Absolute newbie looking for some help re prices

[FiBob]

Hi all!!

I'm hoping you can help me!
I'm researching cattle at the moment for a report, and I understand the difference between bulls, heifers, steers and cows, but can someone please tell me what causes the differentiations in the prices between them? I've seen words about marbling and such, could someone please clarify in nice FiBob friendly terms Thanks!

 

[cow pollinater]

Basically they're priced by their quality as a meat animal. Young cattle(steers and heifers) will bring the best prices and the differances in price amongst those groups are because of carcass quality and their ability to finish growing into an animal that's ready to butcher. Marbling is a measurement of the intermuscular fat and it brings a premium in the market that we're in right now.
Bulls that are in good condition will usually bring a good price per pound because there is alot of quality meat there but it's usually very lean meat so they don't bring as much as young steers. Bulls in poorer condition won't sell for as much because of the lack of quality in the meat and the feed input costs that it would take to get them in good condition. Breeding bulls will sell by the head instead of by the pound because you're paying for his genetics instead of his meat.
Cows that are young enough and bred at the right time of year will often sell by the head instead of by the pound as you're purchasing a multi-year calf machine and not meat by the pound but older cows or cows that don't fit into the local ranches breeding plan will sell by the pound and the price will vary by how much meat they offer. Mostly these cows go into hamburger and their prices reflect that.

 

[gonzo]

CPpretty much sums it up good luck ,where you from FiBob . :welcome: