Feeder cattle, what breeds do you prefer?

Help Support CattleToday:

hillbilly

Well-known member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Messages
365
Reaction score
0
Location
SW Missouri
A question for you folks that buy feeders.
What breed or breeds do you want to buy and why?
Please let us know what region you are in.
Most cow-calf folks crossbreed [2 or 3 breeds or more] Please let us know what breeds help and/or hurt, in your opinion.
Some of us stick with the same thing because thats the way we have always done it.
Any and all opinions welcome and appreciated.
Hillbilly
 
Around here(central NC) I can tell you what I don't want to see come thru my preconditioning opperation........

What tends to NOT work for me are Herefords (they die too easy)and Eared Charolais Crosses (some people are idiots :roll: ).and any of the "ornamental types"(ie galloways). The terminal feedlots(in the North) don't want any heavily eared calves(unless they are dirt cheap).

Before I hear back.....Just up in the mountains- Herefords do great- They just don't work HERE.

Karen
 
What do the Herefords die so easy from? What is wrong with the Charolais with ear?[/i]
 
Hereford IF they get shipping fever seem to lack the will to live. And around here they seem more prone to shipping fever.

ear/Charlois crosses
Take the high headed nervousness of the eared breeds(flight response) and then throw in the cold calculated fight of a Charlois when agitated(fight response). ---Schizoid cattle. Unpredictable- Can't trust them to react in a consistent manner from one second to the next. And the ear influence sets them up to fight when other Charlois are still chillin. Makes them dangerous and costly
 
Have't seen any mountains around here, and I no there are none around Txag. My Herefords seem to do fine are yours falling over dead Txag.
 
Didnt mean to start a breed war, should have left out the part about what you dont want.
Just thought it would be informitive for calf producers to hear what buyers want in their area.
Type and quality are way more important than breed but I would also like to know if a buyer has a preferance for a paticular cross or combo.
Hillbilly
 
Campground Cattle":38upo8s8 said:
Have't seen any mountains around here, and I no there are none around Txag. My Herefords seem to do fine are yours falling over dead Txag.

between all these winter calves & weaning-age calves falling over dead, i don't see how we can stay in the cattle business much longer! :shock:
 
South Dakota/Nebraska....area.....Black Black Black! The BWF Hereford/Angus, Simmental/Angus and Maine/Angus crosses do well. The larger backs of the Simmi and the Maine crosses appear to have the $$$ advantage at the livestock markets.
 
It used to be black here to until the buyers got smart and quit paying top dollar for the counterfeits. Quality wins here no matter what color, the only thing that gets really knocked is the Brahmans. The only reason they get knocked is they can get away with it. Brahmans are good cattle, still an essential breed in the South.
 
Hey Campground! I do agree with the fact some mighty fine steaks come from the Hereford breed. Fact is Herefords were the steer of choice in the 1960's and early '70's. I've put plenty of them in my freezer! Red Angus will also yield some great beef.

The fact of the matter is the American Angus Asso has done a GREAT job promoting Certified Angus Beef, and the Black Angus Breed in general. I would bet most folks who walk into a Carls Jr. eatery could not tell the differance between an Angus and a Hereford. Most commercial cattlemen want to see the extra $$$ at the sale barn a black hided animal brings. That is why we're all in this business isn't it! Perception is the reality, and if the buyers want black hided cattle and will pay a bit more....who am I to tell 'em their wrong.

On the flip side I think the AAA is going too far into the "Show" side of things and leaving the commercial producer behind. But I think this discussion is best left to another subject board!

Best

John
 
SimmAngus":7hihnytf said:
Hey Campground! I do agree with the fact some mighty fine steaks come from the Hereford breed. Fact is Herefords were the steer of choice in the 1960's and early '70's. I've put plenty of them in my freezer! Red Angus will also yield some great beef.

The fact of the matter is the American Angus Asso has done a GREAT job promoting Certified Angus Beef, and the Black Angus Breed in general. I would bet most folks who walk into a Carls Jr. eatery could not tell the differance between an Angus and a Hereford. Most commercial cattlemen want to see the extra $$$ at the sale barn a black hided animal brings. That is why we're all in this business isn't it! Perception is the reality, and if the buyers want black hided cattle and will pay a bit more....who am I to tell 'em their wrong.

On the flip side I think the AAA is going too far into the "Show" side of things and leaving the commercial producer behind. But I think this discussion is best left to another subject board!

Best

John

No I totally agree with you on the black hide. It wasn't until late last year that I started beating the blackhided devils. Don't tell anyone but I can see some Brangus, Angus, and British Whites in my pasture also. The point I was trying to make is around here the guys put a black bull on anything that could moo. This worked for a few years the buyers finally started paying for quality. I have sold down my black hide cows and have started picking up Whites. Ok I am a nut case everyone else is trying to go black and I'm headed in the opposite direction again.
 
Before the local salebarn burned down we bought anything with a white face that had a decent frame and muscle. When we sold we hauled them to the Joplin salebarn. They don't have the prejudice against whiteface there.
Calves are too high this year for my wallet.

dun
 
Maine buyers Black or red angus, Black baldy's and other angus x's sell extremely well in local market. Quality herdfords are back a little. Chi's, maines, charlais and other pure continental cattle take a bad hit. They finish too large for the feeders premium market. Quality still is one of the biggest dictators of price.
 
In our precon lots the only thing we want to see is blk and bkl wf. We have sent loads of cattle back because of one char or herf. This is just our preference. That is not to say the other cattle are not just as good or better but they are much more apt to get shipping fever. We also did a test 4 years ago with 6000 blk and blk wf against 2000 mixed steers. The blk and blk wf consistently brought 10 cents per pound more than the mix. In ending GO BLACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I stick with Black and Red Angus which have worked for me here in Tx and on which there is alot of data supporting various genetic and quality aspects. I custom feed Angus calves and most of the marketting has already been done for me by the association. My research into other breeds has shown that at least some, mainly Charolais and relavent crosses, start out with low lipids (marbling) and actually stop any further marbling at about 20 months of age. Maybe that's one reason why they seem to take a hit at the sale barn. However, if your target market is grass fed beef this may not be an issue for you as a producer. You could probably even use this hit as an advantage in a grass fed buisness model. I guess it pretty much depends on exactly what you want your operation to look like.
 
Black baldies sell the best around here, a true balck baldie. Half Hereford, half angus. And I don't know about feeder calves but as far as heifers go. Hereford heifers are the ones to sell.
Ellie May
 

Latest posts

Top