frustrated and didnt even start yet

[kid]

Ok, I really really need help and I need it in layman "dumb$h1t" terms as possible. Im trying to learn as much about the beef buisness as I can before I get started next spring and just when I thought I had it all figured out....
A friend of mine told me that he gets around $1800 per cow. Another friend of mine told me that he gets 1.40/lb, which for 500lbs comes out to $700. After subtracting the price paid for the calf, friend #1 made about $1300 while friend #2 didnt make squat. How the crap as this. I dont understand feeder/stocker/...whatever else or if these terms even have anything at all to do with the whopping price difference.
I guess what I am asking is
1.) what is feeder, what is stocker, what else is there?
2.) how do you figure out which way of selling is the most profitable?
Please, I beg anyone, make my head quit spinning and please break it down as far as you can go as I am very new and very confused.

 

[la4angus]

.
A friend of mine told me that he gets around $1800 per cow. Another friend of mine told me that he gets 1.40/lb, which for 500lbs comes out to $700. After subtracting the price paid for the calf, friend #1 made about $1300 while friend #2 didnt make squat. How the crap as this. I dont understand feeder/stocker/...whatever else or if these terms even have anything at all to do with the whopping price difference.

Friend #1 is talking about a COW which isa full grown mature Bovine animal, which has had at least one calf and probaly has a calf at side.
Friend # 2 is selling a calf which for example could be the calf at side of friend #1's cow. It sells for $1.40 per cwt. Two different animals and sizes.
Stocker is a young animal that will be normally turned out to stock the pastures that is available, and put on cheap gain to be sold later as a feeder to go into the feedlot for fattening for slaughter and human consumption.

 

[Anonymous]

.
A friend of mine told me that he gets around $1800 per cow. Another friend of mine told me that he gets 1.40/lb, which for 500lbs comes out to $700. After subtracting the price paid for the calf, friend #1 made about $1300 while friend #2 didnt make squat. How the crap as this. I dont understand feeder/stocker/...whatever else or if these terms even have anything at all to do with the whopping price difference.

Friend #1 is talking about a COW which isa full grown mature Bovine animal, which has had at least one calf and probaly has a calf at side.
Friend # 2 is selling a calf which for example could be the calf at side of friend #1's cow. It sells for $1.40 per cwt. Two different animals and sizes.
Stocker is a young animal that will be normally turned out to stock the pastures that is available, and put on cheap gain to be sold later as a feeder to go into the feedlot for fattening for slaughter and human consumption.

Good answer - straight to the point.

On top of that I would add - frustration is quite common when one tries to think too deeply into the potential probs and the potential ways to make money in this business.

Just get your fences, pens and pasture in good order. Put a few - repeat - few good animals out there and watch 'em grow.

Find a mentor - someone close by who will help answer the questions as you think of them.

Best to go slow and try not to make things to complicated at the start.

Simple is best - not only for the beginner, but the old hand as well.

Search for some of your answers by using the "search" modes. You will find you are not the first and you definitely will not be the last to be in this situation.

Regards,

Bez'

 

[Susie David]

I agree with Bez totally...make a business plan even if this is not going to be a business...know what you want to do first, know how much $$ you want to invest and figure out how much what you want to do is going to cost compared to what you are willing to invest.
A mentor is first on the list in my book, just make sure they know the business...most folks are gald to pass along their knowledge...facilities before cows...nothing like having to recover your cattle from a neighbor's wheat field.
We started out small and stayed that way...works for us, only process 6-8 steers every quarter and raise a few calves only because Susie likes the babies and we have some good mothers.
Hopes this helps....dave Mc

 

[oljim]

Great advice you're getting here kid,,,looking forward to hearing how things go for you. Posting here on these boards is a good, smart thing to do.

Another aspect of things that we all have problems with sometimes,,is making the assumption that what works on one place will work on another.

Ain't true.

My best advice would be - although there's a tremendous amount to learn here and lots of other places,,,that each operation has to customize his own according to what he/she wants to accomplish and the resources that's available to get 'r done.

Now,,it stands to reason that most all of us may have similar goals and some of us may have similar resources (land, money, experience,,etc.) - however, none of us have exactly the same goals and the same resources. To make a long story short,,,use what information u get from a variety of sources,,but remember that each and every piece of advice has to be customized to your own situation,,know what i mean?

Good luck,,,i bet you're gonna do great!,,

 

[Utah]

Hi Kid, I am also new to the business - for me it is an expensive but fun hobby. I have done a lot of reading and comparing notes. Some of my time spent may shorten your learning curve.

I don't know a lot on the mature cow side, but to give you an idea of steer prices, here are some price ranges from last week's cattle auction in parts of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah July 28, 2004). They are probably similar to where you are.

Feeder Steers: Medium and Large Frame:
300-350 lbs 126.00-136.00;
350-400 lbs 123.00-133.00;
400-450 lbs 111.00-121.00;
450-500 lbs 98.00-119.00;
500-550 lbs 97.00-109.00;
550-600 lbs 96.00-107.00;
600-650 lbs 92.00-102.00;
650-700 lbs 91.00-101.00;
700-750 lbs 88.00-98.00;
750-800 lbs 86.00-96.00;
800-850 lbs 85.00-95.00;

Your 500 pound "Feeder Steer" would cost somewhere between $485 and $545 dollars two weeks ago. And prices should come down a little more in late Summer and Fall. Last May that same sized steer cost me $650 because the price was about $1.30 per pound. These were auction type feeders.

Get this: My steers now weigh about 700 pounds plus or minus. That's about 2.25 pounds of gain per day over 90 days. I hear this is in the range of normal for weight gain. If I had waited until now to buy steers, these same 700 pound steers would only be costing me about $658 each at .94 cents per pound at the auction.

Ugh! I made a whopping $8 bucks per steer over 90 days!! But don't forget my cost in supplies, vacinations, gas, minerals, etc. I even had to cut the pasture two times because they couldn't eat it all.

So, did I make anything at all? Nope! It cost me to own these bovines and if I did it for a living I'd already be sunk. They weren't even good grass cutters. I needed more cows to better manage my pasture. Ha!

"We're only losing a few pennies per item, but we're making up for it in large volume."

Sharpen your pencil, start smaller than you think you should, try to figure out how to profitably breed your own, and try to affordably hold them over Winter for sale in Spring.

Please keep us posted on how you do. I'm all ears as to better ways to make it more profitable.

Utah

 

[oljim]

Good work with the pencil Utah. IMHO,,if most of us did as much work with a pencil and our noggin as we do with our wrenches,,we'd all likely be a lot better off. 8) :lol: 8)

,,,and,,,LOL,,,on the tongue-in-cheek statement that,,,"We're only losing a few pennies per item, but we're making up for it in large volume." What a hoot!,,

Unfortunately,,this happens MUCH more that most of us are likely to admit. 8) HOWEVER,,those of us who don't use a pencil much,,never know it,,,lol,,

As has been stated,,,a good business plan - with some well thought-out goals - is a great thing to do. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're getting into upfront. Then, if you end up doing better than u estimated, you'll be appreciative of what u got - instead of being disappointed and upset with what u didn't get. 8)

 

[dun]

"We're only losing a few pennies per item, but we're making up for it in large volume."

I thought you were supposed to buy high and sell low and make it up on volume.

dun

 

[oljim]

Welp,,,i've shore had plenty of practice at it myself,,,lol,,i'd guess i'd probably be classified as a expert by now,, ;-) ;-)

If any of u fellers and gals need any help at it,,,i'm yore boy. :help:

 

[Bama]

Utah, Some folks think we make a lot on cattle. When you put a pencil to everthing you can see where the money goes. If you load up the pasture to maxium carring capacity and feed little grain, you will see a little profit. Average is about a hundred dollars per head. Some years are better course some are worse.