Finished Cattle

[LJCC]

When selling finished cattle through the salesbarn, does the group size affect the price? What is the optimum size for selling finished Holsteins right now? I heard 1200-1450, is this accurate?

Thank you and God Bless.

 

[ChrisB]

I have never seen a price difference in group size when I've sold finished cattle at a salebarn. But in my situation I sell anywhere between 1 & 14 (trailer load) at a time; so there could be a little better prices for larger numbers. If you have larger numbers though you are probably better off selling full pot loads directly to the packer.

I'd say the weights of Holsteins you mention are about right although I think anything less than 1300 lbs. is a little light. That is for calf fed steers. Anything that's been on pasture or has been fed a lot of silage would be over 1500 lbs. but would bring less money too.

I don't raise Holsteins anymore so things may have changed a bit and I could be way off, but I don't think so.