Calf prices

[kenny thomas]

@kenny thomas Did you have snow or icy stuff Monday night? We stayed well above freezing and only had rain... and not too terribly much... total 1 1/2 inches...
Yeah the nights can be tough, but he preferred them....he could come off at 8, go feed for a couple hours and then go to bed if he had to go back in... or stay up and do stuff then go to bed early that night after... except now he is the "head" super at the headquarters with the boss still out on medical... so he is pulling 12-16 hrs and more with the weather issues... making schedules and all that, pulling the day shift for the boss, and then staying over for the night shift for awhile and/or going back in early in the morning... and I do not know how to run the skid loader and really do not want to do it in the bunk in the barn... but I do take the bale truck and feed hay at some of the pastures and such...

It snowed hard from 3am to 5am and then the stars came out. Nothing on the ground. Rain and warm surface kept it from sticking.

 

[Warren Allison]

I am watching a sale in Santa Teresa, NM right now. They are selling mostly groups of steers, some heifer groups. They announce whose cattle they are, how long weaned, what shots they have had etc, as well as the kind of bulls they are by. About 70% of the ranches bringing cattle are in Mexico, and they announce the feet above sea level on these, Don't mention it on the cattle from US ranches. Why do they announce altitudes on the Mexican cattle? The range I have seen so far, are 3000+ feet lowest, 6000+ feet highest. What relevance is that info? And why just on Mexican ranches?

 

[CowboyRam]

I am watching a sale in Santa Teresa, NM right now. They are selling mostly groups of steers, some heifer groups. They announce whose cattle they are, how long weaned, what shots they have had etc, as well as the kind of bulls they are by. About 70% of the ranches bringing cattle are in Mexico, and they announce the feet above sea level on these, Don't mention it on the cattle from US ranches. Why do they announce altitudes on the Mexican cattle? The range I have seen so far, are 3000+ feet lowest, 6000+ feet highest. What relevance is that info? And why just on Mexican ranches?

I'm no expert on this. My thinking is that when you take cattle from low elevations to high elevations you run the risk of brisket disease. I think it anything over 5500 feet. Maybe that is why. Other than that I have no clue.

 

[TCRanch]

I am watching a sale in Santa Teresa, NM right now. They are selling mostly groups of steers, some heifer groups. They announce whose cattle they are, how long weaned, what shots they have had etc, as well as the kind of bulls they are by. About 70% of the ranches bringing cattle are in Mexico, and they announce the feet above sea level on these, Don't mention it on the cattle from US ranches. Why do they announce altitudes on the Mexican cattle? The range I have seen so far, are 3000+ feet lowest, 6000+ feet highest. What relevance is that info? And why just on Mexican ranches?

Yup, what @CowboyRam said.

 

[CowboyRam]

Brisket disease is the main reason chose not to buy any bulls from J&N ranch in Leavenworth Kansas. The elevation where I summer is near 7000 feet, and Leavenworth is only around 900. I bought bulls from JO Bulls out of Castle Dale Utah; they Pap all their bulls, and They summer around 10000 feet, and winter on the high desert.

 

[Warren Allison]

Well, the elevation of Saint Teresa is 3800', and the evelations on the Chihuahua ranches were mid 3000's to 6000's. But I never heard them announce the elevations of the NM and Texas ranches with cattle there today. .

 

[CowboyRam]

Well, the elevation of Saint Teresa is 3800', and the evelations on the Chihuahua ranches were mid 3000's to 6000's. But I never heard them announce the elevations of the NM and Texas ranches with cattle there today. .

At our sale barn they usually announce whatever the seller wrote when they consigned the cattle. Maybe the seller wanted the buyers know the elevation they were coming from.

 

[bird dog]

Neat sale barn. Check out the website. Half the pens on each side of the river.

 

[Warren Allison]

At our sale barn they usually announce whatever the seller wrote when they consigned the cattle. Maybe the seller wanted the buyers know the elevation they were coming from.

Could be. Might even be a requirement to sell Mexican cattle in the US. So, moving from high altitude is not a problem, it is moving from lower to higher? Like we as mountain climbers experience? It was interesting to watch that sale. I have never seen in Mexican beef cattle...jus Corriente and Fighting-bull cattle. I noticed the buyers seemed to prefer them to NM and Texas cattle, too.

 

[rocfarm]

Well, it just so happens that I may be getting 102...or 112...I forget what he said.....this weekend. All are solid, too...about 70% of them black. They are all bred...but the man had 1 Angus bull with the. Calving window is going to be from the 1st of March til end of June or so. I don't need all that many. But, where you are located you can probably find plenty there locally.

Yup. Hamilton Texas actually has a Corriente auction. But I'm just not in a hurry. Looked at all the financials yesterday and it seems that central Texas had a good year in spite of the drought.

I just looked at a satellite picture of my place from September 4th. Man, did it look dry. I still had plenty of cover, but I think that what the regenerative ag people don't tell you is that if you live in a place like central Texas and the soil moisture at 1 meter gets to 10%, it don't really matter how much cover you have on your soil. Soil life can't do well at that amount.

I think most people are excited about the rain that we got. My app says 5 inches since the first of the year, and my county has splotches of land that have 70% of soil moisture capacity at 1 meter now. I'm thinking people are buying high because they think they'll have lots of grass come spring, but for me, there's a price at which it just doesn't pencil. That price is about 1500 $ for good bred cows.

The cheaper ones are going to have a high percentage rate of failure, I'd think as well. Of those I got at the auction, 1/3 didn't raise a calf the first year. That kills the profit if you didn't buy cheap.

I got lucky 20 months ago. Not counting on that again. Gonna play the long game.

I'm thinking that, If I let my place rest, I can take advantage of lower hay prices from an El Niño harvest to store a buffer, then buy in summer if there's a bit of a slump in prices.

Anybody know the best way to dehorn a Corriente? Will the auction house let you pay them to do it before you put them on your trailer. There's a vet on hand, right?

 

[rocfarm]

Son talked to auctioneer friend about the calves we have to sell, timing and everything... JS said to sell any and everything we got to sell... he said he is selling all his feeder stock...
We worked through and sorted a bunch yesterday, was going to take them tomorrow but calling for snow Friday night... Son has got to work 7-12, then go back to work at 8... Now saying 2-5 inches... was only a possibility of 1-2 ..... so we will hold them another week... too much to do tomorrow and we like to stay when they sell...I want to put out a few extra rolls of hay so don't have to tear up the fields if it gets slick or mushy... for a few days... and I have got to move some small sq bales up to the barn for the calves that are on bottles.... and just weaned ones..
They will keep another week at the farm, been on silage and such, so no big deal... Got a couple cull cows and a bull that is stifled, got some age, to go...
There doesn't seem to be any dropping off in price with the cattle numbers being so low...

You're right about the market looking good for the next few years. I don't think dairy/beef can make up for the low ranch cattle numbers.

But never say never.

I think inflation will also stay high, so that should prop up the market. I haven't really looked at whether or not cattle prices have given a real return over the past 3 years over inflation, but land in our area certainly has.

 

[Warren Allison]

Yup. Hamilton Texas actually has a Corriente auction. But I'm just not in a hurry. Looked at all the financials yesterday and it seems that central Texas had a good year in spite of the drought.

I just looked at a satellite picture of my place from September 4th. Man, did it look dry. I still had plenty of cover, but I think that what the regenerative ag people don't tell you is that if you live in a place like central Texas and the soil moisture at 1 meter gets to 10%, it don't really matter how much cover you have on your soil. Soil life can't do well at that amount.

I think most people are excited about the rain that we got. My app says 5 inches since the first of the year, and my county has splotches of land that have 70% of soil moisture capacity at 1 meter now. I'm thinking people are buying high because they think they'll have lots of grass come spring, but for me, there's a price at which it just doesn't pencil. That price is about 1500 $ for good bred cows.

The cheaper ones are going to have a high percentage rate of failure, I'd think as well. Of those I got at the auction, 1/3 didn't raise a calf the first year. That kills the profit if you didn't buy cheap.

I got lucky 20 months ago. Not counting on that again. Gonna play the long game.

I'm thinking that, If I let my place rest, I can take advantage of lower hay prices from an El Niño harvest to store a buffer, then buy in summer if there's a bit of a slump in prices.

Anybody know the best way to dehorn a Corriente? Will the auction house let you pay them to do it before you put them on your trailer. There's a vet on hand, right?

I was watchin the online hay auction out of SD this week, and was surprised at the prices. Hay was from Wy, Montana, Utah, Nebraska and North Dakota. Saw 5 x5 round bales of good grass hay sell for $60-$70 per ton. Around here, as much hay as everyone made last year, hay is $70 per roll if stored inside, $50-$60 for outside. I don't see how people can raise it and sell it for that.

 

[GoWyo]

Paid $250/ton last year for 2nd cutting alfalfa and $220/ton for grass hay last year. $200/ton on both late last summer and now alfalfa locally is $160-185/ton. Usually goes up in the spring as folks realize they are short and have to basically buy the spot market if they can even find it.