Longhorn cross

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I see a lot of people that raise cattle as a hobby or for the agricultural exemption on their property taxes, they raise the kind of cattle that they like and not what the buyers want. They make up reasons to say they need eared cattle for this or that but in truth they raise them because they want to. As long as they can afford to keep doing it, they will. I'm sure that close to every operation that raises the BrahmaX, LonghornX, and many other kinds of crossbred cattle there is someone that is raising good straight bred beef cattle, if they can do it why can't everyone? It all comes down to their individual preference.
If you choose to raise that kind of cattle you should know up front that your cattle are NOT what the buyers want, and they will discount them accordingly. Please don't come on this message board and complain about getting robbed at the sale barn when it was your choice. Buyers are looking for quality and will pay more for quality. I'm 20 years into trying to improve the quality of my small cattle herd because I know that to stay in business the price you receive is important. This is the cattle business, treat it like a business.

I'm sure that this post has ruffled some feathers!
 
J+ Cattle said:
I see a lot of people that raise cattle as a hobby or for the agricultural exemption on their property taxes, they raise the kind of cattle that they like and not what the buyers want. They make up reasons to say they need eared cattle for this or that but in truth they raise them because they want to. As long as they can afford to keep doing it, they will. I'm sure that close to every operation that raises the BrahmaX, LonghornX, and many other kinds of crossbred cattle there is someone that is raising good straight bred beef cattle, if they can do it why can't everyone? It all comes down to their individual preference.
If you choose to raise that kind of cattle you should know up front that your cattle are NOT what the buyers want, and they will discount them accordingly. Please don't come on this message board and complain about getting robbed at the sale barn when it was your choice. Buyers are looking for quality and will pay more for quality. I'm 20 years into trying to improve the quality of my small cattle herd because I know that to stay in business the price you receive is important. This is the cattle business, treat it like a business.

I'm sure that this post has ruffled some feathers!
Click to expand...
Lmao, I've never seen anyone complain about it on here. Nice conversation with yourself, though.
 
@J+ Cattle if you are raising a straight bred herd that is working for you, congratulations, and yes it can be done. in the same way that others who choose to run a crossbred herd are doing. I'll also agree that using longhorn/Corrientes crosses is not the most viable way to get the most money out of your cowherd in most circumstances, unless buying very cheap, and selling at the ceiling price for those kinds of calves.
When you bring up Brahman crosses that's a different subject all together.
Your location, environment etc, often dictates the kind of cattle you raise. Many areas use Brahman crosses because they work and work better than straight bred cattle.
Cattle that work in Montana and North Dakota, may not work in Texas and Louisiana, or in the fescue belt like here in KY.
As to the straight bred vs crossbred
I'm one of those that has chosen to run a crossbred herd (non longhorn) Angus and Hereford based percentages. It's what we have to work with and makes more sense than continuing to throw money away at trying to find straight breed cattle that work.
Yes there are issues with marketing red calves for less than the black ones. Yes it is frustrating because they are the same exact calves just with a different color hide.
We have topped the market on several occasions with our bred heifers both red and black, and each time we have done it has been with crossbred calves.
 
Last edited:
J+ Cattle said:
I see a lot of people that raise cattle as a hobby or for the agricultural exemption on their property taxes, they raise the kind of cattle that they like and not what the buyers want. They make up reasons to say they need eared cattle for this or that but in truth they raise them because they want to. As long as they can afford to keep doing it, they will. I'm sure that close to every operation that raises the BrahmaX, LonghornX, and many other kinds of crossbred cattle there is someone that is raising good straight bred beef cattle, if they can do it why can't everyone? It all comes down to their individual preference.
If you choose to raise that kind of cattle you should know up front that your cattle are NOT what the buyers want, and they will discount them accordingly. Please don't come on this message board and complain about getting robbed at the sale barn when it was your choice. Buyers are looking for quality and will pay more for quality. I'm 20 years into trying to improve the quality of my small cattle herd because I know that to stay in business the price you receive is important. This is the cattle business, treat it like a business.

I'm sure that this post has ruffled some feathers!
Click to expand...
That is true for those who have an ag exemption. To me the burn come when they say that they sell the same as other cattle. If that is true them the people raising good quality cattle are getting the shaft. Low volume buyers mixing them together and blending a load. The feedlots paying for them on the average. I do know some people who make them work. They ship them to California and graze them on cheap pasture. Then to Wyoming for summer pasture. They take them up to 1,000 pounds. A short stay in the feedlot with no intention of them making grade. They just take the discount for being selects. But even with this plan they buy them cheap.
 
J+ Cattle said:
I see a lot of people that raise cattle as a hobby or for the agricultural exemption on their property taxes, they raise the kind of cattle that they like and not what the buyers want. They make up reasons to say they need eared cattle for this or that but in truth they raise them because they want to. As long as they can afford to keep doing it, they will. I'm sure that close to every operation that raises the BrahmaX, LonghornX, and many other kinds of crossbred cattle there is someone that is raising good straight bred beef cattle, if they can do it why can't everyone? It all comes down to their individual preference.
If you choose to raise that kind of cattle you should know up front that your cattle are NOT what the buyers want, and they will discount them accordingly. Please don't come on this message board and complain about getting robbed at the sale barn when it was your choice. Buyers are looking for quality and will pay more for quality. I'm 20 years into trying to improve the quality of my small cattle herd because I know that to stay in business the price you receive is important. This is the cattle business, treat it like a business.

I'm sure that this post has ruffled some feathers!
Click to expand...
Please use the reply feature so we all know which post you are responding to.

And you've put a lot of wisdom into your post. I hope it helps whoever it is directed to.
 
Ky hills said:
@J+ Cattle if you are raising a straight bred herd that is working for you, congratulations, and yes it can be done. in the same way that others who choose to run a crossbred herd are doing. I'll also agree that using longhorn/Corrientes crosses is not the most viable way to get the most money out of your cowherd in most circumstances, unless buying very cheap, and selling at the ceiling price for those kinds of calves.
When you bring up Brahman crosses that's a different subject all together.
Your location, environment etc, often dictates the kind of cattle you raise. Many areas use Brahman crosses because they work and work better than straight bred cattle.
Cattle that work in Montana and North Dakota, may not work in Texas and Louisiana, or in the fescue belt like here in KY.
As to the straight bred vs crossbred
I'm one of those that has chosen to run a crossbred herd (non longhorn) Angus and Hereford based percentages. It's what we have to work with and makes more sense than continuing to throw money away at trying to find straight breed cattle that work.
Yes there are issues with marketing red calves for less than the black ones. Yes it is frustrating because they are the same exact calves just with a different color hide.
We have topped the market on several occasions with our bred heifers both red and black, and each time we have done it has been with crossbred calves.
Click to expand...
I understand that different regions have different environments which influences the cattle type/breed but when I read about someone raising BrahmaX cattle in a northern location I know it's not because they need cattle with sweat glands that can dissipate heat. There's a real price difference between the northern plains and the southern plain which in my opinion is because of the quality difference In the cattle sold. The northern plains has more larger ranching operations that are managed as a business because it's the primary income source for the family or individual. In my area most operations are small and the primary income is a town job. The cattle are more of a hobby or side job for them and it isn't managed as well because of the limited time devoted to it. I'm convinced that many of these operations are only raising cattle for the ag exemption.
A crossbred beef cow can still be good as long as it was the product of a quality beef cow and a quality beef bull. I view Longhorn, Corriente and Brahma crosses as lower quality and I think the cattle buyers would agree based upon their buying habits.
The hide color issue is because regardless of the quality grade at the slaughter house only black hided cattle can get a CAB premium. That's a different issue!
 
Travlr said:
Please use the reply feature so we all know which post you are responding to.

And you've put a lot of wisdom into your post. I hope it helps whoever it is directed to.
Click to expand...
@Travlr the post wasn't in reply to anyone, just a general statement. There have been other threads posted where people claimed they could get the same price for a calf because the buyers couldn't tell the difference. I think this was the reason for the original post.
There have also been posts in other threads where people felt they were taken advantage of when their calf brought much less than the market average. @Dave pointed out very clearly the buyers can tell the difference and bid accordingly. He wasn't surprise by the lower price, in fact he expected it.
 
Ky hills said:
@J+ Cattle if you are raising a straight bred herd that is working for you, congratulations, and yes it can be done. in the same way that others who choose to run a crossbred herd are doing. I'll also agree that using longhorn/Corrientes crosses is not the most viable way to get the most money out of your cowherd in most circumstances, unless buying very cheap, and selling at the ceiling price for those kinds of calves.
When you bring up Brahman crosses that's a different subject all together.
Your location, environment etc, often dictates the kind of cattle you raise. Many areas use Brahman crosses because they work and work better than straight bred cattle.
Cattle that work in Montana and North Dakota, may not work in Texas and Louisiana, or in the fescue belt like here in KY.
As to the straight bred vs crossbred
I'm one of those that has chosen to run a crossbred herd (non longhorn) Angus and Hereford based percentages. It's what we have to work with and makes more sense than continuing to throw money away at trying to find straight breed cattle that work.
Yes there are issues with marketing red calves for less than the black ones. Yes it is frustrating because they are the same exact calves just with a different color hide.
We have topped the market on several occasions with our bred heifers both red and black, and each time we have done it has been with crossbred calves.
Click to expand...


I wish I could buy every red calf you raise, with your cattle there should not be a discount at the sale barn.
 
J+ Cattle said:
@Travlr the post wasn't in reply to anyone, just a general statement. There have been other threads posted where people claimed they could get the same price for a calf because the buyers couldn't tell the difference. I think this was the reason for the original post.
There have also been posts in other threads where people felt they were taken advantage of when their calf brought much less than the market average. @Dave pointed out very clearly the buyers can tell the difference and bid accordingly. He wasn't surprise by the lower price, in fact he expected it.
Click to expand...
Oh... then disregard... lol

Great post though...
 
How much less could you take for a calf who's dam required 1/3 the forage, was purchased for 1/3 the price and required one third the calving attention,worming and other per cow expenses?
 
anewcomer said:
How much less could you take for a calf who's dam required 1/3 the forage, was purchased for 1/3 the price and required one third the calving attention,worming and other per cow expenses?
Click to expand...
???

How is a buyer supposed to know how much you fed the cow, what she cost, or how you care for her/inputs... when buying a calf?
 
anewcomer said:
How much less could you take for a calf who's dam required 1/3 the forage, was purchased for 1/3 the price and required one third the calving attention,worming and other per cow expenses?
Click to expand...
Interesting that you came up with a figure of 1/3, the heifer in the real world example brought very close to 1/3 the price of the other heifers that he sold.
 
anewcomer said:
How much less could you take for a calf who's dam required 1/3 the forage, was purchased for 1/3 the price and required one third the calving attention,worming and other per cow expenses?
Click to expand...
LOL.
You can tell when someones "experience" is either reading the internet or perhaps an advertising campaign writer for longhorn breeders. I have to assume anyone that thinks those numbers are even remotely accurate have never raised beef cattle.
 
anewcomer said:
How much less could you take for a calf who's dam required 1/3 the forage, was purchased for 1/3 the price and required one third the calving attention,worming and other per cow expenses?
Click to expand...
Is the calf going to be 1/3 the size of an average calf?
 
Thank you for your responses. I asked this question a while back and got no response. My point was, you can get less income per calf if your expenses per calf are commensurate. It's not the gross revenue that counts, it's the net. Virtually every calf born goes through the feedlot system. Top quality cattle and low quality cattle. Some make money, some don't, on both ends of the quality spectrum,
 
M Magis, I can assure you that my 45 years in the cattle business exceeds yours. I look at the cost of production more than the revenue produced. Cattle producers are in the mess they are in because they don't pay attention to their production costs. I am not an advocate of Longhorns, by the way.
 
anewcomer said:
Thank you for your responses. I asked this question a while back and got no response. My point was, you can get less income per calf if your expenses per calf are commensurate. It's not the gross revenue that counts, it's the net. Virtually every calf born goes through the feedlot system. Top quality cattle and low quality cattle. Some make money, some don't, on both ends of the quality spectrum,
Click to expand...
Okay... that makes sense. As long as your expenses are a proper ratio of sales you can come out with poor cattle just as well as you can come out with superior cattle.

I doubt there are many people here that don't understand that... although there seem to be a lot of people that throw expensive inputs at their cattle and then wonder why they have a problem making money.
 
anewcomer said:
Thank you for your responses. I asked this question a while back and got no response. My point was, you can get less income per calf if your expenses per calf are commensurate. It's not the gross revenue that counts, it's the net. Virtually every calf born goes through the feedlot system. Top quality cattle and low quality cattle. Some make money, some don't, on both ends of the quality spectrum,
Click to expand...
Why would you not want the maximum income from those minimal expenses? You don't necessarily need poor type cattle to do that.
 

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