. for me, Detzel says, and I didnt have to give up my cattle all together. If you get in a rush and dont think the process over, you may end up buying cattle that bring you more frustration than pleasure. In future we will fatten the calves from our house cows for meat, but we bought this steer before we got the cows. It all goes back to supply and demand. When the cattle start out thin and ragged, theyll gain at a quicker rate on spring forage. Paid a fortune to ship them to his place. On good grazing, you could run lean cattle on four- to six-month cycles. I enjoy milking and handling my cow every day. Since a cows pregnancy lasts for 9 months, this means that they shouldnt be bred until 15 months of age. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. "Buy the cattle low. While in the South, the price advantage of selling in the first quarter of the year ranges from $0.05 to $0.11 higher. Sell them high." As you might expect, this is a great over-simplification, but you get the idea. Some producers use hedging instruments in the form of forward, futures, or options contracts to protect their prices. Learn how your comment data is processed. Farmers who wish to wish to evaluate a stocker enterprises profitability need to know how much they can pay for calves in the spring and still make a profit in the fall. If shes between 7-12 months old, you want that answer to be no. We have been able to raise our own beef. to sell is a weaned calf weighing around 350 to 550 pounds. Fatten them cheaply. Try a mix of corn and molasses (you can get this as fattening mix from a feed mill). By this point, their immune systems are fairly well developed. Copyright 2023. However, the process of buying a cow or two doesnt need to be so scary. With a high quality cattle from the beggining we achieve more easily desired rates in growth and fattening. The moral of the story is, get a drug addiction. The land rent is assumed to be $60 per acre. A neighbor wanted to get into cattle. JavaScript is disabled. Get in the habit of taking them a little treat around the same time each day, such as grain or alfalfa cubes. So be proactive with your cattles health. Its a net margin that drives the profit. The results give New York farmers an idea for the ways people are getting paid at auction. The rumen fill is a triangle shaped area on the left hip of the cow. 9 Tips to Help Resuscitate a Newborn Calf, New Conservation Funding and CRP Took Priority in Senate Ag Hearing, Tyson Foods Nurse Forges License, Practices Illegally For 15 Years, Nalivka: Marketing Versus Selling Your Calves and Feeder Cattle. Take your time and enjoy the process. When it came to buying and selling cattle, the late Gordon Hazard and I seldom had any significant differences in opinion. Some homesteaders are intimidated at the prospect of spending several thousand dollars on animals that are quite large and have their own unique needs. This is the best way to get to know what the going rate for cattle is. Cows generally start coming into heat, or ovulating, when they are around a year old, but it can begin sooner. First, check out the quality of your fields. Beef as low as $1.00 for heifers, and 1.20 for the boyswith boys or without! For cattle, you need sunny fields with grasses and legumes. Forage finishing capitalizes on the beef animal's ability to convert forage into muscle protein through the aid of microbial breakdown of forage celluloses in the rumen. January, 1999, Our WorkFarming SystemsFood SystemsBeginning Farmer Resources DonateAbout CIAS, All eventsThe Great Lakes Great Apple CrunchThe Wisconsin Chili LunchNative Nations Workshop, UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems1535 Observatory Drive Madison, WI 53706 608-262-5200Map.