Not so good day at the sale barn...

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texanstraders

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had 2 nice calves I sent to the Emory Texas Auction on Tuesday...One weighed 520, the other was 595. Both were good stocky healthy calves...Got a check for $805 today....That was a let down...
 
texanstraders":1o5222va said:
had 2 nice calves I sent to the Emory Texas Auction on Tuesday...One weighed 520, the other was 595. Both were good stocky healthy calves...Got a check for $805 today....That was a let down...

Pretty decent price for this day and age for those weights - yes, it is far different from the days gone by - do not be disappointed - many of us have been living with this for a lot of years.

Regards

Bez+
 
That is a pretty sad price, about 72 cents a lb.? Pretty hard to keep a cow for a year on $400?
I suspect a lot of feeders are going to make out like bandits...but who knows the way this crazy economy is going?
But considering than corn is low, interest rates are low, feeder cattle prices are a joke...should equal a healthy pay check for the feeder? Hopefully the feedlots will be happy to spend some money next year if they make a few bucks this year?
I think the cow/calf guy is struggling to make ends meet with these poor prices? When does he finally throw up his hands and say "ENOUGH" I quit? I don't know of any business that can operate at a loss forever. We are getting prices for our calves that are poorer than prices in the Thirties(inflation adjusted)? I wonder how many doctors, lawyers, school teachers would like to take Thirties wages today?
 
Tell me about it. I sent 3 cows to the sale barn in Corsicana Tuesday. All heavy bred angus cows. Ages 4, 6&7 yrs.
My check amount $1600.00 As long as we keep offering them for whatever they are willing to pay, thats exactly what we will get.
 
Not a good time to sell calves, or cattle at a sale barn. Even though there are record numbers or cattle being brought in. Many people are just needing the money at this time.
 
the feedlots know the cattlemen are at their mercy.an they know the calves they buy they can pay cheap prices.we are holding our calves till they weigh 750lbs or better.an then sending them to the sale.
 
Check out these prices from the Tulsa STockyard this past Monday:
notice the prices for the stocker feeders... low, low...
Oklahoma City, OK Mon Dec 8, 2008 USDA-OK Dept Ag Mkt News

Tulsa Stockyards, Tulsa, OK.
Feeder Cattle Weighted Average Report for Mon 12/08/2008.

Receipts: 2909 Last Week: 2284 Year Ago: 300

Compared to last week: No.1 stocker steers 6.00-8.00 lower, feeders steers
3.00-5.00 lower. No.1 stocker heifers and feeder heifers 5.00-7.00 lower
.
Demand moderate to good on better cattle. Weigh-ups mostly average to full
especially on fleshy calves. Weather conditions good, but deteriorating in
latter week. Receipts included 48 percent steers, 38 percent heifers, 14
percent bulls, with 26 percent of feeder cattle over 600 lbs. Slaughter cows
sold 3.00-5.00 lower, bulls 4.00 lower. A total of 402 cows and bulls sold with
43 percent going to packers.

Feeder Steers Medium and Large 1
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
11 310-340 324 113.00-123.00 117.94
32 353-388 376 106.00-118.00 109.25
38 400-445 420 98.00-108.00 101.60
89 450-498 474 90.00-99.00 93.71
3 477 477 87.50 87.50 Fleshy
88 500-548 519 86.00-96.50 89.76
41 553-598 579 84.50-89.00 86.61
37 605-644 618 80.50-83.50 82.10
5 630-645 642 76.50-79.50 78.91 Fleshy
49 668-693 683 77.25-82.00 80.02
10 705-740 712 82.00-84.50 83.25
8 766-768 766 83.00-84.50 84.12
3 855-895 878 80.50-82.50 81.82

Feeder Steers Medium and Large 2
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
4 240 240 103.00 103.00
8 319-345 326 85.00-106.00 90.06
20 353-398 375 84.50-107.00 96.86
23 400-445 419 83.00-97.00 92.65
10 450-467 459 80.00-90.50 86.71
5 529 529 83.00 83.00
10 600-634 620 74.50-79.50 76.94

Feeder Bulls Medium and Large 1
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
5 442 442 93.50 93.50
17 460-499 488 86.50-90.50 88.43
9 523-545 532 79.00-85.00 82.44
15 550-595 564 77.00-82.50 79.83
14 615-632 623 74.00-80.50 78.73
15 653-693 670 72.00-76.00 75.08
12 700-735 720 70.00-79.00 74.75
9 750-790 769 64.00-72.00 66.56
4 999 999 58.00 58.00

Feeder Bulls Medium and Large 2
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
8 508-523 514 70.00-82.00 77.51
3 580-593 589 73.50-75.00 73.99
5 630-633 632 65.00-70.50 68.30
4 655-690 674 64.00-76.50 71.51
10 709-740 720 70.00-73.00 72.54

Feeder Heifers Medium and Large 1
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
11 328-339 335 90.50-97.50 94.32
14 375-399 389 84.00-92.00 87.22
2 385 385 82.50 82.50 Fleshy
54 400-434 418 82.00-92.00 86.81
50 455-498 477 77.00-84.00 79.91
91 500-545 516 77.00-83.25 80.14
35 553-585 563 73.50-80.00 76.84
20 600-639 614 72.00-75.50 73.39
17 650-695 680 71.00-73.00 72.33
6 710-715 711 74.00-76.50 76.08
11 794-795 794 65.00-70.00 69.54

Feeder Heifers Medium and Large 2
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
10 302-338 324 73.00-85.50 81.04
6 358-390 369 75.00-78.00 76.37
33 400-447 438 70.00-81.00 77.35
10 460-485 467 71.00-74.50 73.41
8 515-535 524 70.00-75.00 71.48
3 570-585 578 70.00-73.00 71.66
6 610-633 625 65.00-68.50 66.75

Slaughter Cows:
Head %Lean Weight Average Dress High Dress Low Dress
Breakers 6 75-80% 1280-1630 41.00-44.50 36.50-40.00
Boners 36 80-85% 1075-1450 40.00-43.50 36.00-39.50
Lean 52 85-90% 950-1200 38.00-42.00 33.50-37.00
Light 55 85-90% 775--970 32.00-35.50 36.00-38.00 27.50-31.00

Slaughter Bulls:
Head Weight Average Dress High Dress Low Dress
Y.G. 1-2 21 1100-1900 52.50-56.00 48.00-51.50

Replacement Cows: Pre-tested for bangs, pregnancy, and age.
Medium and Large 1-2:
Age Weight Months Bred Quality Price
4-6 yr old 1000-1450 4-7 months avg quality 640.00-790.00

Source: Oklahoma Dept of Ag-USDA Market News, Oklahoma City, OK
J.D. Inda
Telephone (405) 232-5425 Market Recording 405-621-5533
www.ams.usda.gov/lsmarketnews
 
Don't blame the sale barns - put the blame on the high rollers that have taken our economy and turned it upside down.

I went to Carthage, TX Tuesday to the sale. Saw some good 650 to 725 lb steers (not bull yearlings). They brough $78 per cwt. Thinking that looked too cheap, I went home and did some pencil pushing. At $78 per cwt., it would probably take $85 per cwt to put together a load of 75 head and get them to the Texas panhandle from East Texas. Cost of gain in feed yard would be $0.80 to $0.85 per lb. IF the cattle gained 3 lbs. a day, interest at 7%, a 1% death loss and $15 per head for miscellanous expenses. The futures market for June was $81.25. Those steers would loose about $65 per head.

Until feeding cattle gets profitable and the feeders make up some equity l;ost the last two years, our calf prices will suck.
 
Well. I SHOULD have kept them until march or april. Hay is cheap and plentiful. Lesson learned. Highlight for the week is I sold a breeder bull to some really nice folks. Got a fair price and they got a great bull with some progeny to be proud of. I'm glad he's going to work, instead of the freezer....
 
BC, what if they are coming from the east coast. Add 6-7 cents a pound to the cost. What are they loosing then? I can't afford to keep them but can not affort to sell them. Texanstrader, hay is still high and scarce in the east.
What are the options?
 
At Exeter, Missouri today calf prices were terrible. They had a big run of calves and buyers didnt want them. There were more calves in the 60's than the 70's. People felt they were down a full 8 dollars from last week. It might have been because of the ice storm coming and the shippers didnt want them. Same calves were bringing 1.10-1.20 about 8 to 10 weeks ago.
Cows to go back to the farm were still selling surprisingly well. Groups of short solid cows with 175 pound calves were bringing 785-800. Third period short solid cows were running around 750. These were from a 60 cow herd. Nothing registered or fancy, just good calf raising, mixed cows. Very few young cows, just older cows. Those same cows were bringing 1000-1100 6 weeks ago.
Top quality 1800-2200 lb charolais and angus slaughter bulls were bringing 52-55 cents. Same bulls were bringing 75-80 cents 8 weeks ago and up to 94 cents 4-5 months ago.
I have about 50 calves on the cows that weigh around 650 up to 700 lbs I was planning on selling next week. If the ice storm comes, I may have to hold them until January.
Special stock cow sale on Friday night that might have some good bargains. Might have to buy some if the price is right. Like they say when you are losing money per head----"Gotta make it up in volume"
No noticeable decline in meat prices in the store, however.
 
We sold some 700 wt. colored steers last wk for $78 lb. Short and solids were bringing in the $30's lb. The sale barn owner told us it will get much worse before it will get any better :( (in mideast missouri) He was apologizing... My reply "your not God!"

We sold butcher steers at $1.85 per lb hangin weight. About 1,100-1,200lbs live weight. Cattle dress out at 50-60%? I think we did better this way. Sold approx 280 lb butcher hogs at $130 per head. We made a little there. My 5 yr old son sold young butcher roosters for $2 per head! Yikes we took a hit on that one :shock:

I think we had better start say our prayers...and keep on keepin' on!
 
Corn is less but not cheap and I suspect most feedlots are still losing money.
There should be some profit in taking calves to grass next spring. Price roll back looks like 0 to 10 cents per pound.
With the 2008 price of chemical fertilizer - - buying in hay and by products to feed short term cows looks reasonable IF you have an effective use for the manure fertility.

- Seems like an old time livestock/crop rotation is the way to go if you like dirt farming. Oats was the 2008 money crop here.
- Seems like freezer beef is the way to go if you like marketing. We sell grass feed beef for $2.25 per pound.
- Seems like buying short term cows is the way to go if you want to gamble on a turn around. The 1100 to 1250# cows have been running $450 to $550 per head here.
 
Stocker Steve: Bred cow market has really improved up here in the last couple of weeks. Now mind you these are dispersal cows, young and a lot of quality. Cows anywhere from $700 to $1,000. That would be $575-$820 US dollars. I suspect it might be a case of some grain farmers trying to avoid income tax or oil field boys doing the same?
I would think calves wintered cheaply and then put on grass might make a buck next year, but who knows? If this goofy economy doesn't get turned around it might be a real wreck?
 
Stocker Steve":3jjyk0vq said:
Corn is less but not cheap and I suspect most feedlots are still losing money.
There should be some profit in taking calves to grass next spring. Price roll back looks like 0 to 10 cents per pound.
With the 2008 price of chemical fertilizer - - buying in hay and by products to feed short term cows looks reasonable IF you have an effective use for the manure fertility.

- Seems like an old time livestock/crop rotation is the way to go if you like dirt farming. Oats was the 2008 money crop here.
- Seems like freezer beef is the way to go if you like marketing. We sell grass feed beef for $2.25 per pound.
- Seems like buying short term cows is the way to go if you want to gamble on a turn around. The 1100 to 1250# cows have been running $450 to $550 per head here.

I list our butcher steer's on craigslist. You have to explain the whole process in super simple detail, it's not common sence stuff for city folks. Once they figure out they save big $ their sold! Also, check w/ your local butcher shop...sometimes they have ppl waiting for beef...that makes for an easy sale too.
 
stocky":iasf7q7i said:
At Exeter, Missouri today calf prices were terrible.
No noticeable decline in meat prices in the store, however.
You can say that again, costs $19 a pound for tenderloin. Somebody's getting pooched...
 
i took my livestock to this auction and what i got was a shock my livestock was abused and one look like it went through a meat grinder or a boxing match her face was so beat up her eyes where cut up and swollen she has two burn mark on her where they shocked her with a cattle probe i also sent a few babies they are not even 1 year old and one of them suffered the same abuse that the one who took up boxing while in their care i know here in texas animals are just property but to me they are part of our family, i know i am not the only one that feels this way...i gave in depth info on each of my animals and i was mocked by the auctioneer just because i am woman in a mans business world...the one that had seen what went on had said something to the toothless wonder about what he was doing and he replied mind your dam business...here i thought it was 2015 and we as women are equal...but it seems some are still living in the past...my favorite quote is we can not have a good future if one lives in the past...although there is one there that had tried to help me but i was told the other partners are bull headed fine by me i am too just cause i do not have a set doesn't make lesser of a human...if you as an owner if your employees do something that is not right as the owner you still responsible for said employ........i think that if you are not set up for a certain livestock then it is simple just say we do not sale that livestock..........but no its about the money so if money makes you inhuman then i would rather be dirt poor....no amount of money will make you human or a person that god will look down on and say i am proud of that person........................ i just thought others should know how i feel am i done no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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