Buying steers or heifers?

[RanchMan90]

If you were to buy calves to resell for maximum return on feed or grass what size and gender would you buy and why?

 

[Bigfoot]

I've marked this week off to buy 300 pound calves. I'm buying steers, bulls and heifers. It'll be interesting to see which ones net the most. Btw, the bulls aren't coming at much of a discount.

 

[Ojp6]

I'm just buying some calves to kick out on grass right now, but I will probably feed them a little bit too. I've got 10 bought so far 7 bulls and 3 heifers weighing in the 4s for about 1.05. Just the kind of calves I'm hoping will make number ones in 45-60 days so I can turn around and sell them and start looking for more just like them.

I'm betting the bulls will do a little better for me because there is very little difference in price in the bulls and the heifers that I am buying.

 

[RanchMan90]

Same here. I've been buying thin 2-3 wt heifers for a $450 average. Looks like about any class of calves should gross $200 this grazing season. The lighter calves just look to have the best ROI, and heifers lower risk. :2cents:

 

[Stocker Steve]

You should do a value of gain calculation on wts. by class. This usually shows grade 1-2 light wt. bulls have the highest VOG but they are too immature for grass... So it depends on your back grounding capacity and your feed quality and your stocking rate and whether they will get supplemented on grass and whether you are a per head or per acre or per $ guy. :cboy:

I am a per acre guy who is full up on 6 to 7 wt. heifers who will get 3# concentrate per day till the grass is not washy.

 

[RanchMan90]

You should do a value of gain calculation on wts. by class. This usually shows grade 1-2 light wt. bulls have the highest VOG but they are too immature for grass... So it depends on your back grounding capacity and your feed quality and your stocking rate and whether they will get supplemented on grass and whether you are a per head or per acre or per $ guy. :cboy:

I am a per acre guy who is full up on 6 to 7 wt. heifers who will get 3# concentrate per day till the grass is not washy.

Cog and vog are two of my favorite acronyms. Im always trying to perfect my setup. My current carrying capacity is to low for grass to be anything more than a roughage supplement. These thin heifers are shining up pretty well of 5 lbs of 16% ration. If and when I can make $100 on them I ship them 3-4 times a year. It wouldn't take much to upgrade your heifers just by turning a bull in, if a man wanted to own them that long.

 

[dieselbeef]

if I knew that id already be done messing with cows

 

[dieselbeef]

if I knew that id already be done messing with cows

 

[RanchMan90]

if I knew that id already be done messing with cows

Come on in, the water's fine :lol2:

 

[Stocker Steve]

if I knew that id already be done messing with cows

Cows are too easy :nod:

 

[dieselbeef]

making money with all the answers is even easier..id just make my millions buying low and selling high and retire...

 

[Kell-inKY]

Wish there was someone around here I knew that could teach me what to look for in calves so I could do this.

I've been making some really bad decisions on what I've purchased and what I've sold these past 4 years. I'll be honest though, I usually only learn from my mistakes, and only after making them quite a few times...

 

[ClinchValley]

Wish there was someone around here I knew that could teach me what to look for in calves so I could do this.

I've been making some really bad decisions on what I've purchased and what I've sold these past 4 years. I'll be honest though, I usually only learn from my mistakes, and only after making them quite a few times...

Yup. And yup! Learning is expensive no matter how we go about it.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I've been making some really bad decisions on what I've purchased and what I've sold these past 4 years. I'll be honest though, I usually only learn from my mistakes, and only after making them quite a few times...

The hard lessons are the best learned. You've lived it. First hand experience is way better than someone telling you about it.

You buy some right, turn them for profit, and then everyone is going to tell you that you were "lucky" . You're not going to get a bit of credit for the hard learned lessons. A little luck never hurt anyone.

 

[Chocolate Cow]

Kell-inKY, have you thought about having an order buyer get your calves for you? I've spend countless hours at salebarns and on the computer. My time is worth just as much as the next guys. I've found it's way easier to use a buyer I trust. I know what weights/color/sex I want. I tell him to buy as if he was buying for himself. It's been good. He calls and tells me what he bought and where to pick them up.
Bud Williams has a very good method of buying calves. Don't know if the info is still on his website. Some years back, there was a woman (Ann Barnhardt) in Colorado who taught his method and sold an instructional DVD. She sorta went off the deep end though.

 

[Bigfoot]

I got brave and turned a few of mine out on grass yesterday afternoon. They wandered for a while, and came back and stood with the others. Came to feed this morning, and this afternoon. I'll turn out a few more every afternoon till they're all out on grass.

 

[RanchMan90]

making money with all the answers is even easier..id just make my millions buying low and selling high and retire...

Didn't you just go to a school on this? I see a lot of Florida calves in my zip code, somebody must be turning a profit on them.

 

[RanchMan90]

I'm just buying some calves to kick out on grass right now, but I will probably feed them a little bit too. I've got 10 bought so far 7 bulls and 3 heifers weighing in the 4s for about 1.05. Just the kind of calves I'm hoping will make number ones in 45-60 days so I can turn around and sell them and start looking for more just like them.

I'm betting the bulls will do a little better for me because there is very little difference in price in the bulls and the heifers that I am buying.

How are things looking for you guys that bought in early? Time to hold em or fold em?

 

[Ojp6]

I've sold a few, got about 30 left.

The ones I've sold did pretty good. I had some 598 lb bulls that cost 1.14 laid in that hadn't gained a lot because I bought them as fleshy bawling calves and didn't give them anything but grass for about 30 days. I sold them as weaned steers weighing 10 lbs more than they did when I bought them for 1.49 and about all I did was give them one round of shots and let them harden up a little bit.


One of the the guys that owns one of the barns I go to every week is supposed to let me know if he's got a deal for a bunch more on Thursday and if he can put a pretty good bottom on them I may sell 15 or 20 more.

 

[RanchMan90]

I've sold a few, got about 30 left.

The ones I've sold did pretty good. I had some 598 lb bulls that cost 1.14 laid in that hadn't gained a lot because I bought them as fleshy bawling calves and didn't give them anything but grass for about 30 days. I sold them as weaned steers weighing 10 lbs more than they did when I bought them for 1.49 and about all I did was give them one round of shots and let them harden up a little bit.


One of the the guys that owns one of the barns I go to every week is supposed to let me know if he's got a deal for a bunch more on Thursday and if he can put a pretty good bottom on them I may sell 15 or 20 more.

Sounds like a home run for 30 days.