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<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1491745" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>Logan52; I think that you did pretty good for a smallish twin calf. Baby calves here are anywhere from $50 to $250. Each week there are swings although the last couple of weeks they are in the $125 to $200 range. Mostly, the higher priced ones are for someone to take home to put on a cow that has lost a calf. One of my dairy farmers had a holstein cow that he bred simmental, have twin bulls. One was born dead, the other sold for $230. He was pleased. Holstein bull calves have been in the $75 to $150 range on average. Beef looking ones a little higher. </p><p>The days of $500 and up calves is pretty much gone for now. Maybe if there are fewer dairies, it will go up, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Holstein steers in the 4-6 wts are running from .60 to 1.00 lb. That is about the normal average except for those few years when there was a "rebuilding" and everything was ridiculously high.</p><p></p><p>With semen costing $25 to $75 a straw, most dairy farmers are getting little more than their input costs back from their bull calf sales. Take into the average a couple of lost/dead calves and they are not getting so terribly much out of it. Several I know are going to breeding their lower end cows to beef semen now since the calf market is so crazy and a beef cross calf is now worth more than a straight dairy(holstein) calf. Breeding a jersey to a beef bull will make those $25 straight jersey calves more valuable as a cross. It also depends on the time of year. When beef farmers are calving they are willing to pay more for a calf; if they can get one fostered on a cow and not lose the lactation or have to cull the cow, they are ahead of the game. We try to foster a calf on any and all cows that have lost a calf. We don't have many, maybe 1 or 2 per calving season, but it saves the cow and at least pays her feed costs for the year.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1491745, member: 25884"] Logan52; I think that you did pretty good for a smallish twin calf. Baby calves here are anywhere from $50 to $250. Each week there are swings although the last couple of weeks they are in the $125 to $200 range. Mostly, the higher priced ones are for someone to take home to put on a cow that has lost a calf. One of my dairy farmers had a holstein cow that he bred simmental, have twin bulls. One was born dead, the other sold for $230. He was pleased. Holstein bull calves have been in the $75 to $150 range on average. Beef looking ones a little higher. The days of $500 and up calves is pretty much gone for now. Maybe if there are fewer dairies, it will go up, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Holstein steers in the 4-6 wts are running from .60 to 1.00 lb. That is about the normal average except for those few years when there was a "rebuilding" and everything was ridiculously high. With semen costing $25 to $75 a straw, most dairy farmers are getting little more than their input costs back from their bull calf sales. Take into the average a couple of lost/dead calves and they are not getting so terribly much out of it. Several I know are going to breeding their lower end cows to beef semen now since the calf market is so crazy and a beef cross calf is now worth more than a straight dairy(holstein) calf. Breeding a jersey to a beef bull will make those $25 straight jersey calves more valuable as a cross. It also depends on the time of year. When beef farmers are calving they are willing to pay more for a calf; if they can get one fostered on a cow and not lose the lactation or have to cull the cow, they are ahead of the game. We try to foster a calf on any and all cows that have lost a calf. We don't have many, maybe 1 or 2 per calving season, but it saves the cow and at least pays her feed costs for the year. [/QUOTE]
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