Cow prices

[50/50Farms]

It is a lot easier to feed a portion of a bale per day and have an idea on how much you are feeding. For instance right now there is 12 cows in the field. They have been getting a third of a bale a day. That is a touch more than I normally feed but they have been getting top bales so there is some waste. Once I get the 14 cows in the corral worked there will be 26 in the field. I will give them 2/3 of a bale a day. I put 2 bales on edge on the flat bed. Put the pickup in 4 low and as it idles across the field I flake off the appropriate amount of hay. It is spread out so everyone gets to eat and I feed just what they will clean up in a day.

Beats having it trampled into the mud and crap.

 

[Muletrack]

Yes I buy bred cows. Right now I am only buying those that are 7 or 8 months bred. I want February/March calves. I just buy broken mouth cows not smooth mouth. I have bought smooth mouth cows in the past. I always figured on about a 5% death loss. I got to looking at that and it turned out that most of the death loss was from those smooth mouth cows. I could have bought a bunch of smooth mouth cows yesterday but I passed on them. I also passed on a lot of 6 month bred cows. They will calf in April which results is a smaller calf.

Are these one & done cows?

 

[Stocker Steve]

This year grass hay is over $200 a ton. $200 can easily be the difference between being in the red or in the black.

Do your BM cows gain weight on grass hay?
What do you estimate for a daily cost in 2023?

 

[gcreekrch]

Do your BM cows gain weight on grass hay?
What do you estimate for a daily cost in 2023?

Check posts 18 and 20 and do the math.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Check posts 18 and 20 and do the math.

Not helpful and not accurate.
There are more costs than just hay bales.

 

[gcreekrch]

Not helpful and not accurate.
There are more costs than just hay bales.

Really?

I will do a daily cost using Dave’s figures for you and he can tell you if I am correct.
Hay @ 10 cents a lb, in another post he mentioned he was feeding 28 lbs per day. That comes to $2.80 per day.
Ten minutes tractor time every second day @ $60 per hour. $5 per day divided by 28 head. .38
Salt @ maybe .03 per day
Gas for pickup $5 per day. .38
And depreciation on an old pickup $0

$3.67 per head per day

Keeping a retired old fellow doing something and keeping interest in life………Priceless!

 

[rocfarm]

Really?

I will do a daily cost using Dave’s figures for you and he can tell you if I am correct.
Hay @ 10 cents a lb, in another post he mentioned he was feeding 28 lbs per day. That comes to $2.80 per day.
Ten minutes tractor time every second day @ $60 per hour. $5 per day divided by 28 head. .38
Salt @ maybe .03 per day
Gas for pickup $5 per day. .38
And depreciation on an old pickup $0

$3.67 per head per day

Keeping a retired old fellow doing something and keeping interest in life………Priceless!

OK. I think I want my retirement to look something like this. Sounds fun.

 

[Dave]

Really?

I will do a daily cost using Dave’s figures for you and he can tell you if I am correct.
Hay @ 10 cents a lb, in another post he mentioned he was feeding 28 lbs per day. That comes to $2.80 per day.
Ten minutes tractor time every second day @ $60 per hour. $5 per day divided by 28 head. .38
Salt @ maybe .03 per day
Gas for pickup $5 per day. .38
And depreciation on an old pickup $0

$3.67 per head per day

Keeping a retired old fellow doing something and keeping interest in life………Priceless!

Pretty close. Probably a bit long on the pickup gas. And that is for the cows here now. In a month there will be 80 cows or so out there. That will spread out those equipment costs a bit thinner.

I don't think they gain much on the hay diet. Gaining comes when they go to grass.

 

[Dave]

Are these one & done cows?

Yes

 

[Muletrack]

Yes

Surprised about the death loss. I’ve had so many good old gummers, but yeah — guess I wouldn’t buy one.

 

[Stocker Steve]

$3.67 per head per day

Keeping a retired old fellow doing something and keeping interest in life………Priceless!

Good work up. Would not want any CT members to go broke buying short bred cows.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I don't think they gain much on the hay diet. Gaining comes when they go to grass.

How thin is too thin for your hay program?

 

[gcreekrch]

How thin is too thin for your hay program?

Pulse not working!

 

[Dave]

Pulse not working!

I try to buy them a little better than that. I have learned that some of those kind are older than you think. I would just as soon they end up in someone else's bone yard.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Getting dangerously close to dollar a lb on slaughter cows here. Lots in the .90s today and yesterday.

5 year old Pairs with 2 to 3 month calves were $2225.00

 

[Travlr]

Surprised about the death loss. I’ve had so many good old gummers, but yeah — guess I wouldn’t buy one.

I agree. My experience is they last longer than expected and condition tells you when to sell before they die.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Getting dangerously close to dollar a lb on slaughter cows here. Lots in the .90s today and yesterday.

5 year old Pairs with 2 to 3 month calves were $2225.00

Quite a few over $1 at Greeneville today. Average shape holsteins were in 80s and lower 90s for fat Holstein.

Poor condition cows were stupid.

Calves were down I thought.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Yep!
Big cows over a buck today!

 

[tex452]

Yep!
Big cows over a buck today!

Wow.
I went to the sale last Wednesday and they are definitely going up.
I’m kicking myself for not buying some nice bred cows a couple of weeks ago, we are pretty full, but could handle a few more.
We have enough hay to get us through March.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Wow.
I went to the sale last Wednesday and they are definitely going up.
I’m kicking myself for not buying some nice bred cows a couple of weeks ago, we are pretty full, but could handle a few more.
We have enough hay to get us through March.

Order buyers behind me were talking and I was listening. Heard him talking about how much the price he could pay had increased while he was sitting there. Said he was going to turn his phone off.

Then he was talking about how awful they were going to be in 3 weeks. He was hung up about something on a 3 week time line. He was fully expecting them to go way up. I don't think he backed off of much he bid on. Took it as far as needed to buy.