I guess it depends on your confidence in the bred heifer market. If it matches early last fall and good early bred heifers are going over 3000 and even february/march bred heifers are in the 2500-2800 range I would say summering and breeding an animal for $1000 should be pretty profitable. You are taking plenty of risk buying in at this level though
It's gonna be risk regardless, youre absolutely right. . I've made money taking risk my whole adult life. Just haven't done it much with cows. Sometimes it works, sometimes it hurts.
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I studied business in college, relationship between supply and demand usually ring true with most everything. I don't see how it could be much eofferent with cattle right now and the next 12 to 36 months. There are a tremendous amount of cattle going for slaughter still every single week.
Difference im clinchvalley86 and my area is you very rarely see bred heifers for sale. If so its usually one that was culled off a load for being bred. An 800lb good open heifer by the load will bring more than a bred heifer.
If they were thin, did not look sick, just needing groceries, with a calf on the ground, I would have been buying them all at $900 a pair... if you have grass coming on, they would have gained and in a month if they were not making milk, you could have split off the calves from whoever wasn't making milk, and come out ahead... even if you kept the young cows to fatten more...It's gonna be risk regardless, youre absolutely right. . I've made money taking risk my whole adult life. Just haven't done it much with cows. Sometimes it works, sometimes it hurts.
@Warren Allison - Im content at the stockbarn anymore. Kinda got the rhyme and reason figured out. And i think i can pick out some good animals at this point... I know what I like anyhow. I'm not sure how many though, depends on what they're gonna cost me. I'd like to do 15 to 30, depending on what breaks down between now and mid may. What doesn't breed ill beef in the fall. There were some thin pairs yesterday with week old calves, some went as low as 900 bucks. Not sure if I want that kind of risk...
@Brute 23 - if I go the bred cow route I reckon It'd be wise to have them all checked.
Same around here. At least as far as commercial heifers go. People would rather get opens and breed to what they have, or want, as far as bulls go. About the only time I see bred heifers, is at a breeder's or association production sale. The bull they are bred to is disclosed, and often even present at the sale, so you know what you are getting and what those heifers will have when they calve. Last month at the local sale, they had a special "breeding stock" sale. Cows, heifers, pairs and bulls. About all the females was commercial...they had a few registered cows, and heifers, but most were commercial. Quite a few breed cows, heifers and 3 n 1's were sold, and in about every case, the bull was for sale as well. They'd sell him first, then sell the females that were bred to him. So, again, you knew what kinda calves they were carrying. All of the bulls sold were registered...and all animals were sold by the head. One guy brought in a 5 yr old SimmAngus bull, that he was selling because it had gotten too big for his cows. He was going to buy one of the younger, registered bulls there, if he saw one he wanted. I was talking to him when he was waiting to unload, and he said he was going to sell him by the pound, and didn't bother bringing his papers. They told him they weren't selling any weigh cattle that day...that all bulls were going to be sold by the head, and had to be fertility tested by the vet ( This is the one that 5 out of 8 tested failed). The boy lived about 2 and 1/2 hours away, and the sale would be over before he could go home and get the papers. The barn told him since it was so far away, he could leave him there for free and they'd feed him,. etc., and sell him by the pound at the regular sale Tuesday. I thought that was a nice gesture.
Price wise I think it's about the same there vs here. These cheap bred heifers down here for the most part look bred too early. Or that's probably the worry as to why they go so cheap? That's my figuring anyway. The nice one still command a pretty good price all thing considered.
After you have them pregged for yourself.
