The bad thing about waiting to drop off is some times the calves don't bring as much if the orders are getting full. I've always had the best luck about mid ways. The first calves and the last calves can be risky.
Headed to the sale barn
- Thread starter blackladies
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Travlr
Well-known member
The distance from Cheboygan to Detroit is only 280... If it was 400+ it would have to be out of state... unless he's counting both directions (which I do all the time).
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
My calves have to leave Michigan and pass thru Wisconsin and sell in Iowa or Minnesota. Michigan cattle can't be sold or even lay-over in Wisconsin. So its a long haul for them.
Closest auction within the state of Michigan is 350 miles from my house, and cattle there routinely sell for 60% of what they bring in Iowa or Minnesota.
Closest auction within the state of Michigan is 350 miles from my house, and cattle there routinely sell for 60% of what they bring in Iowa or Minnesota.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Whats the reason they can't sell in Wisconsin?
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
It started because the LP of Michigan had TB in the cattle herd. So Wisconsin treated the whole state as one unit (even though the UP is separated by 4 miles of water) and said no cattle from Michigan as we had TB even though the UP never has a cow test positive.
That rule has since changed somewhat with split TB zones so while I think it's technically possible, in practice Wisconsin sale barns typically won't sell Michigan cattle. Wisconsin has some strict import rules on having to have vet paperwork for each animal with its ID number on it, negative TB test in certain cases, etc. So its to time consuming and costly to attempt to comply with their rules, so we bypass the state all together.
That rule has since changed somewhat with split TB zones so while I think it's technically possible, in practice Wisconsin sale barns typically won't sell Michigan cattle. Wisconsin has some strict import rules on having to have vet paperwork for each animal with its ID number on it, negative TB test in certain cases, etc. So its to time consuming and costly to attempt to comply with their rules, so we bypass the state all together.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Wow, dont blame you
Travlr
Well-known member
HOLY! That's a long slog. And how can you make it pay? That's kind of amazing.
Dave
Well-known member
Evey sale yard that I have been to in this region has a ring scale. They get weighed when they walk into the ring. It is up on the reader board. Number of head, total weight, and average weight. After they sell it comes up on another board. Number of head, total weight, average weight, price, buyer number, and at some but not all it will show the dollars per head.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
We still have the older scales also where we weigh load lots that arent going through the sale. Its where i weigh beefs that i sell and deliver to the slaughterhouse.
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
Get a pot load together and the trucking ain't too bad. Selling weaned calves is easy because you can plan the loads ahead of time. Like I know me and the neighbor will have a load of 8wts in the fall.
The bummer is I have to hold cull cows often times 3 to 6 months before we all get enough together for a load. I currently have 2 open cows that I'd love to drop off and get paid for, but they have to hang around until late April when there is a truck headed out with room.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Ours shows the seller also.
crossbreed
Well-known member
Still selling well here
greybeard
Well-known member
What the heck,, is a 'heiferette'?
Even if the Wisconsin rule changes, it will probably take a looong time for buyers there to get comfortable buying LP Michigan cattle... Old ideas die hard..
The sale barns I used to go thru weighed when they left the ring. Not the best practice for sure if you were on a tight buying budget.
Oh yeah, you got that right!!
Even if the Wisconsin rule changes, it will probably take a looong time for buyers there to get comfortable buying LP Michigan cattle... Old ideas die hard..
The sale barns I used to go thru weighed when they left the ring. Not the best practice for sure if you were on a tight buying budget.
Oh yeah, you got that right!!
Travlr
Well-known member
From google: Heiferette. A female bovine, 2 ½ years old or younger that exhibits cow characteristics, that has not had her first calf or recently lost her first calf.
We call weaned in the fall long 2s heiferettes also. BSE put pressure on their value with the 30 month rule but those heiferettes can gain like a steer and many of them still grade.
bird dog
Well-known member
The worst group I ever had shrink wise as well as under-performance wise went on a way over-loaded pot to OKC that I shared with a neighbor lady. They shrank about 8% and sold for about 20 cents under the average.
The commission company had actually bought them for themselves. I watched them sale and called the commission company man immediately afterwords suspecting some monkey business was going on. He said he would talk to the yard man & they would run them through again. They did a few hours later without much change and the commission company bought them back again. He called me this time and said I got a bum deal and they could see that my calves were worth more then they brought so he paid me 10 cents a pound more than the sales price and put them on his own wheat grazing program.
I ask what the buyers were missing. He said nothing. He said when they arrived they were covered with a green muddy manure and just looked bad. He said the sales yard is dry and muddy cows get discounted a large amount when none of the other are muddy. It was raining hard when we loaded but my calves had spent the night in my covered pens and were clean. The neighbor lady's had not, plus she had fed them green rye grass hay for two days that they were penned.
The pot was way to crowded so mine got crapped on the whole way. A few months later he called and said my calves had performed very well on his wheat and he was glad he had bought them. That at least took some of the sting off the bad deal.
I went back to hauling my own after that.
The commission company had actually bought them for themselves. I watched them sale and called the commission company man immediately afterwords suspecting some monkey business was going on. He said he would talk to the yard man & they would run them through again. They did a few hours later without much change and the commission company bought them back again. He called me this time and said I got a bum deal and they could see that my calves were worth more then they brought so he paid me 10 cents a pound more than the sales price and put them on his own wheat grazing program.
I ask what the buyers were missing. He said nothing. He said when they arrived they were covered with a green muddy manure and just looked bad. He said the sales yard is dry and muddy cows get discounted a large amount when none of the other are muddy. It was raining hard when we loaded but my calves had spent the night in my covered pens and were clean. The neighbor lady's had not, plus she had fed them green rye grass hay for two days that they were penned.
The pot was way to crowded so mine got crapped on the whole way. A few months later he called and said my calves had performed very well on his wheat and he was glad he had bought them. That at least took some of the sting off the bad deal.
I went back to hauling my own after that.
What is a commission company?
kenny thomas
Well-known member
At Oklahoma city stockyard a commission company handles your calves, not the stockyard. Im thinking there are 7 or 8 commission companies you can choose between. They handle the care and sale of your calves. Bird dog can explain it further. Oklahoma is the only place i have seen it.
