Commercial Bull prices.

Help Support CattleToday:

LOL - I sold my bull calves for LESS than I got from the feedlot for my steers. Steers averaged 811#, brought $2005. 6 bulls were priced last winter before they were born, $1950. Mid summer, I changed the price of my "show" steers to $0.25 over market price.

I do have my show bull for sale for $6000. My buyer said if I can sell him for what he's worth, go for it. He'll just get another one next year. He's 9 1/2 months old and weights 1200# !!
 
kenny thomas said:
Jan, part of the problem is i like to work but the other problem is there is a shortage of workers here. I know your son works for VDOT so im sure he knows this. 2 weeks ago VDOT offered me 44.69 an hour and 67.04 after 8 hours to drive their truck when there is a chance of snow. Of course you know my answer. Every 12 hour shift is 1 more cow i wont have to keep this winter.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they are having trouble getting enough contractors to sign on... It is crazy... I do not have a CDL so not going that route... They do not have enough trucks here for drivers other than VDOT employees, and we do not have tractors or bigger trucks to put plows on, that will meet their specs, so don't have to worry about that... plus it will take all his time when off to get the feeding done if he keeps these steers through the winter which I hope he won't...
You can't pass up that sort of money, I fully get it... Don't blame you one bit... At least in the truck you should have heat and some comforts that the cows don't give you.
 
Around here every bull over 2-1/2 years at the sale is selling by the pound. Currently $1.15-$1.40l/lb. Doesn't matter much if it's registered or commercial.
 
WFfarm said:
Around here every bull over 2-1/2 years at the sale is selling by the pound. Currently $1.15-$1.40l/lb. Doesn't matter much if it's registered or commercial.
Click to expand...
This is another problem I have with buying top $$ bulls. Salvage value on a $10,000 bull is the same as a $2,500 bull. A $10,000 bull can breed 25 cows in 90 days just like a $2,500 bull ,so he better throw some calves that wean @ 650-700# on avg grass and gain 4# a day on 6# feed once it's weaned. Even at that it probably wouldn't $$ out. Also a high powered registered bull doesn't know he's something special and does the same stupid stuff a commercial bull does to get himself in between 2 buns with ketchup. I'll go $3,500 on a really nice bull but would rather be in at $2,750 or so. I've gave more and it took several times to learn my lesson.

All that being said I need 2 more bulls, got any leads in NE Texas? Brangus or Angus
 
Around here most guys don't realize that paying more for a good bull (say $5000) makes more money than buying a cheaper mediocre (say $2500) bull. If you do a little math you can see the figure for yourself.
So if he breeds 25 cows over 5 years that's 125 calves and if each calf weighs 20 lbs more at weaning because of better genetics that's 2500 lbs x $1.75 that's $4375 so you would be making $1875 ($4375-$2500 difference) more on the better bull. I realize that not all the calves may live to weaning but I also think that a good bull will probably add more than 20 lbs to the weaning weight. Also you if you look long enough you will probably find a really good bull for less than $5000.
 
Lucky said:
This is another problem I have with buying top $$ bulls. Salvage value on a $10,000 bull is the same as a $2,500 bull. A $10,000 bull can breed 25 cows in 90 days just like a $2,500 bull ,so he better throw some calves that wean @ 650-700# on avg grass and gain 4# a day on 6# feed once it's weaned. Even at that it probably wouldn't $$ out. Also a high powered registered bull doesn't know he's something special and does the same stupid stuff a commercial bull does to get himself in between 2 buns with ketchup. I'll go $3,500 on a really nice bull but would rather be in at $2,750 or so. I've gave more and it took several times to learn my lesson.

All that being said I need 2 more bulls, got any leads in NE Texas? Brangus or Angus
Click to expand...
We can buy yearly registered Angus or Simmental bulls for $2000-$3000. But, one of the best bulls we've had was this commercial bull we bought as pick-of-the litter from a local farmer. His daddy was a registered Fleckvieh. We paid $850 for him as a 7month old.
Rusty23.jpg
 
WFfarm said:
We can buy yearly registered Angus or Simmental bulls for $2000-$3000. But, one of the best bulls we've had was this commercial bull we bought as pick-of-the litter from a local farmer. His daddy was a registered Fleckvieh. We paid $850 for him as a 7month old.
View attachment 36076
Click to expand...
I pick that bull over 99% of the registered bulls today.

That's what all bulls should be trying to be...
 
WFfarm said:
We can buy yearly registered Angus or Simmental bulls for $2000-$3000. But, one of the best bulls we've had was this commercial bull we bought as pick-of-the litter from a local farmer. His daddy was a registered Fleckvieh. We paid $850 for him as a 7month old.
View attachment 36076
Click to expand...

We generally get good regestered bulls for under $3,000 here. Last 2 we bought I told them not to send the papers and think we paid $2,750 each. 1 looks really nice other I needed a bull so bought him. When I read some of these sale papers and see guys giving in the $6-10k range I just can't see it, at least now that I've had cattle for awhile. I'd spend that money on better mother cows.

One of the local BTOs running several thousand head has been buying 44 Farms bulls and selling his calves back to them. That may pencil out I don't know. I bought a set of heifers several years ago that were bred to 44 Farms bulls. I tried to buy a bull and they said they gave $7k average price for them and bought enough to breed 300 spring calving heifers. That's allot of money for a pen of bulls. The calves out of the heifers blended in with the rest. I kept about 10 heifers out of that set and they look and perform like our other cows.

Definitely not against people buying registered bulls and I know people that really study the EPDs. It just hasn't made enough difference for me.

Excellent looking bull, you got a deal.
 
Springfieldsimm said:
Around here most guys don't realize that paying more for a good bull (say $5000) makes more money than buying a cheaper mediocre (say $2500) bull. If you do a little math you can see the figure for yourself.
So if he breeds 25 cows over 5 years that's 125 calves and if each calf weighs 20 lbs more at weaning because of better genetics that's 2500 lbs x $1.75 that's $4375 so you would be making $1875 ($4375-$2500 difference) more on the better bull. I realize that not all the calves may live to weaning but I also think that a good bull will probably add more than 20 lbs to the weaning weight. Also you if you look long enough you will probably find a really good bull for less than $5000.
Click to expand...
You are assuming that higher $s mean better weaning weights. You would be looking for the more terminal type bulls in most sales. The trick is to know that the extra growth in the bulls for sale is bred in and not fed in. There is a lot of smoke and mirrors and feed trucks in a lot of the "greats".
 
Ebenezer said:
You are assuming that higher $s mean better weaning weights. You would be looking for the more terminal type bulls in most sales. The trick is to know that the extra growth in the bulls for sale is bred in and not fed in. There is a lot of smoke and mirrors and feed trucks in a lot of the "greats".
Click to expand...
Excellent point. Over the last year many of you have seen that i bought a bull from Simme. I loved the bloodline but also loved how he was raised. Its been almost a month since clinchvalley86 picked the 2 bulls up and it looks like they never lost a pound. And it sure isnt the feed being pushed on them. They took 2 weeks before he got a feed they liked. I still say its the hills and rocks they had never seen before.
 

Similar threads

Ky hills
Baby calf prices
Replies
8
Views
393
MurraysMutts
MurraysMutts
D
Bull sale
Replies
6
Views
436
Dave
D
F
Lasting cattle prices
Replies
16
Views
1K
Peace
P
G
Another bull today
Replies
2
Views
519
Lazy M
L
coachg
Need. Bull ?
Replies
1
Views
410
Warren Allison
Warren Allison

Latest posts

Top