KenB
Well-known member
;-) The steer might bring a premium over the bull.
Docking animals
- Thread starter KANSAS
- Start date
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Schnurrbart
Yes the steer will usually bring more and there are variety of reasons for this.
1 The buyers are looking for steers not bulls
2 The bull will lose more growth after caserating then the steer will from shipping
3 Bringing a bull shows a lack of marketing skills (ie: knowing what your market wants and providing it)
4 Bringing a bull is can be a sign of poor herd health management (ie: have all of the calfhood vaccinations been done or is he staight off of cow)
Yes the steer will usually bring more and there are variety of reasons for this.
1 The buyers are looking for steers not bulls
2 The bull will lose more growth after caserating then the steer will from shipping
3 Bringing a bull shows a lack of marketing skills (ie: knowing what your market wants and providing it)
4 Bringing a bull is can be a sign of poor herd health management (ie: have all of the calfhood vaccinations been done or is he staight off of cow)
Victoria
Well-known member
Well around my area spots are docked, frozen ears, bull calves, anything excessively hairy (Highland crosses), smokey or white calves, wild temperament, and line-backs come to mind. A few years ago black was docked as well.
Basically now they want red, rbf, black, bbf or gold calves that have their tails and ears, a good hair coat but not too hairy and smile happily as they walk in the ring. ;-)
Basically now they want red, rbf, black, bbf or gold calves that have their tails and ears, a good hair coat but not too hairy and smile happily as they walk in the ring. ;-)
auctionboy
Well-known member
I wonder if anyone compaining would buy that longhorn dairy cross bull for as much as a nice angus steer. All docking is done for a economic reason or the next buyer in line would make the next bid. It is all abought the carcass, the finishing time, and any risk of health. Anyone that says other wise and thinks they are being cheated by buyers unrealistic and has an inferior product that they want a premium for!
TEXANGRANCH
Active member
Its very simple, we started with longhorns in the USA that were spotted, in came the aberdeen angus and totally changed the american beef industry. They are such a sucess bc they have a carcass to back up their color unlike all the copycat continental breeds whos fat turns yellow when its hung and aged, and who have too much bone (who eats bones?) and their hides are too thick and who throw horned or scurred calves way too often. Its very simple, if you own angus cattle you have purchased a breed that hes been selectively bred just for beef for a few hundred years. Charolais, sims, lims, chi, etc cannot say that, they were bred as a tri purpose cattle- draft, milk, and beef. Of course they couldnt compete with angus without cheating and using angus genetics. Question- How do you make good paint? If the answer is buy a can of good paint and add a little bit of extra water in it, then you arent accomplishing anything. If a breed or a breeder thinks that they are improving anything by adding angus, they should try the real thing straight and they will stop all the other nonsense breeds that are just trying to add a little bit of their breed at a time with these silly "purebred" programs that allow you to add 1/8 angus every generation. Why not save your self sometime and sell those dairy/beef multipurpose nonsense cows and take that huge hit at the sale barn bc they arent angus and get with the program.
auctionboy
Well-known member
Some business plans and invironments favor "cheaper" cattle, just because someones calves don't top the sale doesn't make them less of a cattlemen or business man. There are many guys around here with 5-10 angus cows that don't know a thing and top the sale, but they also don't make any money because of there feeding and management. Like Caustic would say "grass and hay" these people spend $17 for a #100 of feed that is nothing special. Just because someones calves don't top the sale doesn't mean they should get with the program!TEXANGRANCH":2lukpvpe said:
TEXANGRANCH
Active member
we graze cattle all over texas, we have all types of environments from mountainous desert to coastal wetlands. We have never had another breed compete in producing income in any of our terains that we graze on. Show me a business plan that makes more money by getting less per unit at sale????? I own 3 ag busnesses and ag is my only source of income. I do very well for my self considering I started with a handfull of cows and 100 acres. You cannot afford to graze inferior cattle if you are in it for the profit. I have only seen 1 area in texas that angus will not thrive and out produce all others in profit, trans pecos and the only breed out there is longhorns/ corriente. And again, if those people did the math theyd sell their land and head east to regular grazing conditions where it is more economical to graze (ie less fence and pasture to rent and maintain). I preach it bc I have tried the gimmick breeds, and they dont make as much money consistanly.
TEXANGRANCH
Active member
Oh, and salebarn guy angus wont make tour business plan work, just improve your profit margin. A bad business plan or man is always going to struggle. A good plan can make it, but it will only be enhanced by quality angus cattle.
auctionboy
Well-known member
Lets face it you can't make it without a black hide bonus. It wont always be there and then it is going to come down to how well you breed cattle. Then it will come down to how efficient you are.TEXANGRANCH":11srl9pz said:
I look at the return on investment. I've been around long enough to know longevity has alot of value as does marketability. Feed to the grid and let a calves true colors shine, spots or black hide it doesn't matter than if they have what we are really after.
