Keeper

[Crazy Farmgirl]

Nice looking heifer, as are the others, great condition. I too like a cow that goes 1200-1400 lb they seem to do best in my operation, the smaller ones tend to not fair as well during our nasty winters. Of course there are other factors that play into that besides size, that is just how it works in my herd.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

inyati13 - I would take a whole calf crop like your steer - unless he is extremely small framed for his age.
The buyers don't want small frame cattle and they do want LEAN calves (not necessarily long legged). There is that happy medium.
In my case, steers are just a cash flow "sideline" - with some bulls making decent money - my females are my money makers. Breeders don't want "toads", but they do want them moderate.
If all your calves are terminal product, then you need to breed for the "ultimate" feedlot calf - good luck!! that market changes faster than breeding stock. They are always looking for "the discount", so if producers all start producing what doesn't get discounted, they change the rules :lol:

 

[inyati13]

Jeanne, the guy who hauls my cattle is well known here. He was a buyer for 20 years, has his own herd, is an auctioneer, AIs cattle, and sells hams. Keith Phillips knows him well and you know Keith and Chan. I will not name him but he may be a little on the windy side and out-dated on some of his information but I think he knows what the buyers want in this area. He pretty much said exactly what glacierridge did above. He said the feeder lot buyers here want stock they can put weight on at a lower feed conversion rate to use glacierridge's words. He said when you are selling over-conditioned calves you are conflicting with what they do. The calf in the picture was not small. He was large framed. He weighed 635 pounds at 5 months old. He looked like he had been body building as the county extension agent commented when she was at the farm this summer. By the way this is a calf from a bred heifer I bought from Keith. The calf was born early on March 31. I drove up to the barn and she was down and I could see his front feet. I could feel his head and knew it was the biggest head of my short career as a cattleman. I called my neighbor and with his guidance, we helped her deliver the calf and both were fine. But I knew from birth this was going to be a big stout boy. This calf had the most unique personality of any I have had so far. He was so mild, you could pet him anytime. He was a pet from birth. His mom is also like that. I just was just rubbing her belly a while ago in the rain we are having. I would say his bones were very heavy and stout but were medium in length making him short of leg and compact. As I watched him grow, I knew I would hate the day when he would be sold but at least I thought I would be well compensated. I was disappointed.

 

[inyati13]

Jeanne, I am sorry. I mis-read your post. You are in agreement. Sorry for my rebuttal of what is not in your post. :oops:

 

[glacierridge]

Sounds like it was a nice calf in more ways than one. I'm sorry you got burned on the sale of him. Big, thick and fast growing with a good disposition is my favorite kind of calf, wish they all were like that. Hopefully better luck in the future. What a shame. :(

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Jeanne, I am sorry. I mis-read your post. You are in agreement. Sorry for my rebuttal of what is not in your post. :oops:

No problem - so was the calf straight Angus or SimAngus?

 

[Stocker Steve]

Nice heifer but a bit too much leg for me. Bigger doesn't mean better!
I like depth in my cattle as depth weighs- you don't get paid for the fresh air under the underline!

:nod:

 

[Stocker Steve]

Nice heifer but a bit too much leg for me. Bigger doesn't mean better!
I like depth in my cattle as depth weighs- you don't get paid for the fresh air under the underline!

:nod:

 

[Stocker Steve]

The guy who hauled my fall calves told me when he picked them up that this calf was short legged, big boned and very muscular. I beamed with pride. Then he said he won't bring as much as the ones that were leggy and lean. I didn't believe him. Well, he was right. He explained to me that when you are selling into the feeder market, that you will get the best per pound price for lean leggy calves. So now I am rethinking the types of heifers that I should keep.]

Yes - - sell the leggy heifers.

 

[AussieLim]

Aussie, this is what makes cattle production so interesting. I sold calves back in March of this year and got upwards of $1.80 per pound. They were leggy and weighed from 650 to 780. I sent somes calves out in the early fall and one that was stout and short legged went for only $1.00 per pound. He was a beautiful simangus steer calf. The guy who hauled my fall calves told me when he picked them up that this calf was short legged, big boned and very muscular. I beamed with pride. Then he said he won't bring as much as the ones that were leggy and lean. I didn't believe him. Well, he was right. He explained to me that when you are selling into the feeder market, that you will get the best per pound price for lean leggy calves. So now I am rethinking the types of heifers that I should keep. All is not as it sometimes appears when you are in the market!!! Here is a picture of the stout short legged calf that disappointed me.

Nice steer Inyati- my type of animal- They always want frame on those feeder cattle all over the globe as they are coat hangers to hang meat on. A stut thick set animal is perceived to have done it's growing only to run to fat on feed and become wasty.
I like to breed the ones you demonstrated in this photo as we finish our cattle here on grass. Our aim is to get them to a marketable domestic weight at 8-10 months of age with enough cover and bloom on them.
I will still repeat that you don't get paid for the fresh air that blows beneath the underline but i will admit that if you are selling feeder cattle it's all about the potential you can grow the animal!

 

[AussieLim]

Aussie, this is what makes cattle production so interesting. I sold calves back in March of this year and got upwards of $1.80 per pound. They were leggy and weighed from 650 to 780. I sent somes calves out in the early fall and one that was stout and short legged went for only $1.00 per pound. He was a beautiful simangus steer calf. The guy who hauled my fall calves told me when he picked them up that this calf was short legged, big boned and very muscular. I beamed with pride. Then he said he won't bring as much as the ones that were leggy and lean. I didn't believe him. Well, he was right. He explained to me that when you are selling into the feeder market, that you will get the best per pound price for lean leggy calves. So now I am rethinking the types of heifers that I should keep. All is not as it sometimes appears when you are in the market!!! Here is a picture of the stout short legged calf that disappointed me.

Nice steer Inyati- my type of animal- They always want frame on those feeder cattle all over the globe as they are coat hangers to hang meat on. A stut thick set animal is perceived to have done it's growing only to run to fat on feed and become wasty.
I like to breed the ones you demonstrated in this photo as we finish our cattle here on grass. Our aim is to get them to a marketable domestic weight at 8-10 months of age with enough cover and bloom on them.
I will still repeat that you don't get paid for the fresh air that blows beneath the underline but i will admit that if you are selling feeder cattle it's all about the potential you can grow the animal!