? About steers.

[Warren Allison]

Probably if I do that, I would try to get them bought in during February, and sell in August or early September. Pasture, and supplement, right now I'm feeding 1/3 cracked corn 1/3 soy hulls and 1/3 corn gluten pellets.

These will be weaned or unweaned calves? I am guessing any that were weaned at 6 mos, then conditioned for 30,45,. 60 days or whatever, would weigh more than 400 lbs? These calves would have been born in August. Are there many people up there that calves in late summer like that? A lot of people...hell. most of them...around here calve year round, because they leave their bulls in year round. But those who do try too have a calving season, calve from October til April. May - September , you just have more problems with maggots, etc. That's one reason why we decided not to get those 80 Corr heifers bred to Angus bull out in Texas. They were exposed to a bull beginning Sept 23rd, So they are going to calve July and August. The herd we have now in south GA starts calving next month.

Do you raise corn, beans and/or cotton?

 

[Ky hills]

These will be weaned or unweaned calves? I am guessing any that were weaned at 6 mos, then conditioned for 30,45,. 60 days or whatever, would weigh more than 400 lbs? These calves would have been born in August. Are there many people up there that calves in late summer like that? A lot of people...hell. most of them...around here calve year round, because they leave their bulls in year round. But those who do try too have a calving season, calve from October til April. May - September , you just have more problems with maggots, etc. That's one reason why we decided not to get those 80 Corr heifers bred to Angus bull out in Texas. They were exposed to a bull beginning Sept 23rd, So they are going to calve July and August. The herd we have now in south GA starts calving next month.

Do you raise corn, beans and/or cotton?

Weaned or unweaned, most likely 400 lbs calves would not be weaned, more of a chance 500 lbs might be, I haven't decided which size. The 5 weights would be easier to find but cost more.
A lot of people here calve year round too. I have too we're in one of those February-May and then a few in Oct-Nov, thanks to a disaster with AI and an injured cleanup bull a few years ago. After that I gave up for a while and calved year round now trying to get them tightened back up some.
We are cattle only, not any place here level enough for crops. Used to grow tobacco on some small fairly level areas. Not a lot of crops grown in this area in comparison to others. There are some corn and beans grown in other parts of the county,

 

[Ky cowboy]

I called the manager at Okc last year about doing the same thing. She told me they have to advertise them as eastern cattle and they don't sell as good as the western cattle do

 

[Ky hills]

I called the manager at Okc last year about doing the same thing. She told me they have to advertise them as eastern cattle and they don't sell as good as the western cattle do

Well crap, that figures. The stereotypes never end.

 

[KAstocker]

I called the manager at Okc last year about doing the same thing. She told me they have to advertise them as eastern cattle and they don't sell as good as the western cattle do

I wonder if they don't sell as well because of quality or the travel they just took. If because of travel, you could find a backgrounder in MO, OK, or KS to background your calves for 2-3 months, then have them sell them.

 

[Ky cowboy]

Well crap, that figures. The stereotypes never end.

She told me the trip was hard on them, and they say the quality isn't as good

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I called the manager at Okc last year about doing the same thing. She told me they have to advertise them as eastern cattle and they don't sell as good as the western cattle do

I have heard down through the years that it works best to move cattle from west to east and from north to south as opposed to the
opposite direction. From my experience and things being equal ( they seldom are) I would tend to agree.

 

[Ky hills]

She told me the trip was hard on them, and they say the quality isn't as good

Yeah, I can see where the trip would be hard on them no doubt about that. The quality thing is complete BS. I've been to a stockyards in OK, and seen some herds there. Everything ain't like Express Ranch, just like everything here isn't Craigslist specials.

 

[SBMF 2015]

She told me the trip was hard on them, and they say the quality isn't as good

From years ago, all the old time feeders around here don't have much good to say about KY, VA feeder cattle. They had a bad experience of some kind or other 40 - 50 years ago. They still cringe when I mention eastern feeders.

 

[Ky hills]

From years ago, all the old time feeders around here don't have much good to say about KY, VA feeder cattle. They had a bad experience of some kind or other 40 - 50 years ago. They still cringe when I mention eastern feeders.

That's a lot of what's wrong with the whole picture. The cattle here are basically the same genetics these days that they are anywhere else.
When I was a child, most cattle here were Angus, Hereford, and BWF, from lines of cattle before the frame race. There could be a lot of what they called shorts, there just wasn't any growth there. Nowadays that's not really an issue.

 

[bird dog]

I have sat through a few OKC sales and watched numerous on the internet when my calves sell and I have never heard the commision company guy tell the auctioneer that cattle are from somewhere where the priced would be discounted. In OKC you disclose what you want or nothing at all as far as what the cattle are. The commission company guy will disclose any defects such as a blue eye or a bull mixed with a bunch of steers. Cattle come in there all the time from long distances. There used to be a member on this board that ran stockers and shipped from South Louisiana.

 

[bird dog]

It would be best for you to ship Friday evening for them to get there Saturday morning. Your all in cost from the yard will be about $35 per head for three days of feed and all the yard expenses.
If your calves are long weaned and you feed them some before they ship, your shrink will run 0 to 5%. If they are too full, the commission man will not feed them as much and your shrink will be in the upper range.

 

[Warren Allison]

@Ky hills , are you wanting to send these 700 lb steers to Ok to a processor, or a feedlot? Down here, there are people who send calves to OK to a feedlot, and they pay so much a pound for the weight gained. The feedlots sell the finished cattle for them., or probably have buyers from the packers that come buy them. In that case, no one would know where these calves were born. I think steers are more like 1000lbs when they go to slaughter, aren't they?

Watching auctions across the country every day, like I have for the last 3 months.. I don't see where anyone would get the notion that southeastern cattle wouldn't be as good as cows from other parts of the country. From what I have seen, the exact opposite is true. Especially as far as heifers and brood cows go.

@Lee VanRoss , that has been true the past month or two as far as heifers, pairs, bred cows and 3 n-1's go. I have 2 puters sitting here on one of my desks, and I pull up 2 auctions on each,. watching 4 sales at a time most every day. Dunno how many times I have been watching mid-west and western sales, and wished I could blink my eyes or twitch my nose, and transport cattle from one sale to another instantly. I consistently see $500 differences in heifers and as much as $1000 difference in pairs or 1500 lb and up bred black cows from western sales and upper-midwest sales compared to what they are brining down here. I guess weather, drought, etc may play a part in this, I dunno.

 

[Ky hills]

@Warren Allison depending on the size purchased they may be closer to 800 if I got 500 weights. I was just kicking around the idea, of sending them to the stockyards in OKC. More than likely I would probably just sell to a buyer around here, I don't know.
Calves would need to be around 1300 or 1400 lbs I would think to be ready for slaughter.

 

[kenny thomas]

@Warren Allison depending on the size purchased they may be closer to 800 if I got 500 weights. I was just kicking around the idea, of sending them to the stockyards in OKC. More than likely I would probably just sell to a buyer around here, I don't know.
Calves would need to be around 1300 or 1400 lbs I would think to be ready for slaughter.

It's easy to sell a load of 800 lb steers in your area. Almost impossible to sell a load of 1400 ready for slaughter.

 

[Ky hills]

It's easy to sell a load of 800 lb steers in your area. Almost impossible to sell a load of 1400 ready for slaughter.

Yes, I know, I have no interest in feeding out more than 1 or 2 at a time.
Fat cattle ready for slaughter get the crap docked out of them around here.
There is no market for them here. The only fat cattle market I know of is in Hillsboro Ohio.

 

[Ky cowboy]

Calves would need to be around 1300 or 1400 lbs I would think to be ready for slaughter

Have you checked with superior they seem to sell for more then my local stockyard. I haven't watched them sell just going by sale report on my app

 

[Dave]

Check what you local sales commission is, the commission at OKC, and Superior. I know that Superior was 2% and my local sale was 4%. 2% on a pot load of steers is a fair amount of money. When I stopped selling at the local barn and shipped 200 miles to a better sale the reduction in commission paid the trucking.

 

[bird dog]

The commission companies at the OKC stockyards charge a by the head fee, not a percentage. The reason I first went up there was when the calf prices spiked in 2014 it was costing $60+ a head to sell at the local barn but less than $30 at OKC. It made even my small loads worth the trip.

By the way, OKC West in Reno acts as their own commission company and doesn't have individuals taking care of your animals. They feed in bunks from a truck instead of a creep type feeder where a handle has to be pulled to supply the feed. OKC West sells over two days with mostly lighter calves selling on day one. There commission was a few $ per head cheaper last time I went. I have gone back and forth on which yard is better. They both have multi thousand head runs every week.

 

[gcreekrch]

That's a lot of what's wrong with the whole picture. The cattle here are basically the same genetics these days that they are anywhere else.
When I was a child, most cattle here were Angus, Hereford, and BWF, from lines of cattle before the frame race. There could be a lot of what they called shorts, there just wasn't any growth there. Nowadays that's not really an issue.

I would guess if you buy the best quality available and ask what vaccination program sells the best at the other end you will be paid for your efforts. The good ones cost more but they also bring more.
What I have seen of your own cattle have been good quality. Get your calving tightened up to make for more uniformity and make no excuses for your cattle. They either produce or produce themselves.
Happy New Year!