Stocker Steve":3dp6zsdr said:
I revisited some old threads over the holidays. One humorous oldie was a warning that cheap feed and cheap fuel could not last - - so we needed to buy low line bulls. I tried to ballpark how long it would take to flip a cow herd regardless of the direction chosen, and came up with 8 to 10 years... Does this sound right?
Also looked at running more yearlings. I realize the value of gain is down a bit due to cheap corn, but this still looks like a good opportunity. What prevents you from doing this, and running fewer cows? Is there too much management required or ?
Two things for me. Time and availability. My area decent yearlings just aren't readily available. 2 options: sale barn or private treaty. Sale barn is a weekly investment of time = a full day shot. To flip a coin if there will be something worth the trip. Private treaty is tough because there are very few around me and those that may have some yearlings have them priced high enough that the margin is very small. Supply and demand reigns in my neck of the woods.
I have often wondered if I'm doing this all wrong with cow/calf. I believe I would enjoy running some stockers from spring until late fall or even first of year, but finding them around me in groups of more than 3 or 4 is a real challenge.
A neighbor of mine has 3 hog barns and also grows out some fats on the side. I suppose he has 70 to 140 beef at any given time. He runs the sale barn circuit in our area every week. We have talked often on the topic. Some weeks he brings home 4 or 5 young calfs; plenty of weeks, he drives an empty trailer home. Best he can do is keep 3 groups that are 'close' in size because the supply fluctuates greatly.