black vs red or any other color at the sale barn

[uncle]

Hello everyone.
I have been searching this site looking for info on this "notion" that black cattle really do bring more than red or any other cattle. Have you folks seen any data or experienced this idea in action? I am not talking good blacks to crappy "other" colors (angus vs longhorn cross or something)... I am talking equal cattle in different colors... black angus vs red angus for example.

Thanks...
Uncle

 

[Isomade]

Hello everyone.
I have been searching this site looking for info on this "notion" that black cattle really do bring more than red or any other cattle. Have you folks seen any data or experienced this idea in action? I am not talking good blacks to crappy "other" colors (angus vs longhorn cross or something)... I am talking equal cattle in different colors... black angus vs red angus for example.

Thanks...
Uncle

Uncle, it depends on your market. Here, blacks and smokies (char x Angus) do bring a bit of premium over like calves of a different color. There are other places where if the quality is the same a red angus and a black angus sell the same. You don't want red here, and for no good reason. Best thing to do is check out the sales in your area. Just 100 miles north of here the market is very different, and just as different 100 miles south.

 

[kjonesel]

In our area (South Central Indiana) a year ago black feeders brought $3-5 per CWT more. It's the opinion that they have better conversion plus up until two years ago we had a small packer which sold Certified Angus Beef, primarily to restaraunts and high end groceries. Now they are out of business and that local market is gone. The Gelbvieh association has had excellent results with their Balancer program and are in the process of developing markets for their feeders and the top Balancer bulls are primarily black.
My two cents is to go after cattle that work in your operation. My brother is registered Angus and has developed excellent cattle herding skills from their natural evasive nature whereas my red gelbvieh are much easier to work with. I don't see the same muscleing as he has with the Angus but they are able to maintain better flesh and lesser forages. I'm anxious to see how this fall goes with corn now at $6.10 and most of the crop already sold at the $7.50 area. I don't believe the demand will be their for anything but the best feeders from the most reputable producers. I am keeping 3 bulls from my calf crop to raise for some older farmers who have a black herd but want to introduce a taller animal with better maternal traits as they are beginning to experience higher rates of calving issues.
As for me I like red.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

We bought white cattle because we were impressed with certain qualities of that particular breed, and since we have to feed 'em, it's nice that they're pretty to look at.

My bro-in-law raises Angus, swears by them, and told us were making a big mistake buying anything but Angus, as we'd never be able to sell them for what we'd get for black cattle. A couple of neighbor ranchers have said pretty much the same thing (they run blacks, and Angus/Hereford cross). I've never spent time at the sale barn to do the research. We're small-time, raising a few head for beef-on-the-rail for fam and friends, and our hope is that we never have to deal with the auction thing.

 

[TexasBred]

I love red...with a white face....but the market around here says "black" brings more money. You can put a white face on that black and do about as well but red just don't sell well.

 

[deenranch]

We sold some bwf and rwf calves the other day. The bwf outsold the rwf by 10 cents a pound... What's sad is most of the calves are 3/4 sibs

 

[bird dog]

They can sell black cows as " certified" angus beef no matter what their true breeding is. Those angus burgers you buy at Sams may actually be from some scrawny solid black Holstein cross. What ISOMADE says is true. Move a hundred miles and everything changes. I sell my angus cross calves with to some ear and maybe a white face at Buffalo in Central Texas. If they don't show as much ear they will do better at Decatur TX which is 150 miles north but they had better be a solid color.

 

[baleflipper]

I know the sale Barn at Buffalo Fairly well.One of the longest days I ever spent was working in the ring in new boots and dress slacks because the regular ring hand did not show up for work.
Bert Richards kept calling me Holly Wood. Went there to buy some cattle to put on oats Wound up working ring gate.
My Father ran that Sale barn ,The one in Crockett and had a share in one at Angus,close to Corsicana. Hauled fat cattle off the oats there and thin one back to Bastrop county. Long time back now,Pop been dead over 15 yrs. I dont know who owns the barn now.

 

[Douglas]

I have another question. I have read old sales reports that in the south yellow calfs sell well. What are they char X with something red?

 

[VanC]

I have another question. I have read old sales reports that in the south yellow calfs sell well. What are they char X with something red?

Yes, most of the time. They sell very well around here, too.

 

[Isomade]

I have another question. I have read old sales reports that in the south yellow calfs sell well. What are they char X with something red?

Yes, most of the time. They sell very well around here, too.

The yellows in the south are generally Char x Tiger.

 

[mridgecattleco]

We take our char/limo crosses 20 miles north of the farm to sell em.The black and BWF steers go 20 miles south. I can't believe the difference in the buyers at the two barns.

 

[BRG]

If their is a huge difference for feeder calves just because of color, then the sale barn isn't doing a very good job promoting the other colors. If you watch the video auctions of Superior, Northern, and Western, you will see that reputation and quality is what sells. In our area the Reds sell just as good or better than the blacks.

 

[Pineland]

I love red...with a white face....but the market around here says "black" brings more money. You can put a white face on that black and do about as well but red just don't sell well.

That is very true. We just sold off all of our calves out of our first time heifers and we had two groups out of balancer X brangus. One group was black and the other was red. The group of black brought in 1.95 and the reds 1.65. The calves had similar type.

 

[Dave]

At the small local sale barn where 500 head is a big run the blacks will out sell reds by 10-15 cents. And straight bred herefords are down another dime below that. At the bigger regional place where they sell big numbers and sell in truck load lots much of the time it is reputation, quality, and vaccination programs that sells. I have seem the same thing that BRG mentioned on the video sales.

 

[farmwriter]

We pulled calves and took em straight to the sale barn (bunk broke, but not weaned) this week. As close to "apples to apples" as I can give you, we sold two well-built but young steers with ear: black 405 lbs - $1.42, brindle 395 lbs $1.38. That means somebody was willing to pay $30 more for the blk hide. Take it for what it's worth.