I was talking to a man today and he was telling me that he and his brother had bought 60 feeder calves in May and sold them in Sept. He said they kept a record of every penny spent on the calves and after all expenses they cleared $177 per calve. I don't know what breed, how big they were or anything more than what I just wrote. It sounded pretty good to me but I don't know squat so I was looking for opinions.
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Aaron
Well-known member
That is an unbelievable profit on short keeps. He must have really cut his inputs, bought them cheap and sold for a darn good price. I know a lot of guys that would be happy with half of that profit per head this year. :cowboy:
Bez+
Well-known member
I think a lot of us would like to know how he did this - and that way we could all make a buck or two.
He did well
Bez+
He did well
Bez+
newrancher
Well-known member
He did real well, got in and out at just the right time sounds like. I am looking at a loss now on my May feeders, maybe possibly breakeven. :cry2:
SRBeef
Well-known member
There is a lot of talk here and elsewhere about the way to make a profit is to buy calves real cheap.
I would like to know who it is that is SELLING all these quality calves real "cheap" and how long they are going to be able to do this if this is going to be the source of our profit.
One man's gain seems to be another man's loss.
It seems like we need a more long term and stable means of turning a profit other than making money off of another producers loss. Personally I am not going to sell any calves real "cheap" and would urge others not to unless you have to. jmho.
I would like to know who it is that is SELLING all these quality calves real "cheap" and how long they are going to be able to do this if this is going to be the source of our profit.
One man's gain seems to be another man's loss.
It seems like we need a more long term and stable means of turning a profit other than making money off of another producers loss. Personally I am not going to sell any calves real "cheap" and would urge others not to unless you have to. jmho.
grannysoo
Well-known member
Must have hijacked a couple tractor trailer loads of feed...
4 years ago, the last time we ran stockers, we made huge profit. When we bought the 6 weight calves we paifd in the neighborhood of 80 cwt, turned them out on clover pasture for 4 months and sold them as 9 weights for 125 cwt. We just through dumb luck happened to hit the markets just exactly right. When we sold them we couldn;t afford to buy more though.
jkwilson
Well-known member
dun":e70jbktg said:
Happened to me once too. Had some pasture rented so I went to the sale and bought a load of 6 weights, including some Holsteins. Had them hauled straight to the pasture, and didn't spend another dime on them except a few buckets of corn once a week to keep them coming into the catch pen. Sold them when the grass ran out. Crazy as heck. I just wanted to keep the pasture, and I was just hoping to cover the rent and haul bills.
The one time I bought feeder cattle for a short term I did real well. Bought a neighbor's calf crop, average 480lbs and paid $.98 across the board for steers and heifers. Kept them for 90 days, fed them little grain and hay. Don't remember what they averaged dollar wise, but they weighed 625, and I made $110/hd. Just happened to hit the market right. Fairly low when I bought, and went up afterwards.
That fella did real well too. I'm kind of afraid to do it again, but this winter/spring might be the time to do it if cattle prices keep going down.
That fella did real well too. I'm kind of afraid to do it again, but this winter/spring might be the time to do it if cattle prices keep going down.
Angus Cowman
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There used to be an older gentleman that I learned alot from he had ran feeders for over 30 yrs his philosophy was He bought a load every week and sold a load every week he said if he sells high he buys high and if he sells low he buys low
he said the only way he made money was the consistancy of being in the market for a long term
he said you can make money on the short term but don't try it twice in a row he said you got to look at a feeder operation the same as a cow calf operation you got to be in it for the long run
he said the only way he made money was the consistancy of being in the market for a long term
he said you can make money on the short term but don't try it twice in a row he said you got to look at a feeder operation the same as a cow calf operation you got to be in it for the long run
dyates
Well-known member
Sounds remotely possible to me. I sold some black steers in early June that averaged 550 pounds. They brought 1.10. Assuming he bought similar animals, put them on grass with little or no extra inputs for 120 days, he could probably get 200 pounds on each animal. He would then have to find a market that paid at leat 1.04 for 750 pound animals. I think that would have been possible in early September for fancy black steers, especially 60 matched animals in a lot.
djinwa
Well-known member
I know a few people who like going to the local casino. They tell me all about their winnings - never about their losses. With so much winning going on, makes you wonder where those casinos get the money for buildings, salaries, etc. I also wonder why those gamblers who always win don't just quit their jobs and stop by the casino a few minutes a day and collect money.
Bez+
Well-known member
djinwa":39kovhq3 said:
Interesting comment - lots of stories above on "once I did well" - I wish some would tell me they do well ALL the time.
I want to visit them and bottle their methods - I would be rich!!
Cheers
Bez+
