Does it Make More Financial Sense to Keep Cattle Longer?

[Bullitt]

Depends on the market and your operation. Past few years I kept my spring calves and sold them in Jan or Feb the following year because the market was down and I was able to let them graze the brome field so I wasn't going through a couple bales every day. Sold last year's spring calves (2017) in Dec but deferred the payment until this year. Talk to your CPA! I don't keep any bull calves unless I have a prior, private treaty agreement. But I do sometimes retain additional heifers to sell as bred - once again depending on the market trend and our forage.

That would be a smart way to do it. If the market is down, hold on to the calves until prices come back up. Hopefully it does not take too long.

Do you not keep bull calves because of lack of space? I know the bulls would have to be kept separate from the heifers after about 10 months old.

Bull calves need to be separated from the heifers before 10 months. They're young but still have the potential to breed. Been there. My bulls (herd sires) are registered but my herd is commercial; the bull calves I've sold are private treaty, primarily to neighbors that simply want a "black bull" from good stock for a reasonable (actually, cheap) price.

At what age do you separate the bull calves?

We all want cattle for a cheap price. Maybe we should be your neighbor.

 

[poorfarmer]

I will keep my spring calves through the winter. I looked up the historical feeder calf prices by month one time and I think historically, April and May were higher so I hold mine. I think it was a ten year segment I was looking at.

 

[Silver]

The last while it seems like you'd be wasting money on bull power if keeping commercial heifers to sell. This fall I sold open yearling heifers for over $1,900 a piece, I doubt they would have sold any better if they were bred at least this year. In fact later on I did see breds sell for less.

 

[Bullitt]

The last while it seems like you'd be wasting money on bull power if keeping commercial heifers to sell. This fall I sold open yearling heifers for over $1,900 a piece, I doubt they would have sold any better if they were bred at least this year. In fact later on I did see breds sell for less.

Wow, that is a good price. What type of heifers were those?

 

[Silver]

The last while it seems like you'd be wasting money on bull power if keeping commercial heifers to sell. This fall I sold open yearling heifers for over $1,900 a piece, I doubt they would have sold any better if they were bred at least this year. In fact later on I did see breds sell for less.

Wow, that is a good price. What type of heifers were those?

It's Canadian dollars of course. They are just the mutts we raise, simmie / blonde, red angus. Between 1000 and 1100 lbs.

 

[Bullitt]

The last while it seems like you'd be wasting money on bull power if keeping commercial heifers to sell. This fall I sold open yearling heifers for over $1,900 a piece, I doubt they would have sold any better if they were bred at least this year. In fact later on I did see breds sell for less.

Wow, that is a good price. What type of heifers were those?

It's Canadian dollars of course. They are just the mutts we raise, simmie / blonde, red angus. Between 1000 and 1100 lbs.

$1,900 Canadian dollars is still about $1,500 U.S. dollars. That is still good.

You are still keeping heifers longer. You are keeping them for a year. It seems to work for you.

I had read in the United States the best month to sell cattle was June because fall calves were mostly sold by then and spring calves get sold in the summer and fall.

 

[Silver]

$1,900 Canadian dollars is still about $1,500 U.S. dollars. That is still good.

You are still keeping heifers longer. You are keeping them for a year. It seems to work for you.

We don't keep them that long because we are smart. The idea is to have them bred for our own retention. But it always make me think that it would be nice to keep more calves over and put them on grass in the spring somewhere where a fella stood a chance of gathering for sale on a whim when the markets were attractive.

 

[TCRanch]

That would be a smart way to do it. If the market is down, hold on to the calves until prices come back up. Hopefully it does not take too long.

Do you not keep bull calves because of lack of space? I know the bulls would have to be kept separate from the heifers after about 10 months old.

Bull calves need to be separated from the heifers before 10 months. They're young but still have the potential to breed. Been there. My bulls (herd sires) are registered but my herd is commercial; the bull calves I've sold are private treaty, primarily to neighbors that simply want a "black bull" from good stock for a reasonable (actually, cheap) price.

At what age do you separate the bull calves?

We all want cattle for a cheap price. Maybe we should be your neighbor.

You would love to be my neighbor. Weaned the last one at 6 months, sold him to our neighbor at 7 months, fully vaccinated, hand feeder, very docile, good looking - even gave him a magnet. My baby boy clocked in at 860 lbs & I sold him for 1.125 per, which was the high end of the sale barn price at that time for steers at that weight. See why I don't sell bulls as a general rule?

 

[gcreekrch]

Sell when you see a profit, keep when you smell one.