per lb prices

[dieselbeef]

why does a steer that wieghs 1000 lbs bring 1$/lb and a steer that wieghs 450 bring 1.89$/lb

soomeone asked me this today and i figured they can finish em the way they want is all i could think of...

what other reason is there ...almost works out the same so....

 

[Nesikep]

I really don't know, because it doesn't make any sense. I get pizzed in the fall time when my dinks are within $100 per head of my best beauties.

Personally, and being organic, I only keep the big guys.. firstly, they've proven they grow, and will continue to do so over the winter, and secondly, they just look juicy and nice, I can show them off... I'll let whoever wants a 500 lb 7 month old have him.

 

[Jogeephus]

Never has made much sense to me either.

 

[greybeard]

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=89859

 

[Shanghai]

why does a steer that wieghs 1000 lbs bring 1$/lb and a steer that wieghs 450 bring 1.89$/lb

soomeone asked me this today and i figured they can finish em the way they want is all i could think of...

what other reason is there ...almost works out the same so....

Prices are off and you can't process a 450# steer
450 x 1.89 = 850.00
1000 x 1.00 = 1000.00
The backgrounder buys the calf and puts 550#'s on the calf and sells a 1000 @ 1.00 and makes 150.00
The numbers are off but you get what I'm trying to say

 

[Dave]

The difference in price is how much some one figures they can put the weight on for. Of course in this discussion a 1,000 pounder is an odd ball. Too small to sell as a slaughter steer and too big to fit the desires of most feedlots. But if you were to look at the difference in actual dollars between a 500 pounder and a 850 pounder. A 500 pound steer at $1.90 is $950. The same steer at 850 pounds at $1.45 cost $1,232. 50. So the question is can you add that 350 pounds for $282.50 (80 cents per pound of gain) and still make a profit? Obviously some people can, mostly on pasture.

 

[Hook]

Db, lighter weights also sell higher here because they can load more on a truck to the feed lots or backgrounders. They have buying power we don't and the price per pound of gain is cheaper than ours obviously.

 

[dieselbeef]

i thoughtabout the trucking..but yer paying 50/more per lb..i guess i just dont know the math well enough

 

[TexasBred]

why does a steer that wieghs 1000 lbs bring 1$/lb and a steer that wieghs 450 bring 1.89$/lb

soomeone asked me this today and i figured they can finish em the way they want is all i could think of...

what other reason is there ...almost works out the same so....

4 six packs are always higher than a case too. :shock:

 

[Bez__]

I really don't know, because it doesn't make any sense. I get pizzed in the fall time when my dinks are within $100 per head of my best beauties.

Personally, and being organic, I only keep the big guys.. firstly, they've proven they grow, and will continue to do so over the winter, and secondly, they just look juicy and nice, I can show them off... I'll let whoever wants a 500 lb 7 month old have him.

Which simply proves you can sell those dinks asap and keep the money.

Bez

 

[dieselbeef]

my thoughts also..why keep em then . if the intention is not to raise em out to sell as meat why havea calf on the place that is more than 6-7 mos

 

[Aaron]

I figured this out about 10 years ago and have sold accordingly ever since. Never keep any young stock over the 800 lb mark as you never get paid for your feed/time/effort. Unless of course you are selling fats or have volumes that can fill pots. In the low price years and low-cost feed, green yearlings make the most money. But nowadays, I am money ahead on selling calves. You can gross a few hundred dollars more by keeping calves to yearling, but if you lose one nowadays, it takes more of them to make up the difference. It might work with fall calves and cheap gain on grass, but it certainly does not work with spring calves - again, unless you have volume.

 

[bigbull338]

i was a feedlot owner id want calves to weigh over 800lbs when i bought them.because that mess days on feedan less lbs of feed an hay to get them to butcher weight.id have no prob buying a 1000lb calf if the price is right.because that calf could be finished in less than 60 days if everything goes right.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

That's simple those first 4 or 5 cwt of calf cost significantly more to produce than the next 4 or 5 cwt. do. Hence the higher price per pound.

 

[Nesikep]

It is true that the first 100 lbs of calf cost the most to produce, but from 500 to 1000 lbs still takes a lot of feed, and you don't get paid for it.

I may keep some heavy calves over the winter this year, but I already have a market for them which will pay a premium, which makes a big difference... I'm looking at 1.60/lb for a grass finished steer at 20 months, which is pretty fair around here... our prices seem a lot lower than in texas

 

[branguscowgirl]

The difference in price is how much some one figures they can put the weight on for. Of course in this discussion a 1,000 pounder is an odd ball. Too small to sell as a slaughter steer and too big to fit the desires of most feedlots. But if you were to look at the difference in actual dollars between a 500 pounder and a 850 pounder. A 500 pound steer at $1.90 is $950. The same steer at 850 pounds at $1.45 cost $1,232. 50. So the question is can you add that 350 pounds for $282.50 (80 cents per pound of gain) and still make a profit? Obviously some people can, mostly on pasture.

That's if those prices hold while you are putting that 350 pounds on them. It's a risk that the prices could fall right?

 

[Nesikep]

Well, you're taking a heck of a gamble if you ask me... If the price of an 850 lb'er goes to 1.12/lb, you're out ALL your feed and expenses, and if if falls to just 1.35, you're going to have to add those 350 lbs for under $200...

I'm not saying it *can't* work.. it may very well work.. THIS year, but unless you're significantly fattening your bank book, it'll suddenly come and bite you in the arse and you better have some reserves to tide you through

 

[branguscowgirl]

You can almost make that by leasing your pasture out to someone else, and not have the risk or expense. You have to add in vaccines and worming also..........

 

[Shanghai]

Margins are tighter than that for lots of cattle but the volume of cattle is how they make it work

 

[Jogeephus]

Margins are tighter than that for lots of cattle but the volume of cattle is how they make it work

I disagree. If you are losing money on cattle then having more volume simply means you are losing more money. This is what runs many out of the stocker business in one bad cycle.

I think what you mean to say is its the repetition of volume that makes it work. If you sell on a reduced market you are able to buy more cattle at a cheaper price so you have replaced less cattle with more and essentially what you are doing is using the number of cattle as a measure of wealth rather than using the dollar. These down turns scare many off but its these dips that set the stage for the best profit for those who stay in the game.