new to raising cattle

[cypressfarms]

we are from iowa. And around here the cows are all farm fed then sold as fat cattle. Is there good money in this? Or what do i need to do different to make a profit?

I guess there are two ways of looking at this:

You've inherited 13 head of cattle. You could sell them all now ("cash out"), and it would be pure profit. You could keep them and feed them out as fat cattle. The second option involves risk (some may get sick and die), your labor, and other costs (feed etc.). The first is pure profit.

There really isn't any way to make "good money" with cattle. You won't get rich on cattle (if you do, let me know how!) You have to love what your doing. The price is high now, but it will come down. The way that your describing is really labor and input expensive. I couldn't imagine having to keep all of my calves until they were 1,200 pounds to sell.

 

[Kingfisher]

I couldn't imagine having to keep all of my calves until they were 1,200 pounds to sell.[/quote]

What exactly do you mean by this statement? When is the last time you had a cow " die?'

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Guys, these are not COWS, they are feeders.
You have the feed, obviously you have the labor, I would continue feeding them. Unless, you have another way to utilize the feed you have???
If you plan on continue operating the farm, and plan on purchasing more animals in the future, you might as well continue feeding these out as planned. Yes, it's a crap shoot - market could hold, market could get better, market could drop. But, they are going to be putting on POUNDS (you get paid for pounds) and the feed is paid for.
It's your call. Do you want to get out of the feeding business & cash in?? yes, they are worth good money right now, will be worth more (theoretically, can't be guaranteed).
If the bunks are clean am & pm - I'd be increasing their feed now. More feed in - faster they will gain. Just don't dump more than they clean up, you'll end up getting them sick. Increase slow & steady.

 

[tmlonghorns]

Not sure that I agree with that! These "COWS" weigh 900 LBS. If they are Holsteins or Jersey's then they are good to go at that weight.
It kind of sounds like he has the feed on the farm but he could also be selling that feed as well so you have to take that into consideration. If he bought the feed specific for the "COWS" then it is a different story but that is not the way I read it.
The differnce between selling a "COW" that is not full weight versus one that could grow longer could be huge on the wallet and that difference does not take much.
Assume a 900 LB cow vs. a 1200 animal and feed cost for arguement sake at $1.00/day
900 LB cow at 540 days = cost of $540. If you can get .90LB your take is $810. Minus your costs of $540 and you netted $270. Times 13 head and that = $3,510 in your wallet
1200 LB cow at 720 days = cost of $720. Price per Lb will go and lets say .80LB and your take is $960. Minus your costs of $720 and you only netted $240. Times 13 head and that = $3,120.
Now we can argue what the costs to feed are and how may days old to reach certain weights but my point is that you will not always put more in your pocket by feeding a cow out. If you are going to succeed in raising cattle, or cash crops for that matter, you have to pay attention to the market, know your break even point, and sell at the right time, not when you have to sell. Farming is just gambling. Margins are thin and when you sell can make or break you.
Just my .02

 

[VCC]

Reading the original post, it looks like Jeanne is on the right track. He never refers to them as "Cows" just cattle. If these are steers that his grandpa was fattening up for slaughter then he needs to follow Jeanne's advice, up the feed a little and in about 100 days they should be pushing 1200 pounds at around 540 days or 18 months old.

Fat steers are selling for around $1 a pound, 900 weights are around 1.10 (Reference: Western livestock Journal) so if prices hold he will get around 1200 for the fats or 990 for the cattle right now. He could make $2730 more for the fats if all goes well and prices stay the same.

If he has the feed and the time might as well finish them out.
I would guess feeding cattle out and selling them as fats is common practice in the Corn Belt.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Thank you! someone with common sense. :tiphat:
Where people got it into their head this man was trying to feed COWS I just can't imagine. And why "assume" they might be holstein or Jerseys :shock: where did that come from??
Lots of farms feed out a handfull of steers. If he had the time, he could sell them as freezer beef and make a LOT more money.
Allischalmers - hopefully you are not totally confused!

 

[allischalmers1984]

im pretty sure they are angus cattle. Not so much confused. Just wish i understood the market better. Do any of you guys sell your as slaughter cattle? Or sell them to feed yards ?

 

[ChrisB]

I agree with Jeanne and VCC on feeding them out. I don't think there are too many 900 lb. steers going to slaughter in the Midwest. If you brought them to a salebarn now they would be bought and sent to a feedlot and brought up to 1400-1500 lbs.

I just checked the Zumbrota, MN report and on Monday the top selling steers were 1581 lbs. and sold for $110.75 - that's $1751/hd! On Wednesday the top 1450 lbs. @ 106.75. There is no telling what the market will do and there is a chance you could lose money by adding weight to them but traditionally the market is pretty strong in March/April. If you have the feed available, I would increase it until they have feed in front of them all the time and figure on them gaining 100 lbs. a month and keep them until they are at least 1300 lbs but would prefer to have them 1400-1450 lbs.

 

[SRBeef]

A common problem in this industry is a focus on the gross and not the net profit.

You say "if you have the feed available"...well unless you just won the lottery, that feed was not free. You don't say what it is but if it's corn grain in the bin it is worth around $6.11/bu this afternoon. Depending on what feed conversion ratio and other costs you might have it may or may not be PROFITABLE to take them to 1300 or 1450 lb.

The problem as I see it is the income comes in one well-defined check. The outgo/expenses are not usually as clear and obvious but they are still there.

Working to a NET PROFIT rather than a GROSS INCOME may take us in a slightly different direction than we expect. jmho.

Jim

 

[ChrisB]

I totally see where you are coming from Jim and all the advice given has been made by making a lot of assumptions.

But I still think 9 times out of 10 a small farmer is better off walking corn off the farm than loading a semi and paying hauling charges are plus whatever dockage there might be. That may change from here on out but if the fat cattle market keeps pace with the corn market I think it will continue to be the case. I believe he did say he was feeding ground ear corn and shelled corn. Ear corn may be a lot harder to market and may make feeding it especially attractive.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I totally see where you are coming from Jim and all the advice given has been made by making a lot of assumptions.

But I still think 9 times out of 10 a small farmer is better off walking corn off the farm than loading a semi and paying hauling charges are plus whatever dockage there might be. That may change from here on out but if the fat cattle market keeps pace with the corn market I think it will continue to be the case. I believe he did say he was feeding ground ear corn and shelled corn. Ear corn may be a lot harder to market and may make feeding it especially attractive.

Exactly!
Allischalmers - There are many different "quality" & sizes of Angus. Yours may have the frame to go to 1300-1400# - but, on average, I think you would be looking at 1250# as a "normal" finish weight for a british steer (Angus). Feedlot cattle are fed out to a "finished" weight, then marketed. For you, determining WHEN these calves are actually "finished" might be a challenge. But, if you contact your local Cooperative Extension, they should be able to help you out. Or any neighbor that runs beef cattle.
I sell the majority of my steers in the fall as feeders, but we retain ownership of a few that we place on a feedlot. Last year, they were late Feb & March Simmental steers. They were harvested on Mar 16, 2010 - April 20, & May 8 (feedlot shipped out several different groups as they were ready). Hot carcass weights ranged from 730 to 833# and got $1.55 to $1.66 (the average finished live weight for all the steers on this feedlot was 1176# with a HCW average of 731# and an avg price of $1.57
Paying someone else to feed them out, I netted $850.50/hd
Now, if you sold some of these freezer trade to individuals (1/2 carcass), you would net profit a lot more. If you finish them out and put one in your own freezer, will be a profit right there alone.
Are you going to keep the farm? Are there cows on the farm or just these feeders?

 

[SRBeef]

... I still think 9 times out of 10 a small farmer is better off walking corn off the farm...

Depending on a given situation I would often agree with your statement. That's why my standing corn in the field is being harvested by steers right now. In my case I can GROW corn very efficiently but have to hire the entire conventional harvesting process: combining, hauling, drying, storage...

The answer will vary widely with a given producer's situation.

My reason for commenting was that the decision to put more weight on steers vs selling them a bit lighter should be made on the basis of net profit, not gross income.

That could end up positive for feeding them longer or it could end up selling them now, taking advantage of current good prices rather than gambling on prices down the road and doing something else with the "feed" - either sell grain or maybe run it through some new lighter calves... depends. As in many things there just is no one "right" answer for everyone's situation.

Jim

 

[VCC]

As it was stated "if you have the feed, feed them out" makes since. He has not cost at this time, except his time and labor. If he has to buy feed then you correct SR.

 

[allischalmers1984]

went ahead and just sold the cattle. They weighed 14306lbs and we got paid $14752.73 Does that sound like a good price. Guess i thought it would be more

 

[highgrit]

I don't know about midwest prices, but you made twenty to thirty dollars more per cwt. than I do here, when I sell through the sale barn.