Holisteins as feeder cattle?

[jbradley]

I was wondering if you guys on here think holsteins are worth feeding out for feeder cattle? I got and oportunity to buy started holstein bull calves from a local dairy farm for 250 dollars a piece they are all about 200 pounds and off milk started onto grain. I was planning on taking the holsteins to about 700 pounds and then re selling them at the sale yard. I know they take more feed and dont grow as fast as colored cattle but with the price of colored cattle right now i dont know if i can bring myself to paying those high dollars. I grow my own feed which will help with the feed cost but was wondering if you guys think holsteins are woth feeding out or just buy less cattle with the money i got and go with colored cattle? Also was wondering if when selling through a sale yard is it worth selling your cattle as precondtioned cattle and vaccinating them compared to not spending the money on the vacination and just selling them as not vacinated cattle? Thanks Jason

 

[ibetyamissedme]

I was wondering if you guys on here think holsteins are worth feeding out for feeder cattle? I got and oportunity to buy started holstein bull calves from a local dairy farm for 250 dollars a piece they are all about 200 pounds and off milk started onto grain. I was planning on taking the holsteins to about 700 pounds and then re selling them at the sale yard. I know they take more feed and dont grow as fast as colored cattle but with the price of colored cattle right now i dont know if i can bring myself to paying those high dollars. I grow my own feed which will help with the feed cost but was wondering if you guys think holsteins are woth feeding out or just buy less cattle with the money i got and go with colored cattle? Also was wondering if when selling through a sale yard is it worth selling your cattle as precondtioned cattle and vaccinating them compared to not spending the money on the vacination and just selling them as not vacinated cattle? Thanks Jason

A black and white will actually grow as fast or faster than colored cattle. I know you said you raise your own corn to feed them but at $4.50 for NC corn you still might be better off selling the corn. Some years there is very good money feeding them, far better profit than colored cattle, this isn't one of them.

 

[ChrisB]

A black and white will actually grow as fast or faster than colored cattle. I know you said you raise your own corn to feed them but at $4.50 for NC corn you still might be better off selling the corn. Some years there is very good money feeding them, far better profit than colored cattle, this isn't one of them.

I am curious as to why you say this. I haven't fed steins for probably 10 years but I was planning on getting some as I was thinking there was more money in them at the moment. How many bushels of corn do you figure from say 350 pounds up to 1400? I was planning on feeding whole shelled corn with a pellet mixed in. They would be feed in a confinement building the whole time. I'm not sure on a source of roughage yet maybe just stalk bedding? Your post has me questioning myself.

 

[Calhoun Farm]

I was wondering if you guys on here think holsteins are worth feeding out for feeder cattle? I got and oportunity to buy started holstein bull calves from a local dairy farm for 250 dollars a piece they are all about 200 pounds and off milk started onto grain. I was planning on taking the holsteins to about 700 pounds and then re selling them at the sale yard. I know they take more feed and dont grow as fast as colored cattle but with the price of colored cattle right now i dont know if i can bring myself to paying those high dollars. I grow my own feed which will help with the feed cost but was wondering if you guys think holsteins are woth feeding out or just buy less cattle with the money i got and go with colored cattle? Also was wondering if when selling through a sale yard is it worth selling your cattle as precondtioned cattle and vaccinating them compared to not spending the money on the vacination and just selling them as not vacinated cattle? Thanks Jason

Not sure where you are but at the barns I go to those sized calves won't bring $250 a piece so you're already over paying. Another thing is you better have plenty of medicine in the cabinet because dairy calves can't fight off disease like a beef calf will. Holsteins are very large framed and will take longer to put weight on than beef breeds. We tried the holstein deal for about 8months and it didn't go to well for us. We were buying calves the same size as your talking about, majority of them died from pneumonia. By the time we noticed they were sick the giving them a shot was a waste of medicine. Granted, not all holsteins will fall into this situation I'm explaining to you but keep this in mind. We had enough die that we sold out and started raising beef stockers. We can't buy as many like we did with the holsteins but we've had alot better luck with death and growth rates have been alot better/faster. Best of luck to you which ever route you take.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

Chris I had not checked feeder prices on black and whites for awhile, I did not realize the discount they were to colors right now. 130 bushel corn, 600# pellets, 400 days on feed, 6% death loss. Interest on the whole deal. Maybe it would work.

 

[Till-Hill]

I was wondering if you guys on here think holsteins are worth feeding out for feeder cattle? I got and oportunity to buy started holstein bull calves from a local dairy farm for 250 dollars a piece they are all about 200 pounds and off milk started onto grain. I was planning on taking the holsteins to about 700 pounds and then re selling them at the sale yard. I know they take more feed and dont grow as fast as colored cattle but with the price of colored cattle right now i dont know if i can bring myself to paying those high dollars. I grow my own feed which will help with the feed cost but was wondering if you guys think holsteins are woth feeding out or just buy less cattle with the money i got and go with colored cattle? Also was wondering if when selling through a sale yard is it worth selling your cattle as precondtioned cattle and vaccinating them compared to not spending the money on the vacination and just selling them as not vacinated cattle? Thanks Jason

Up here them 200 lb holsteins bring close to $400. I'd take them home get them cut, vac'd and implanted and corn/pellet and all they need for roughage is some bedding. Got to get them fat and not grow them. At our dairy we are getting around $180 head for 2-4 day old calves. Guy feeds over 90 on milk after work and sells them private anywhere from 300-600 lbs. At 350-400 lbs they go on a steer stuffer will all they can eat. I don't know your market but if you got your own feed and buy some good quality cattle you will make some cash. 400-600 lb bring $1.25-1.51 last week here. Good luck.

 

[Till-Hill]

Watching our local feeder sale on internet now. Group of 484 lb holsteins 2 rounds of shots just brought $1.50.......draft of 26 head @ 796 lbs and another of 25 @ 808 with last draft 26 @ 810 whole deal of 77 head ave 809 lbs. Guy buys as started calves just went thru brought $1.315! $1065.15/head

 

[Son of Butch]

I was wondering if you guys on here think holsteins are worth feeding out for feeder cattle? I got an opportunity to buy started holstein bull calves from a local dairy farm for 250 dollars a piece they are all about 200 pounds and off milk started onto grain. I was planning on taking the holsteins to about 700 pounds and then re selling them at the sale yard. Also was wondering is it worth selling your cattle as precondtioned cattle and vaccinating them compared to not spending the money on the vaccination and just selling them as not vaccinated cattle?

I think you you would come out alright. You don't say your location.
Here In Minnesota 200 lb holsteins sell for 1.50 - 1.75 or $300 - $350 hd
so $250 for good started holstein calves sounds like a good buy.
700 lb holsteins are selling for 1.20-1.30 or $840 - 910
depending on what you feed...taking holsteins from 200# to #700 in 7 months [210 days] is easily do-able.
500 lbs in 210 days = 2.38 lbs gain per day
Yes do it right and castrate, dehorn, implant [ralgrow] and vaccinate 14 days after getting them in pays off; imo.
90 days later re-implant [compudose] and re-vaccinate.
I'd estimate your breakeven price on 700# at 1.05 - 1.10
840 - 250 = $590 - $15 hd [vac. implants, castration] = $575
2.10 per hd per day for 210 days in feed cost, bedding, labor & misc expenses = $440 575 - 440 = $135 hd
840 - 135 = 705 = 1.01 + 5% marketing and trucking = 1.06 breakeven

My :2cents:

 

[shortybreeder]

I started raising holstein dairy steers a few years ago because I wanted a fair project and figured if our heifers couldn't win, maybe our steers could... I've learned quite a bit since that first year (which was a train wreck) and now I make good money from it (I even made money on $7 corn so the person who said $4.50 corn is too much, I strongly disagree). I guess all I will add at this point to help answer the question is that you're usually looking at a 6-8 lb feed conversion rate... Depending mostly on implant program and pellets. Fed holstein steers are bringing just as much as the beef heifers, and close to the beef steers around our area. Seen them scratching at the $1.45-$1.50 mark for 1400lbers. And $250 would be a great price for 200lb calves, we just sold a calf a couple weeks ago for $400 at 1.5mo of age.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

I started raising holstein dairy steers a few years ago because I wanted a fair project and figured if our heifers couldn't win, maybe our steers could... I've learned quite a bit since that first year (which was a train wreck) and now I make good money from it (I even made money on $7 corn so the person who said $4.50 corn is too much, I strongly disagree). I guess all I will add at this point to help answer the question is that you're usually looking at a 6-8 lb feed conversion rate... Depending mostly on implant program and pellets. Fed holstein steers are bringing just as much as the beef heifers, and close to the beef steers around our area. Seen them scratching at the $1.45-$1.50 mark for 1400lbers. And $250 would be a great price for 200lb calves, we just sold a calf a couple weeks ago for $400 at 1.5mo of age.

$.94 per pound of gain in corn alone before interest and protein and you think you made money?

 

[shortybreeder]

I started raising holstein dairy steers a few years ago because I wanted a fair project and figured if our heifers couldn't win, maybe our steers could... I've learned quite a bit since that first year (which was a train wreck) and now I make good money from it (I even made money on $7 corn so the person who said $4.50 corn is too much, I strongly disagree). I guess all I will add at this point to help answer the question is that you're usually looking at a 6-8 lb feed conversion rate... Depending mostly on implant program and pellets. Fed holstein steers are bringing just as much as the beef heifers, and close to the beef steers around our area. Seen them scratching at the $1.45-$1.50 mark for 1400lbers. And $250 would be a great price for 200lb calves, we just sold a calf a couple weeks ago for $400 at 1.5mo of age.

$.94 per pound of gain in corn alone before interest and protein and you think you made money?

I made about $1000 profit off my 4 steers.

 

[Taurus]

I started raising holstein dairy steers a few years ago because I wanted a fair project and figured if our heifers couldn't win, maybe our steers could... I've learned quite a bit since that first year (which was a train wreck) and now I make good money from it (I even made money on $7 corn so the person who said $4.50 corn is too much, I strongly disagree). I guess all I will add at this point to help answer the question is that you're usually looking at a 6-8 lb feed conversion rate... Depending mostly on implant program and pellets. Fed holstein steers are bringing just as much as the beef heifers, and close to the beef steers around our area. Seen them scratching at the $1.45-$1.50 mark for 1400lbers. And $250 would be a great price for 200lb calves, we just sold a calf a couple weeks ago for $400 at 1.5mo of age.

$.94 per pound of gain in corn alone before interest and protein and you think you made money?

I made about $1000 profit off my 4 steers.

That's it? I made about $1,000 profit off a single beef heifer calf....but I'm sure that high cattle prices play a role in your case.

 

[shortybreeder]

$.94 per pound of gain in corn alone before interest and protein and you think you made money?

I made about $1000 profit off my 4 steers.

That's it? I made about $1,000 profit off a single beef heifer calf....but I'm sure that high cattle prices play a role in your case.

It was $1000 profit after putting $7 corn into holstein dairy steers, and they were sold back in August.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

I started raising holstein dairy steers a few years ago because I wanted a fair project and figured if our heifers couldn't win, maybe our steers could... I've learned quite a bit since that first year (which was a train wreck) and now I make good money from it (I even made money on $7 corn so the person who said $4.50 corn is too much, I strongly disagree). I guess all I will add at this point to help answer the question is that you're usually looking at a 6-8 lb feed conversion rate... Depending mostly on implant program and pellets. Fed holstein steers are bringing just as much as the beef heifers, and close to the beef steers around our area. Seen them scratching at the $1.45-$1.50 mark for 1400lbers. And $250 would be a great price for 200lb calves, we just sold a calf a couple weeks ago for $400 at 1.5mo of age.

$.94 per pound of gain in corn alone before interest and protein and you think you made money?

I made about $1000 profit off my 4 steers.

you should go in the feedlot business.

 

[Nesikep]

Shortybreeder, so you'd need about 240 head to make a decent living for you and your family? I do realize that $7 corn certainly makes a big dent in the profits

 

[shortybreeder]

Yes, and this year I'm looking at almost $750 profit per head... More if August futures rise or if we sign for October. I locked in my corn price at $4.50/bushel for this year and I have a guaranteed floor of at least $1.30/lb live weight or market price if it is higher on the date of delivery.

 

[TexasBred]

Why would anyone literally give their corn away at $4.50?

 

[Aaron]

:bs: alert

 

[shortybreeder]

The corn I purchased from my dad, and the steers are contracted with the school for slaughter. In the end I make more money and the school saves some money. There are several news stories out there to prove it.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

I have a guaranteed floor of at least $1.30/lb live weight or market price if it is higher on the date of delivery.

Please explain how you do that.