Calf Prices
- Thread starter Stocker Steve
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Susie David
Well-known member
At current prices I think that I'll slaughter our bull this fall....$4.50/lb for ground beef is a whole lot better than 62 cents at the sale. DMc
iowafarmer
Well-known member
Over here all the dairys are shooting their bull calves because they can't get enough to pay for the gas to haul them to the salebarn. 5 baby jesrsey bull calves that were 2 days old brought 6 dollars. No not $6 a piece $6 for all 5. Someone said they penciled it out the other day with these corn prices and even if you got the calves for free and got them delivered for free, you still lost money with holstiens. That was with $6 corn but im not sure what type of ration they used. milk replacer went up. Cross bred calves are hanging in the dollar a pound range since grass wil start growing one of these days and you don't have to feed a bin of corn to them to get them fat.
bigbull338
Well-known member
baby bull prices have been that low before.an they got that low from 72 to 74.calves couldnt even bring enough to pay the commision.an people was getting rid of them the best they could.then it went bust again in the 90s.an came back 2yrs later.
Yea, holstein bull calves are pretty much worthless right now. Same with feeder pigs; at our local barn a guy brought in some pigs and couldn't get a bid on them, said he would bring them back home and knock em in the head.
Eventually things need to turn around. Cattle feeders are going to need more than 90 cents too if they are going to stay in business.
Eventually things need to turn around. Cattle feeders are going to need more than 90 cents too if they are going to stay in business.
TexasBred
Well-known member
bigbull338":3b6xgq8x said:
BB...what's the old story? Man was hauling 4 holstein bull calves in...stopped at coffee shop and had a cup of mud...came back out and had 20 holstein bull calves in the trailer.
gerardplauche
Well-known member
iowafarmer":2o2ar9ov said:
Wow, that is bad. If I could, I would buy those calves all day. They would make enough slaughter meat to feed us year round.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Bullbuyer":w3vqtp3x said:
Black heifers and bulls in groups of two or three averaging 364# sold for $0.86 this week...
Most sales have been higher than this, but there is little demand for anything too small or too big to do well on grass.
Yearling heifers are going for about $0.80 per pound. May have to buy a bull and dig myself a deeper hole. :roll:
mnmtranching
Well-known member
Steve, You know the out of state ban on feeders went into effect last week and being enforced.
Few producers will test herds because of false positives [10%]
They are working on splitting the state, and I believe it will happen.
Producers selling should hang tight until we get split State status.
Few producers will test herds because of false positives [10%]
They are working on splitting the state, and I believe it will happen.
Producers selling should hang tight until we get split State status.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
mnmtranching":wzb5j75d said:
I am not holding my breath for the split state and renewed export sales and an end to the drought. Nice if it happens but it is all out of my control. Margin is in my control.
Ten percent is a lot of false positives??? I heard more like 1%. Even so, if you have a medium sized herd you can expect to get a couple false positives. What happens then?
mnmtranching
Well-known member
Stocker Steve":fyv9xfoi said:
Steve, I'm going by information from the Michigan TB website, they have been dealing with this for a ling time and they say tests run 10% false positives. Doesn't matter, If a herd of a thousand has 1 false positive the herd is quarantined until tested negative. And with government delays could take months. No cattle can be moved off the farm.
mnmtranching
Well-known member
somn":uabs68qt said:
I should have said kill only in USDA approved facilities.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
So how do producers in a TB state like Michigan cope? Are they feeding out most of their calves locally or hiring more vets for re testing?
mnmtranching
Well-known member
Stocker Steve":3h0bo0v0 said:
I understand that Michigan has now got the split state status, trouble is it took years. But the USDA has learned a lot [apparently] The current test is outdated and inaccurate. It has been costly and a real pain for Michigan producers, many just up and quit.
iowafarmer
Well-known member
Heard a few stories of people in iowa knowing people and having them buy calves at salebarns in minnesota for them so that they don't get tagged and then they take them across the border by private treaty with out the ear taggs. I don't think its quite legal but who is going to follow up on it anyway since they are swamped as it is trying to follow up on them. ITs amazing becasue at the local salebarns they have to be tagged when they bring them across the border and then you aren't able to sell them and you have to feed them out after you buy them. people will buythem and cut the tags out and then have them for a few months then sell them again. I asked the local vet about it a while back when i saw the vet in the salebarn. He said that they didn't have enough man power to follow up on every single calf that is brought across the border and sold in the sale barn. Every one thinksit is the bumbest thing ever ybecasue there where only a few cases in norhtern minnesota and they quarantined the whole state. There were some reallynice feeders coming out of southern minnesota into iowa slaebarns that were pretty good buys. One of them things that is shiit but nothing will happen to fix it.
mnmtranching
Well-known member
In MN they tested about 30'000 head of cattle and found 24 positives, lots of false positives that had to be retested with a much more complex test but accurate. Also they have tested thousands of deer and found a half dozen positives. The state is now working at the expensive job of trying to kill off all the deer in the area. [won't work] This area where all TB cattle are is a 5 township area. The idea of restricting the entire state is government ********. At the meeting in DL a official said outgoing cattle haulers will be required to stop at checkpoints. Lots of side roads to avoid them. No doubt many will go out illegally. They will catch somebody now and then and a example will be made and they will shut a few feedlots down or quarantine.
gerardplauche
Well-known member
Up to $3.00/lb??? :shock: Now that's impressive!
