I thought i had this figured out

[Dixieangus]

Ok so i have been buying 250lb feeders and feeding them to around 400lbs, now i know sometimes things go wrong and you are lucky to break even. But i guess my question is what is my best bet to do on cattle? Like buying skinny 500lbers and filling them back out etc, etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Buy breds, calve them, rebreed and sell as 3 in 1's. Best bang for the buck but risky if you don't know what you're buying

 

[Isomade]

I know a guy that claims to make a living buying SS and broke mouth pairs and selling the cow as bred or packer once the calf is weaned. Claims he never keeps a cow past the one calf.

 

[Susie David]

We faithfully attend the bred cow sale in October and buy a few head every year calve them out and keep the best pairs and make a few bucks on the lesser ones. We try to keep a few extra tons of good alfalfa in the barn for the winter over.
It is a whole lot easier to buy a good animal and keep them in condition than trying to fatten up a poor one...some are just poor doers and will never make you any money.
and that's my two bits worth...asked for or not!
Dave Mc

 

[baleflipper]

all you are realy selling is grass. keeping a cow thru the winter and letting her lose weight is throwing away grass.
buy thin cows in spring and palpate,if open resell an buy another.Cow gets fat an has calf sell both before heavy frost.
My Pops favorite way to own cows. He all ways said if you dont have grass you dont need cows.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I know of a guy that buys ss and broke mouth cows every fall . He plants a winter pasture every Sept. Runs the cows on the grass until his winter pasture comes in in Nov. Sells all the cows and calves by march 15 . He sells the cows open or as pairs. Doesn't own a bull. He let's his grass grow all year. He usually has 150 to 200 head a year on 250 acres. But it helps to,have 6 chicken houses.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Ok so i have been buying 250lb feeders and feeding them to around 400lbs, now i know sometimes things go wrong and you are lucky to break even. But i guess my question is what is my best bet to do on cattle?

Depends totally on what you can and will do...
Depends on whether you are limited by capital or grass or time or skill...
Most folks try to make a buck trading. Tough to do unless you are working a large multi state area and have access to a feedlot.
For you, taking your light feeders to grass would be a good pencil exercise.

 

[Lane]

I think the post concerning "what you can/will do and what your limitations
are is very true. I think you might be leaving money on the table by selling
the calves at the weight you do. With that said, you may be just grazing and
time of year might limit what you can do.

I buy light 3 wt. calves, (bulls, heifers, steers) and have a price I am willing
to pay in mind based on the expected market out about 6 months. We "baby-
sit" these calves for about the first 30 days to keep them alive and during this
time we get them worked and vaccinated. Our operation is based on feeding
a high fiber ration and utilizing whatever pasture is available for the time of
the year.

My experience has been that 4-5 wt. calves usually are the class of cattle that
sell the cheapest. I also think that once the cattle reach this weight future gain
is easier and cheaper going forward. If I keep cattle until about 7-8 wt. they are
ready to enter a feedlot (or heifers sold as possible replacements).

The bottom line in my book is cost of gain and marketing. You can do everything
right, but if it doesn't pay you may be just spinning your wheels.

Lane

 

[Dixieangus]

ok so to answer the questions. I have a bout 3 acres with a barn and headgate with a pond and am currently feeding hay and about 9lbs of 12%. I have another lot about the same size fenced in. Then about 25 acres of unfenced land that i could eventually fence. I like the idea of buying 5wts and feeding them to 7 or 8. your thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

First off if you're feeding hay your losing money. Second, find some higher % cubes. I suppliment with 30% cubes. 20% would work too, just have to feed more of it. You have some untapped land it sounds like and I would be rotational grazing it and get rid of the hay. But that's just me