buying commercial Hereford cows

[LazyARanch]

Hi All,

was looking for some advice on buying cows for improving/upgrading my beef herd. I have a small mixed group of angus/charolais and other mixed beef breeds. We run black angus bulls and I would like to add some good hereford cows to the group as I like their temperament, looks and the bwf cross. I have been looking to buy some purebred hereford cows but I really don't want to have registered stock. I have not had any luck in the northern Minnesota area where we ranch and I have even advertised in our tri-state ag publications that I am looking to purchase hereford bred cows or cow/calf pairs. NO response. I have checked out a couple of sales barns but the cows that went through there were definitely culls and I'm not looking to add problems or trash to our herd. Any suggestions? I'm only looking to purchase 4-6 good cows, and would prefer not to buy first calf heifers. Thanks in advance, Vickie :tiphat:

 

[dun]

I tried the same thing for several years. Ended up at a production sale and bought them their.

 

[cypressfarms]

Did you try the hereford website? I go to the members/breeders section of a breeds website and they usually have members listed. Try calling some. Even if they don't have any for sale, they (hereford ass. members) would be more likely to know if any of their friends had some for sale or what sales were upcoming.


Good luck. If you were down here, you could buy bred hereford cows (3-6yrs) all day long at the local stockyard for $750 to $900 each. Not sure if I'd trust the stockyard though.

 

[SRBeef]

I would find a good, full time order buyer and have him find them for you. Good Hereford cows are only rarely sold - why would someone sell them? Mostly seem to be available from breeders occasionally or dispersals. The order buyer will know about dispersals before we know about them.

Or buy some local heifers from a local producer and raise them yourself. I would not be afraid of first calf heifers in the hereford breed as long as you have a moderate BW bull. Good luck. Jim

 

[LazyARanch]

Thank you all very much, I sure appreciate the lessons I'm learning!

 

[SRBeef]

I forgot to add: if these are heifers or cows you intend to use to build your herd I would NOT buy them from a sale barn. Buy them from a producer or breeder or neighbor - someplace where you know the herd and any problems. You don't want to bring Lepto/BVD/Johne's etc into your herd. jmho.

I bought a few through an order buyer and a couple each from a neighbor who had a couple extra heifers and another nearby acquaintance who was going the opposite way (all black) and had a couple older but sound Hereford cows that he wanted to sell. The order buyer knew the herd his came from was ok and my neighbor and acquaintance were both good cattlemen with clean herds.

The other advantage of this multiple source method is that it gives you a variety of genetics to start with. They are not all out of one bull, etc. Again, good luck. Jim

 

[OLF]

http://www.mnherefordbreeders.org/association.htm

Give a call to one of the directors in your area, they should be able to help.

 

[MistyMorning]

Know someone in your area that used to have a nice herd. Check your pm.

 

[alftn]

If there are hereford people in your area, then try to buy from them.. They will probly be hard to deal with, go softly, easy does it. they may be sensitive.. But for real these are the folks you need to talk to. You may have to travel...

 

[talldog]

I forgot to add: if these are heifers or cows you intend to use to build your herd I would NOT buy them from a sale barn. Buy them from a producer or breeder or neighbor - someplace where you know the herd and any problems. You don't want to bring Lepto/BVD/Johne's etc into your herd. jmho.

I bought a few through an order buyer and a couple each from a neighbor who had a couple extra heifers and another nearby acquaintance who was going the opposite way (all black) and had a couple older but sound Hereford cows that he wanted to sell. The order buyer knew the herd his came from was ok and my neighbor and acquaintance were both good cattlemen with clean herds.

The other advantage of this multiple source method is that it gives you a variety of genetics to start with. They are not all out of one bull, etc. Again, good luck. Jim

I totally agree---Most true Breeders will try to help !1 Good Luck :welcome:

 

[mnmtranching]

Might not be a bad idea in this case to buy replacement quality Hereford heifers. Call the manager at the Bagley sale barn. when they have their special feeder sale there are almost always some groups of good Hereford heifers sold. I'm talking the Fall sales. Usually not as good a quality heifers are sold in the Spring sales. If you buy Herefords off the farm expect to pay over market price. Herefords bought at sale will run $5-10 per hundred below top prices. Like mentioned, might be hard to find quality bred cows, unless of course there is a herd dispersal.

 

[smnherf]

I would be more than willing to help you out. I may have some cows for sale this fall as my numbers are growing. I run a good sized commercial herd too, so some of them would be bred angus. If it is too far, I would help give you some recommendations. Just pm me if interested.

Brian

 

[Aaron]

I got cows for sale, purebred and straightbred Hereford. Nearby neighbour that regularly goes to Greenbush to buy mineral also has a good number of cows for sale. Don't have an exact idea on the border regs though. Lots of good Hereford cows north of the border! :cowboy:

 

[angie1]

I had an awful time trying to find commercial hereford heifers and cows of any age when I was looking. I called many people who had them, and they were not selling. Many of them told me if I find someone who has any to call them back as they were looking also. Hopefully the number MM sent you will pay off. Good choice though, you will be pleased! :nod: