How do you market your cattle?

[gcreekrch]

Most years steer calves are forward contracted several months in advance. This year in late January for late October delivery. Cull cows mostly go to the sale yard as do all other partial loads of feeder cattle. Some are also sold by sealed bid or in house video for feedlot cattle.

 

[Dave]

You guys still hauling cattle in tandem trailers down there or have some tridems started showing up yet?

Both depends on who is available and how much weight you are moving. There is a steady stream of pots going by on the freeway. Lots of big feedlots over in Idaho and the kill plants are in south central Washington.

 

[WB Angus]

We sell freezer beef most being repeat customers. The local sale barn some but as a last resort and convenience typically. Mostly sell replacement hefiers yearly through our local Show me Select heifer sale put on by University of Missouri. They are put on in spring and fall. Also in my area we can market bulls through a consignment sale put on twice a year as well.

 

[Lucky]

I wean everything in mid- late November, feed 6-8#s commodity mix a day with little to no hay until April 1st then turn out on grass. We try to sell between July 1st- Aug 1st at OKC. I like to have a game plan also and this one seems to be working for me. Most I know flip flop around every year and I did too for good while. It seemed like I was spending more time and money on doing different things than I was making. I also started a feeding routine on the cows and bulls that's just the same thing year after year and it has made a big difference in my operation too. I hope I'm done with the yearly trial and error deal but the way things are changing you never know.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

I hire the local drug dealer to sell them for me.

What are they cutting it with, or stepping on it with? Hahaha

 

[Dave]

We booked a date for the one and done cows at the kill plant. August 15 there will be 100 cows taking a ride. 37 of those cows are mine. Selling cull cows direct to the plant is the way to go.

 

[gcreekrch]

We booked a date for the one and done cows at the kill plant. August 15 there will be 100 cows taking a ride. 37 of those cows are mine. Selling cull cows direct to the plant is the way to go.

Are they contracted or based on delivery day value?

 

[Dave]

Are they contracted or based on delivery day value?

It is delivery date value. B tried to send a load a couple weeks ago. The first available date they had back then would have been today. So he went ahead and booked the old cows for August 15. Mid August is when we figured we wanted to go with them. They have capacity to run 2,000 head a day. But a shortage of workers has them running about 1,700 a day.

 

[Dave]

Last year the plant had a scale for what they paid. It was divided according to carcass weight and grade. There was about a 20 cent spread top to bottom. If I remember correctly last year it was from $1.27 to $1.47. Lighter poor grade at the bottom. Heavier better grade at the top. I kept that in mind when buying. I tried to buy bigger frame cows that hopefully will fill out on grass.

 

[gcreekrch]

Butcher cows here with 550 lb or less carcass are discounted for big dollars.

 

[snoopdog]

We use different venues. If it's an auction I got no problem PO'g them.

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

Dave, how much more did your culls bring by selling direct rather than hauling to the stockyard? Thanks

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

Last year the plant had a scale for what they paid. It was divided according to carcass weight and grade. There was about a 20 cent spread top to bottom. If I remember correctly last year it was from $1.27 to $1.47. Lighter poor grade at the bottom. Heavier better grade at the top. I kept that in mind when buying. I tried to buy bigger frame cows that hopefully will fill out on grass.

Dave, how much more did your culls bring by selling direct rather than hauling to the stockyard? Thanks

 

[Dave]

Dave, how much more did your culls bring by selling direct rather than hauling to the stockyard? Thanks

That would be a guess. My guess is $100 a head. Maybe more.

 

[elkwc]

Look at your check, the attachment will list the calves, what they weigh, price and buyer. The buyer is more than likely an order buyer who is putting together groups of same sex,quality and weight cattle. I know in my neck of the woods, we have some big order buying companies that will put together cattle from 6 to 10 sales per day.

Some sales around here will list the buyer's name. Some will only list a number or letter for the buyer and won't share with the seller the buyers name. Last week I believe it was buyers B and maybe D who bought our calves.

 

[Dave]

Some sales around here will list the buyer's name. Some will only list a number or letter for the buyer and won't share with the seller the buyers name. Last week I believe it was buyers B and maybe D who bought our calves.

Here all the buyers get a number. They have permanent numbers for those who are there regularly and temporary numbers for the once a year or occasional buyers. The two sales I go to I have a permanent number at one. The other the owner micro manages everything. The office girls can't give you a permanent number. You have to ask the owner. I haven't bothered. I just get a temporary number every week.

Both annouce the sellers name and home town along with weaning and vaccination information on the majority of the cattle.

 

[kenny thomas]

Some sales around here will list the buyer's name. Some will only list a number or letter for the buyer and won't share with the seller the buyers name. Last week I believe it was buyers B and maybe D who bought our calves.

Here the sellers name and weight comes up as the animal comes in the ring. When it sells it shows the buyers name and the price. Keeps down the traders.

 

[elkwc]

Here the sellers name and weight comes up as the animal comes in the ring. When it sells it shows the buyers name and the price. Keeps down the traders.

We have sold at 4 different barns over the last year. Two of the barns in the past listed the buyers name on the sellers sheet. Now none do.

 

[kenny thomas]

We have sold at 4 different barns over the last year. Two of the barns in the past listed the buyers name on the sellers sheet. Now none do.

I can't imagine a barn not showing the buyer.

 

[FullCircleWVa]

You all have got me curious to check my sale barn receipts at the house to see what our barn does. I've sold a single heifer private treaty and two steer and a cull at the sale barn after they wouldn't sell for what I asked on FB.. Only asking 1.35 cwt (rough avg. last spring).. they sold at the barn for 1.48 and 1.53 so I wasn't upset. I broke even on the cull.. bought a pair for 865 that she couldn't make enough milk, thought I could condition her back to it.. I could not. Sold bottle calf for 350 PT and got 526 for the cow at the barn (skinny cow, tested negative for Johnes, just bm and couldn't graze well I reckon).. a lesson learned at not much expense other than time and diesel..