Feeding Cost?

[J+ Cattle]

I had to decide if I wanted to sell them for a $400 avg. and replace at a $1,200 avg or just keep them.

If the cows are in decent condition and weigh in the 1200 lb range they should bring something in the $850 range at kill price.

 

[Lucky]

If the cows are in decent condition and weigh in the 1200 lb range they should bring something in the $850 range at kill price.

Should and will are two different things. I'm just going off past experiences.

 

[Lucky]

A cow on my place has to live and reproduce on the nutrition available to her and look good doing it. There are a lot of cattle that can't do what I expect mine to. I don't know if that would be a nutritional issue or management issue.

I feel the same way. Only way I know to get there is by buying and culling lots of cows or keeping heifers. I've tried both and both are expensive options. I run the bulls for 90 days which has made things more difficult. I've been at 15% opens for years now. I've had cows that breed really good for 4-5 yrs then miss...keep or sell? I've kept them Aand they'll breed for 4-5 yrs without missing, what caused her to miss? I definitely don't have all the answers, just know it's what cost me the most.

 

[Warren Allison]

Watching a video by a boy yesterday..forget his name., He was a Texan that moved to Oregon 15 years ago, and started a ranch, ran it and managed it Texas style, and just sold it turn key....horses ,equipment cattle and all. This video, he had moved back to Texas, and was starting another from scratch. I had watched his video he made last week when he was going to look at some horses to buy. He gets everything else in place before he buys the first cow. Anyhow, in his video yesterday he was waiting on the herd of cattle he had bought.. 3 trailer loads, And guess what they were?!!! Corrientes! He said he believes in utilizing grass, and buys NOTHING for coiws to eat. No grain, no hay, no seed for grain, no hay equipment, no fertilizer for hay. no wormer, vaccs, minerals etc. He said every $1 you spend for them to eat, is a $1` you have lost. The way to do this, he says, is to get the breed and type of cattle that can maximize the grass you have on that place. He breeds Brangus bulls to Corrs, and sells most of his calves direct at weaning. Or to consumers for grass-fed beef. Low cost cows, zero to almost zero inputs, and you make a hell of a lot more money even if the calves buying $1 when then the top sellers bring $2. He does rotational grazing and stock piles winter grass..no hay.

 

[Allenw]

I feel the same way. Only way I know to get there is by buying and culling lots of cows or keeping heifers. I've tried both and both are expensive options. I run the bulls for 90 days which has made things more difficult. I've been at 15% opens for years now. I've had cows that breed really good for 4-5 yrs then miss...keep or sell? I've kept them Aand they'll breed for 4-5 yrs without missing, what caused her to miss? I definitely don't have all the answers, just know it's what cost me the most.

Some of these 'curve bender" bulls can really mess things up.

 

[Lucky]

Some of these 'curve bender" bulls can really mess things up.

I know this is going to sound dumb and I'll probably get flamed on here but.... I quit looking at EPDs years ago. I bought bulls based off EPDs for several years and just didn't see the benefits. I just buy from old school ranching bull breeders. One of my first questions is how do you condition these bulls? I like a Bull that will look good as a 2 yr old on 1/2 bucket of feed a day and grass or hay. They need good feet and temperament too. I've bought bulls that the breeder was putting out tractor buckets of feed to a pile of good looking bulls and had them melt to nothing. I also quit buying from bull sales. Buying out of the pasture from ranchers has worked for me. That's not to say I won't change it up when I buy new bulls next year but for now that's my strategy. I've always had the same conception rates and weaning weights with $4,000 or $2,000 bulls.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Open cows at preg checking time cost me more than any one thing on the ranch. People can gripe about feed cost all they want but you gotta feed them and you knew it going in. A cow that doesn't produce a calf every 12 months is what will ding you, it's generally overlooked and not discussed too.

If you fertility check the bulls and open a gate every couple days - - I think the only open cows should be one or three percent that have an internal issue like cysts or calving damage. You will also have a couple additional percent of late cows that will have to be sold as breds or moved to another breeding season.

There are a few that believe you are overfeeding if you do not have at least 10% open cows. Sometimes these folks are trying to develop or sell extremely efficient breeding stock. Sometimes they are buying bulls with too much milk. I would not do either with a commercial herd.

With the cost of feed here, retaining open cows is not an option. They are not overlooked. They are just gone after we wean.

What is your percent open?

 

[kenny thomas]

If the cows are in decent condition and weigh in the 1200 lb range they should bring something in the $850 range at kill price.

Kill prices are much higher this week with many cows in the 80's. Bulls up to 115-120.
That doesn't mean that an old cripple thin cow will bring that but their price is higher also.

 

[Lucky]

Kill prices are much higher this week with many cows in the 80's. Bulls up to 115-120.
That doesn't mean that an old cripple thin cow will bring that but their price is higher also.

I pregcheck in November. Nobody wants an open cow around here in November. I'll have a few that sell high and a few low but the reality is they never bring what I think they should.

 

[Lucky]

If you fertility check the bulls and open a gate every couple days - - I think the only open cows should be one or three percent that have an internal issue like cysts or calving damage. You will also have a couple additional percent of late cows that will have to be sold as breds or moved to another breeding season.

There are a few that believe you are overfeeding if you do not have at least 10% open cows. Sometimes these folks are trying to develop or sell extremely efficient breeding stock. Sometimes they are buying bulls with too much milk. I would not do either with a commercial herd.

With the cost of feed here, retaining open cows is not an option. They are not overlooked. They are just gone after we wean.

What is your percent open?

I'm generally at 15 -18% open cows. This will include older cows that need to be sold and 3 yr olds that are just hard to breed back. It's always been like this me. For us feed cost, pasture spraying, and upkeep are no big deal because we pretty well know what those cost are and budget accordingly. It's the opens and death loss that I see as a problem. I've done a bunch of research and tried everything I know to do with no changes. I always read about what "should be" but never see it happen in real life. To me it's kinda like the Angus breeders that claim their bulls wean a 750# calf, in reality the static weaning weight is still 525#. I'd love to know a real world open percentage on a 90 day breeding season.

 

[Stocker Steve]

It's the opens and death loss that I see as a problem. I've done a bunch of research and tried everything I know to do with no changes.

Have you tried to sell a couple late calving cows (before they come open) and buying back a Hereford bull (to improve your heifers)?

 

[J+ Cattle]

I pregcheck in November. Nobody wants an open cow around here in November. I'll have a few that sell high and a few low but the reality is they never bring what I think they should.

Slaughter cows sell based on their dressing percentage, thin cows bring the lowest price because the meat to bone/hide/offal ratio is the lowest. Processing costs the same to retrieve what meat is there. All of this is built into the price you receive at the sale barn. Seasonal highs/lows also come into play. I'm just saying that a 1200 lb cow in decent body condition will bring a lot more than $400. Slaughter cow prices are really good for this time of year.

 

[J+ Cattle]

I'm generally at 15 -18% open cows. This will include older cows that need to be sold and 3 yr olds that are just hard to breed back. It's always been like this me.

Have you worked with your vet to determine why you have a high percentage of opens?
I would start with a BSE on the bull and also test for Bangs and Trich.
That is my two cents worth of advice but due to inflation it's now worth two dollars!!!

 

[Lucky]

Have you worked with your vet to determine why you have a high percentage of opens?
I would start with a BSE on the bull and also test for Bangs and Trich.
That is my two cents worth of advice but due to inflation it's now worth two dollars!!!

I get the bulls fertility tested every year and have ran as many as 1bull to 15 cows with no change. I've tried odd # of bulls too. Haven't worked with vet on this but do give all Vaccinations prior to turn out.

 

[Lucky]

Have you tried to sell a couple late calving cows (before they come open) and buying back a Hereford bull (to improve your heifers)?

I have the majority of calves in the first 45 days then they string out. I haven't sold any last 30 day calves yet, except when culling. I've ran at least 2 Hereford bulls for the last 12 yrs, doesn't make a difference except for my heifers selling better because they're baddies.

 

[J+ Cattle]

I get the bulls fertility tested every year and have ran as many as 1bull to 15 cows with no change. I've tried odd # of bulls too. Haven't worked with vet on this but do give all Vaccinations prior to turn out.

Bangs and Trich testing is not part of a regular BSE which only tests fertility. Your vet will collect a sample and send it off to a TX state lab and give you a report in a week to 10 days.
If you're in an area like me where we're overrun with wild hogs that spread Hardjo-Bovis make sure the vaccine you use has the letters HB on it, some don't have it. My vet recommended for me to vaccinate twice a year.

 

[gusea305]

Yeah, had bunch of NRCS kids come to my ranch...knew about absolutely nothing, 70% horrible advice. There ARE good people high up at the top that know and understand a few things...but their "field reps" need help...too young and inexperienced.

Wow I am glad their is only one contact here and she is the regional manager.
She knows her stuff. My application will be approved in February and they will help with getting a forester out here to do a conservation plan for my forests.

I have had a forester out already and she is very good at what she does.

 

[Lucky]

Bangs and Trich testing is not part of a regular BSE which only tests fertility. Your vet will collect a sample and send it off to a TX state lab and give you a report in a week to 10 days.
If you're in an area like me where we're overrun with wild hogs that spread Hardjo-Bovis make sure the vaccine you use has the letters HB on it, some don't have it. My vet recommended for me to vaccinate twice a year.

I don't test for Bangs but do test for trich and never had a positive. I give the Virashield 6+ VLHB in the spring but not the fall. We are not over run with hogs so I don't think that's an issue. Had a pretty good talk about opens today and I seem to be the norm around here just like my preg check man says every year. The guys that cull really heavy do a little better it seems. I may try to vaccinate twice a year as it's cheap insurance. Maybe we need a thread on opens to get an honest consensus. I had 4 calves born today so I honestly don't know what the deal on these opens is, might just be the way it is.

 

[Little Joe]

Watching a video by a boy yesterday..forget his name., He was a Texan that moved to Oregon 15 years ago, and started a ranch, ran it and managed it Texas style, and just sold it turn key....horses ,equipment cattle and all. This video, he had moved back to Texas, and was starting another from scratch. I had watched his video he made last week when he was going to look at some horses to buy. He gets everything else in place before he buys the first cow. Anyhow, in his video yesterday he was waiting on the herd of cattle he had bought.. 3 trailer loads, And guess what they were?!!! Corrientes! He said he believes in utilizing grass, and buys NOTHING for coiws to eat. No grain, no hay, no seed for grain, no hay equipment, no fertilizer for hay. no wormer, vaccs, minerals etc. He said every $1 you spend for them to eat, is a $1` you have lost. The way to do this, he says, is to get the breed and type of cattle that can maximize the grass you have on that place. He breeds Brangus bulls to Corrs, and sells most of his calves direct at weaning. Or to consumers for grass-fed beef. Low cost cows, zero to almost zero inputs, and you make a hell of a lot more money even if the calves buying $1 when then the top sellers bring $2. He does rotational grazing and stock piles winter grass..no hay.

I've watched his videos too, I believe his name on tik-tok is fire and salt. He just got the corrientes so no calves to market yet, we'll see how it works for him. I don't believe grass finishing a corriente x brangus is going to be as good as he thinks, I'd think it'd be too lean. I've grass fed, grain finished some longhorn and corriente crossed with beef bulls and they finished out fine, just a little smaller than a full beef. But I'd think with the brahaman influence and the corriente they just wouldn't finish well on just grass. I think he's spot on on alot of his grazing and soil health though.

 

[Warren Allison]

I've watched his videos too, I believe his name on tik-tok is fire and salt. He just got the corrientes so no calves to market yet, we'll see how it works for him. I don't believe grass finishing a corriente x brangus is going to be as good as he thinks, I'd think it'd be too lean. I've grass fed, grain finished some longhorn and corriente crossed with beef bulls and they finished out fine, just a little smaller than a full beef. But I'd think with the brahaman influence and the corriente they just wouldn't finish well on just grass. I think he's spot on on alot of his grazing and soil health though.

Well you know, there is that whole group of people that want "organic" veggies, " free range" eggs, etc. And grass -fed beef. They pay double the price for beef like that, and I imagine the lack of marbling is marketed as leaner and healthier, etc. I saw a dude on FB in the town next to mine, advertising pork for sale from "100% grass-fed hogs"!!! I just don't think a hog is much of a grazer, and doubt they'd eat enough `grass to survive. I also think they'd root up a pasture before they'd graze it much. But, he is selling his sausage, bacon, hams etc, for about twice the price other people who sell home grown and processed pork is.

I saw the videos on Instagram, but I think I saw on there that he had a Tik-Tok, and yes, it was fireandsalt.