Stocker Steve
Well-known member
1) You do not understand the riskscypressfarms":cs8d6gp1 said:This is mainly intended at those who buy heifers from replacement sales. Why do it? What gain is there in it? I have a hard time just keeping my own heifers, and still are uncomfortable at calving time. Too many uncertainties. Are they going to have calving difficulty, are they going to abandon the calf, will they have enough milk, etc.
2) You accept risk if you can buy them right
3) You like small commercial cows
4) You like to eat grass fat wf heifers
5) You calve out of season for your area
6) You can sell bred 3 year olds for more than you pay for bred hiefers
7) You have a facility to isolate them
8) A combination of the above
I bought 20 sales barn heifers last November. I bought rwf and herefords and small ones. The stuff others did not want for $215 under the average market. Lost one to pnuemonia before vac caught... Had one still born calf and pulled one calf the mama did not want - - so these two got fat on grass and went to the locker plant.
Ended up with 17 pairs and then sorted off the three more this fall that I did not like. One sold for $60 less than I paid and two sold for $350 more than I paid. Sold the calves for sightly less than I had into the heifers. Now have 14 bred three year olds left from this group and they do not owe me anything.
I agree there is a lot of risk. I agree that most sales barn heifers are not worth what people pay for them, but there can be deals in any category if you are willing to go there.
Sign me up for 2,3,4,5,6,7