Bred Heifer Purchase Question

[cyclone.1983]

Hello, I am new here and looking for advice. I have a friend that has for sale 100 bred heifers. They are all angus cross and about the fanciest set of heifers you will see. He wants $1,800/heifer for them. They are around 1000lbs and set to calve in feb/march.

I do not come from a cow/calf background more of a feedlot guy and my family dispises all that has to do w/ cows. However they said if I wanted to buy them thats fine (im just starting out). I have tons of stalks to winter them on as well as a place to calve them and lots of frineds that will help me get all of it done. What do you guys think the market will be for cow calf pairs next spring? what about bred cow calf pairs? Can I make money assuming I have cheap easy access to hay ect.??? Only looking to buy 20-30 and I dont want to lose a pile of money my first year out of college.

Thanks!

 

[dun]

Way too much money

 

[fitz]

Don't know where you're located I'm sure markets are different. I've not looked at any of late, but see them advertised around here in the 1,000 range.

fitz

 

[piedmontese]

too much $$.for that price everything would have to go perfect for you to make $$ and when you are talking about calving 20-30 heifers,plus you are new to calving theres no way it all goes perfect.

 

[jscunn]

I disagree with everyone above, if they are top quality heifers that is what the market is dictating down here in the SE. I saw 200 heifers go thru the ring in August and they went from $1875 to $1200 the 1800 were good and the 1200 were not so good.. Good open heifers at the same sale averaged $982 (range $1150-$950) so finding GOOD bred heifers for $1000 is a pipe dream.. Just make sure they are good not just because he says they are.. If/when Texas straightens out the bred heifer market in the SE is gonna get crazy. $1800 may be a tad high but it isnt crazy if the quality is there. It is the new normal, it costs alot to get a heifer to that point now. Good luck

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

What do you know about the bulls? Expected birth weights, calving ease etc?

Here are 24 bred Angus cross heifers in Nebraska for sale at $1,600 a head so the price may not be too far off. I couldn't find any in Iowa which is where you're from by your handle.


http://www.cattlerange.com/110C280-201/110C280-201.html

 

[CKC1586]

I disagree with everyone above, if they are top quality heifers that is what the market is dictating down here in the SE. I saw 200 heifers go thru the ring in August and they went from $1875 to $1200 the 1800 were good and the 1200 were not so good.. Good open heifers at the same sale averaged $982 (range $1150-$950) so finding GOOD bred heifers for $1000 is a pipe dream.. Just make sure they are good not just because he says they are.. If/when Texas straightens out the bred heifer market in the SE is gonna get crazy. $1800 may be a tad high but it isnt crazy if the quality is there. It is the new normal, it costs alot to get a heifer to that point now. Good luck

Yup, pretty hard to compare apples to oranges etc. Depends on what you want or what you will settle for as to what you will have to pay for it. Commercial? Registered?

 

[cyclone.1983]

Thanks for the response, yes I am from iowa. They are commercial and are all clubbyish cattle but not to clubby to make good cows. All bred to lbw rented bulls that throw small calves. I also get first choice of the lot. As for the calving part, I'm putting them in w another group of a friends to calve so I'm not worried about not knowing what to do. The other ones around here are $1400-1650 and these are better looking than all of them. The thing is at a certain point you can have the best animals on the planet but convincing someone to more for it is the problem. A guy that I was talking to said he expects them to sell for 2800 a pair next spring but that sounds like a lota money and does the southern market want these type of cows?

 

[jscunn]

No the southern market is gonna stay away from cattle that hairy. Hard to get some cattlemen to buy anything not brahman crossed, but clubby would be a real tough sell..

 

[jscunn]

The other thing that bothered me was the rented bull comment. What breed Angus, shorthorn, crossbred, or what. How do you know they are low bw bulls cause he said, odo your homework. You lose a couple of calves and there goes all of your profit..

 

[dun]

For commercial cows, unless you're into to club calves it's gonna take a long time to break even on those heifers.

 

[cyclone.1983]

The other thing that bothered me was the rented bull comment. What breed Angus, shorthorn, crossbred, or what. How do you know they are low bw bulls cause he said, odo your homework. You lose a couple of calves and there goes all of your profit..

Ya, the guy they got the bulls from raises angus bulls/heifers and is pretty well known throughout the country. I know the background on the bulls and have seen calves they've thrown. I used the word clubby to describe the "fancyness" the heifers have, they don't come from club bulls or cows. Prob the wrong word to use. Either way w the market will be driven up by the south correct? And these type of animals while highly desireable in the midwest won't be in the south and that's whose buying so I think I'm better off w some more southern type less expensive animals

 

[sizmic]

Good, registered, open heifers around here are avging $2000. I don't see how anyone could come out at $1800/hd when it takes an avg of three calves for a cow turn in her first dollar profit. You'd better have some darn near free forage to even think about making money.

Sizmic

 

[RD-Sam]

Crossed with what? Sounds way to expensive for cross bred cattle to me. I wouldn't give anything even close to that unless they were baldies, but that's just me.

 

[cow pollinater]

If they're bred right for your area and you have access to feed it might be a good deal.
Fancy black heifers here right now(well, right now they'd be pairs as we're fall calvers) will sell for eighteen plus as fast as we can get them in. It seems like nineteen fifty is the max... Everyone is hesitant to add a two to the equation.
Remember, there's a drought in one of the biggest cattle producing areas in the world at a time when demand is on the upswing. Toss your bulls out with those pairs in a few months and then sell a thousand dollar calf at weaning and next year you have an eight hundred dollar pair which is about average price for good cattle that are bred right most years. Since it will likely take a long time for the national herd to build back up, there's a good chance you've got money makers despite the sticker shock.

 

[IL cow man]

If you have never calved heifers they are too expensive for you. The real issue is they are heifers and you plan to run them on cornstalks which is fine except you have to keep them growing and will have to supplement them, calve them, and sell them. Fancy heifers will lose you money. Older cows to graze and maintain and calve and sell as pairs will be more profitable. broken mouth cows might take supplementation, but will more likely raise a live calf. Watch the udder quality for big teats.

 

[Isomade]

Way too much money

For me this statement sums it up perfectly.

 

[3waycross]

Way too much money

For me this statement sums it up perfectly.

I am going to have to agree with the "Old Man and the Whippersnapper" Way too much money!

 

[Grass-Fed]

Just so we are clear, you are not looking to buy the whole 100? I fear buying the whole lot would be like a little league star going to the big leagues, that many cows and the pitches will come hard and fast. When your young you cant wait to get old, I dont want you to bite off more then you can chew.
If you are just planning on getting 30 cows, then mistakes will be more easy to deal with. If you are only getting 25-30, does the price change depending on there age? The ones carrying there 2nd or 3rd calf will be worth the most. If the price changes by age, can you get a deal on some of the older ones? They will be more in the grove of calveing, and you can always use the extra cash to grow next year.

Just my 2 cents
Jason.

 

[mrvictordomino]

If they're bred right for your area and you have access to feed it might be a good deal.
Fancy black heifers here right now(well, right now they'd be pairs as we're fall calvers) will sell for eighteen plus as fast as we can get them in. It seems like nineteen fifty is the max... Everyone is hesitant to add a two to the equation.
Remember, there's a drought in one of the biggest cattle producing areas in the world at a time when demand is on the upswing. Toss your bulls out with those pairs in a few months and then sell a thousand dollar calf at weaning and next year you have an eight hundred dollar pair which is about average price for good cattle that are bred right most years. Since it will likely take a long time for the national herd to build back up, there's a good chance you've got money makers despite the sticker shock.

I agree with CP, I was at a Red Angus production sale last December where 200+ commercial bred heifers averaged $1625, and
this was before the drought. I agree it is sticker shock, but with eight hundred weights possibly going for 1.50 it wouldn't be such a
bad deal. Same thing going on in the bull market here, sticker shock. However, what most don't figure in is the high salvage value
of bulls and cows as well as the increased calf prices.We are in a different era now and this spring will be interesting to see what
is going to happen to the cattle market.