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<blockquote data-quote="Brandonm22" data-source="post: 596049" data-attributes="member: 7645"><p>I think a lot of it had to do with cheap grain. I can't speak for the whole industry, but for a while there the price per pound was so high for light calves that pounds didn't really pay all that well through the sale. People were sending 450 lb calves straight to the feedlot because it was cheaper to grow them out on grain than it was to stocker them on grass and they were bidding up the price of lite feeders in the process. We have sold lots of loads where the 600++ pound steers were passed in total $$$s by their 475 pound younger brother. Generally that sweet spot between pounds and $$$s per pound (around here) was normally ~550 pounds. Less than that and you were giving up too much weight. More than that and it got hard to really get paid for those extra pounds. IF you weren't going to get paid for pounds: then it paid to focus on quality. Get rid of the eared calves, the horned calves, the dairy influence, the off colored calves, etc. A trailer load of all black, all polled 550 lb unifrom steers brought a pretty good pay check often more than a trailer load of 600 lb mixed colored, mix bred, mixed horns, mixed phenotype, calves would. You don't need a crossbred cow to wean off a 550 pound calf consistently. A 1300 lb straightbred Angus cow does that easily (even if it is not so efficient doing it). Now that the high corn prices have shifted the balance sheets toward a heavier calf and a more efficient cow maybe more people will look at crossbreeding. I would still take pains to try to deliver uniform loads though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brandonm22, post: 596049, member: 7645"] I think a lot of it had to do with cheap grain. I can't speak for the whole industry, but for a while there the price per pound was so high for light calves that pounds didn't really pay all that well through the sale. People were sending 450 lb calves straight to the feedlot because it was cheaper to grow them out on grain than it was to stocker them on grass and they were bidding up the price of lite feeders in the process. We have sold lots of loads where the 600++ pound steers were passed in total $$$s by their 475 pound younger brother. Generally that sweet spot between pounds and $$$s per pound (around here) was normally ~550 pounds. Less than that and you were giving up too much weight. More than that and it got hard to really get paid for those extra pounds. IF you weren't going to get paid for pounds: then it paid to focus on quality. Get rid of the eared calves, the horned calves, the dairy influence, the off colored calves, etc. A trailer load of all black, all polled 550 lb unifrom steers brought a pretty good pay check often more than a trailer load of 600 lb mixed colored, mix bred, mixed horns, mixed phenotype, calves would. You don't need a crossbred cow to wean off a 550 pound calf consistently. A 1300 lb straightbred Angus cow does that easily (even if it is not so efficient doing it). Now that the high corn prices have shifted the balance sheets toward a heavier calf and a more efficient cow maybe more people will look at crossbreeding. I would still take pains to try to deliver uniform loads though. [/QUOTE]
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