Profit from cattle?? Where is it?

[OhioRiver]

I just hope to break even on the first go around if I can. Once I get a clue on how to sharpen the pen and plan my work then work my plan I would have added value to the operation. I have to crawl before I walk and I have not gotten out of the womb yet. so to speak.

It will pay off. You only have to go as far as the traditional stock models for cattle prices. Too many people are using the forage feed and sell when it leaves method. The supply is quadruple what it should be in Oct/Nov. The new guys should target selling in May June to offset that. be nice, it is easy to buy at these low prices it seems if the market will take your product 6 months from now. I think you can win that way. The cattle sale model needs to balance out and will only do so if all the guys stop dumping their cattle at the same time. They just don't get it. I don't get them. It is like the stock market in that aspect.......buy low sell high. When two people want the same thing the price is increased by the others need as well..........when you have two cows and one buyer that wants just one. Someone takes their cow back. The problem is the people are not choosing to take their cow back. They are IN NEED of anything and take a dump price and then be nice about it. I think the sustainability question is very good here. Can you afford to play the game? If not, you would be wise expending your time and funds in another environment. If you do not know anything else then that is your fault not the cattle market.....adapt to change or it will change you.

Breeding cattle are like land, real estate, even stocks. They are NOT a liquid investment. You don't go out when you want to get out you have to wait for when the market will LET you get out. Otherwise you have to be prepared to sit and hold. That guy PROBABLY could have gotten a $1000 a cow (or the inflation adjusted equivalent to 2007 dollars) IF he had a better marketing plan and took the time to wait on the buyer.

This is why I'm feeding 16 "sellable" calves through the winter. Coming out of a 2 year drought was more than a lot of local farmers could bear, and the sale barn was cram packed with local stock. I decided to gamble and looked at the long range "expected " winter forcast, a la-nina winter, hopefully mild. Maybe my gamble will pay off in the spring, if not, lesson learned and i'll move on.

The problem with the may or june market is the cost of feed to have something saleable at that time. Some parts of the country don;t have the luxury of year round forage. You either have to calf when you have the grass or feed hay. If you have the availble winter forage or the hay to feed over the winter you can hold the calves or calve later in the year. Either way you have to feed growing calves during the most expensive time of the year.[/quote]

 

[OhioRiver]

Are these prices more in line with consistent selling of seedstock per se?

The market grades them. When there is great demand they bring great price. As supply increases price decreases. I was at an Angus sale just this weekend. This time it was the Alabama Angus Assn Fall Sale.

The top selling cow was a 5 year old New Design 1407 daughter out of a Precision 1680 cow with a bull calf. A good cow that was originally bought at Gardiner's. She brought $3900.

The #2 cow was a heavy bred 6 year old JLB Exacto 416 daughter out a Traveler cow. She brought $3600. Her February GAR Solution daughter brought $1900 for a combined lot price of $5500.

The top selling bull was an 18 month old GAR Retail Product sired bull, who had EXT and Precision 1680 on both the top and bottom of his pedigree. His $B was 53.6. He brought $2750.

The #3 cow was an Emblazon daughter out of an EXT cow with a Predestined calf. She brought $2600.

A similarly bred cow with a Sitz Alliance 6595 heifer calf brought $2500.

A BAR EXT Traveler 205 cow with a Mytty In Focus heifer also brought $2500.

An 878 grand daughter with an otherwise all Alabama pedigree and a GAR Solution heifer also brought $2500.

A SAF Strategy 9015 daughter with a Boyd New Day heifer also brought $2500.

A 4 year old Millcreek Diversity daughter out of a SAF 598 Bando 5175 cow with a GAR Retail Product bull calf brought $2500.

A 7 year old New Design 036 daughter with a heifer calf brought $2400.

Everything else brought less than $2000....all the way down to a 14 month old Boyd New Day 8005 bull (+37.96 $B) the stockyard bought for $800.

 

[Brandonm2]

I would consider most of those prices a little LOW; but I don't attend that many sales (just 3 in the last 12 months) one higher, one lower.

 

[OhioRiver]

okay....does the production sale market swoop lower in oct and nov...................how often are production sales in apr and may

I would consider most of those prices a little LOW; but I don't attend that many sales (just 3 in the last 12 months) one higher, one lower.

 

[OhioRiver]

good money or what??

Im not sure everyone feel's that way. I'm still able to make money with puts and calls. I'm still

 

[somn]

good money or what??

Im not sure everyone feel's that way. I'm still able to make money with puts and calls. I'm still

Good enough money to continue doing it. I always have the option to make more.

 

[OhioRiver]

i am seeing the marketing picture. I like websites with small sale video catalogs. I can make those so I like the idea.

I would consider most of those prices a little LOW; but I don't attend that many sales (just 3 in the last 12 months) one higher, one lower.

 

[shorty]

Most of your profit in the cattle business is the smell and the manure.

 

[OhioRiver]

Well, if that were true then everyone should get out of the business as you would be considered INSANE to keep doing a business you don't believe in and making no money looking for a different result without a new attitude or approach.

Most of your profit in the cattle business is the smell and the manure.

 

[sanchez]

Well, if that were true then everyone should get out of the business as you would be considered INSANE to keep doing a business you don't believe in and making no money looking for a different result without a new attitude or approach.

Most of your profit in the cattle business is the smell and the manure.

For a lot of people it's more than just money.

 

[OhioRiver]

Perhaps, and good for them. But they should not comment on boards threads where real profit is considered if they are not of the same mindset. Hobby is okay and it has its place, however, if you don't have the same lust for money others do you cannot encourage them in the same light

Well, if that were true then everyone should get out of the business as you would be considered INSANE to keep doing a business you don't believe in and making no money looking for a different result without a new attitude or approach.

Most of your profit in the cattle business is the smell and the manure.

For a lot of people it's more than just money.

 

[Brandonm2]

I want/need to make money off of my enterprises; BUT if you "LUST for money" there are a lot more lucrative places to be with it. I have run a lot of numbers recently for the family and if you factor in the cost of land, livestock, and equipment it is really hard for a large livestock operation to realistically return more than 6% on investment (after you pay a reasonable amount to yourself for your management and labor). The only real financial advantage it has over selling out and putting all the money in stocks and bonds is the 30% hit you take in net worth (I am in Alabama so we pay a 28% capital gain plus a 5% state income tax after the basis is subtracted....and our basis is negligible).

 

[Howdyjabo]

I take a loss over what I could make if I sold out-- just to keep the family farm and our lifestyle(heritage) going. Some things are just worth more than money.

 

[CattleHand]

I think these guys are telling you something fairly consistant. You work cattle because you enjoy it and if you know what you are doing and you are not a fool you can make enough to live off of. You wont get a big stack of spending cash from working cattle, but thats not why most people do it. Its a hobby and a job. As the guy above me stated its also family heritage, my family has worked cattle as long as they have been in America, its just a way of life not a fast track to the rich life.

 

[sanchez]

Perhaps, and good for them. But they should not comment on boards threads where real profit is considered if they are not of the same mindset. Hobby is okay and it has its place, however, if you don't have the same lust for money others do you cannot encourage them in the same light

Well, if that were true then everyone should get out of the business as you would be considered INSANE to keep doing a business you don't believe in and making no money looking for a different result without a new attitude or approach.

Most of your profit in the cattle business is the smell and the manure.

For a lot of people it's more than just money.

Well if you're looking at this solely from a money-making perspective it's probably best to find a different industry. You can find much higher gains on the average in various other ventures without as much liability, capital costs, etc, etc.

 

[OhioRiver]

how many people have had good success with their own website regarding marketing your own cattle

what problems have you encountered with the sites

 

[MikeC]

how many people have had good success with their own website regarding marketing your own cattle

what problems have you encountered with the sites

I know very few people who shop for cattle on the web. BRG on here has good success in web marketing but he will be the first to tell you that it's just a very small part of the whole scheme.

To most, web marketing is just an added bonus.

 

[OhioRiver]

Is it just networking per se. Direct literature marketing or what is the leading method?

how many people have had good success with their own website regarding marketing your own cattle

what problems have you encountered with the sites

I know very few people who shop for cattle on the web. BRG on here has good success in web marketing but he will be the first to tell you that it's just a very small part of the whole scheme.

To most, web marketing is just an added bonus.

 

[MikeC]

Is it just networking per se. Direct literature marketing or what is the leading method?

how many people have had good success with their own website regarding marketing your own cattle

what problems have you encountered with the sites

I know very few people who shop for cattle on the web. BRG on here has good success in web marketing but he will be the first to tell you that it's just a very small part of the whole scheme.

To most, web marketing is just an added bonus.

"Word of mouth" would have to be #1 in my assessment.

 

[OhioRiver]

being new , as I clearly am, would people buying my ET products actually pay decent or not cause I am new. Even though the pedigree and EPD's are solid though

Is it just networking per se. Direct literature marketing or what is the leading method?

how many people have had good success with their own website regarding marketing your own cattle

what problems have you encountered with the sites

I know very few people who shop for cattle on the web. BRG on here has good success in web marketing but he will be the first to tell you that it's just a very small part of the whole scheme.

To most, web marketing is just an added bonus.

"Word of mouth" would have to be #1 in my assessment.