Replacements Heifers

[Named'em Tamed'em]

At the annual Evergreen Exclusive, hosted by the Washington Angus Association last Saturday (Oct. 10), registered open heifers went from $1,200 to $7,000. The bottom end heifers were usually born in April and either out of relatively unknown herd bulls rather than known AI sires or from smaller operations. There was one April 2015 heifer that sold for $6,000. The four high-selling heifers ($7,000; $6,250; and 2 at $6,000) were sired by SydGen FATE 2800, AAR Tex X 7008 SA, Connealy Final Product and Silveiras Style 9303. A good mix of show prospects for juniors and brood cow prospects for breeders.

Did you happen to notice if Julie Boggs from Westbrook Angus had any heifers entered?

For my area, they have what they call in Hawaii as "da kind".

Excellent people excellent cattle !

Scott

 

[Luckiamute]

Scott:
Westbrook Angus did have four weanling heifers consigned that were born in January or February of 2015. They sold for $1,850 to $2,600. I actually bought a bred heifer of their's at the 2013 Evergreen sale and that heifer raised a heck of a first calf -- a big Connealy Final Product steer we are butchering in two weeks. Julie was very nice to talk to and they were great at following up and answering any questions I had about the heifer I purchased.
Kurt

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

They are hard working people!

 

[Oldtimer]

js

I wish I could say I never used the hot bull of the month. When we first started (25 years ago) we would read the Angus Journal and not knowing any better buy into the hype of the new bull. But over the years learned that was not what worked, you have to have a genetic plan then the hard part is sticking to that genetic plan no matter what hot new bull they parade out in front of you. We do use bulls from AI studs, but not unless they have the genetic makeup to fit our plan and not for curve bending EPD's. My calves out of our herd bulls work every bit as well and in most cases better than the AI sired calves, but it is also a business and we have a few customers that don't want to buy a bull unless he is AI sired :bang: I tend to get crabby when folks start talking about those curve benders, my experience with them was so dang bad. Purchased a cow back 15 years ago from a dispersal in Ohio, curve bending carcass EPD's she had a heifer calf on her side the top 1% of carcass the marketing rep told us we just had to have this cow and calf the kind to build a herd around. We bit hook line and sinker got her home there wasn't enough feed in Florida to keep that cow in condition we finally got her bred never did get the heifer calf to breed. The second calf out of the cow was as bad as her just couldn't deal with washy grass heat and humidity. It was an expensive lesson but those are generally the type that will stick with you. After that we haven't veered off our plan I let all those big boys play the curve bending game and I just do what I love and breed cattle that I like and hopefully others will like them as well.

gizmom

gizmom- I think the biggest share of us that have been in cattle business have gotten hooked in somewhere along the line with all the promises from the promotions of the "bigger, better, fasters"... Its just common nature... Back in the late 60's- I even got hooked in by all the "experts" and my college professors that were saying that if you didn't go with the continentals you would be left behind... So we started trying all the simmi, limmi, char combinations-- and after years of battling the problems that came with them, finally went back to angus and hereford -- but I went with the "bull of the month bigger, better, fasters" which presented their own set of problems...
Eventually, as I got older, I realized the same thing-- breed cattle that you like and not what the big boys or the "experts" say you have to- breed cattle that fit your management style and environment - and after nearly 20 years of doing that I've found a type of cattle that is much more trouble free and a lot easier to manage... Nothing now could ever make me go back thru the experiences I had with the others...And hopefully my son can benefit from my experiences with the line of cattle we are building...

 

[gizmom]

OT
I guess the truth is there is no better teacher than experience. I enjoy seeing your cattle, you have some really good ones that work in your environment and with your management, which in my book equals success! I love seeing photos of your country and your cattle. I still feel like our herd is a work in progress, I don't totally throw EPD's out the window and know we can improve our EPD profiles but it will take time because I refuse to sacrifice one area to improve another, it all has to be a nice balance. I sure am excited about this years calf crop, we have some little studs in the making, if I ever reach the point that the new calf crop doesn't get me excited I guess it will be time to retire.

gizmom

 

[fenceman]

(I think many folks are going to get stuck calving out heifers that they wanted to sell as bred)

I resemble that remark.

 

[Stocker Steve]

(I think many folks are going to get stuck calving out heifers that they wanted to sell as bred)

I resemble that remark.

If you believe in the cattle cycle -- then the bottom is not in yet. So no reason to calve them unless they are discounted compared to other females.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

we haven't veered off our plan I let all those big boys play the curve bending game and I just do what I love and breed cattle that I like and hopefully others will like them as well.

gizmom

And from what I have seen, its working out just fine!

 

[elkwc]

Prices at the sales on commercial bred heifer vary from $1,650-2,650. Private treaty asking prices vary from $2,500-3,900. There are black heifers on every corner and they are not selling very fast even if they are very good. Black baldies and Red Angus are hard to find and moving fast if priced at or below $2,750

 

[Stocker Steve]

Prices at the sales on commercial bred heifer vary from $1,650-2,650. Private treaty asking prices vary from $2,500-3,900. There are black heifers on every corner and they are not selling very fast even if they are very good. Black baldies and Red Angus are hard to find and moving fast if priced at or below $2,750

What is driving a higher demand for red ?

 

[Supa Dexta]

The shift from black brainwashing. Its starting and its great.

 

[Lazy M]

They make prettier cows (red)

 

[cowgirl8]

Ours pop out a red one ever so often. I'm keeping a red and grey brindle...Uber excited. Black is boring..

 

[Oldtimer]

Prices at the sales on commercial bred heifer vary from $1,650-2,650. Private treaty asking prices vary from $2,500-3,900. There are black heifers on every corner and they are not selling very fast even if they are very good. Black baldies and Red Angus are hard to find and moving fast if priced at or below $2,750

elkwc- Where are you located at? This must be a regional issue as I've seen no change around here.. The demand is still for black... The buyers still cut back a red or a baldie or any with too much white when they are sorting thru a pen of black cattle... And the high quality black replacements and bred cattle top the markets..

 

[BRG]

OT, part of what you are saying is true but part isn't. Yes they will cut out a red steer if in a load of blacks, that part is true. But you watch Superior or go to a barn and watch a load of Red Angus heifer calves sell, and they out sell the blacks by a ways. Your neighbors sold 300 head on Superior this summer weighing 510 lbs and got $3.43/lbs. You will not see black heifers bring that. So no, it isn't a regional thing, it is an industry thing. The demand comes from a few things. 1. For years, Red Angus took a back seat and had to scrape and claw to sell a Red Angus bull, while the blacks were selling bull after bull for more money, so more black bulls were kept which resulted in selling bulls that probably should have been cut. 2. CAB turned all breeds black so now we don't know if a black set of heifers is Angus or some other breed, while the Red Angus developed the Red Angus tag which is the only way Red Angus sired calves can qualify for Angus type grids, so Red Angus stayed true. 3. Supply and demand, when you can't find a Red Angus heifer on every corner like you can a black heifer, demand kicks in and people from all over the country are chasing these girls. My phone is busy with buyers from the states of Missouri, TX, KS, and OK who are in the hunt to refill their pastures with Red Angus heifers.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Ours pop out a red one ever so often. I'm keeping a red and grey brindle...Uber excited. Black is boring..

. You can learn to like it.if you breed em right..and I like red better than black personally....

 

[Supa Dexta]

Red cows, and a black bull. Its a beautiful thing.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

There must be 20 ft between his front and rears...

 

[Oldtimer]

OT, part of what you are saying is true but part isn't. Yes they will cut out a red steer if in a load of blacks, that part is true. But you watch Superior or go to a barn and watch a load of Red Angus heifer calves sell, and they out sell the blacks by a ways. Your neighbors sold 300 head on Superior this summer weighing 510 lbs and got $3.43/lbs. You will not see black heifers bring that. So no, it isn't a regional thing, it is an industry thing. The demand comes from a few things. 1. For years, Red Angus took a back seat and had to scrape and claw to sell a Red Angus bull, while the blacks were selling bull after bull for more money, so more black bulls were kept which resulted in selling bulls that probably should have been cut. 2. CAB turned all breeds black so now we don't know if a black set of heifers is Angus or some other breed, while the Red Angus developed the Red Angus tag which is the only way Red Angus sired calves can qualify for Angus type grids, so Red Angus stayed true. 3. Supply and demand, when you can't find a Red Angus heifer on every corner like you can a black heifer, demand kicks in and people from all over the country are chasing these girls. My phone is busy with buyers from the states of Missouri, TX, KS, and OK who are in the hunt to refill their pastures with Red Angus heifers.

OK I agree supply and demand- where locally in my county there are 6 or 7 black angus bull sales yearly - and another 5-6 private treaty black angus producers-- we see 2 red angus bull sales... To me that tells me the demand is not there with producers... And the reason I see that lack of demand with producers is that historically for the past 20 years- black hided cattle topped the markets- followed by reds or chars- with herefords being docked quite a bit more...

And I'm at the sale barn every week- and I watch lot after lot go thru and the blacks top comparable reds almost every time... Sometimes not by much- but the usually outsell them.... We haven't had much of a run yet this year for comparison - but last week two sets of heifers from the same owner sold. Both lots weighed 534 average- blacks brought $1.83 for $976- reds brought $1.80 for $924.... Cattle that run side by side and probably shared much of the same genetics....

You are right- there are a lot less seedstock red angus- but that is because the demand has not been there...

 

[Muddy]

I have to agree with Oldtimer.