Retained Ownership for Small Groups

[lucky7chief]

We can probably put together a pen of 50 steers for retained ownership. Maybe 80 if we mix heifers and steers. What are some options out there for retained ownership? Most feedlots want larger pen sizes. I'm in central MO.

 

[plumber_greg]

We can probably put together a pen of 50 steers for retained ownership. Maybe 80 if we mix heifers and steers. What are some options out there for retained ownership? Most feedlots want larger pen sizes. I'm in central MO.

I did that for several years. You want an education on types of cattle do it if you can afford it. I had good cattle, made money. BUT, also lost money when cattle were high. Nothing pisses me off when some says" not retaining ownership, just lose money." If your not raising cattle others can make money on, your raising the wrong kind. If your trying to "fool"the buyers, don't do it. If good cattle, on the right grid, you will realize $50-100 a head. $50. $2500 for 50. Worth it? Have 5000. Yes.
I used Gregory Feed Lot in Iowa. Good bunch. I quit retained ownership when I could get$1000 for a 700 lb steer.

 

[simme]

https://www.tcscf.com/

 

[lucky7chief]

I did that for several years. You want an education on types of cattle do it if you can afford it. I had good cattle, made money. BUT, also lost money when cattle were high. Nothing pisses me off when some says" not retaining ownership, just lose money." If your not raising cattle others can make money on, your raising the wrong kind. If your trying to "fool"the buyers, don't do it. If good cattle, on the right grid, you will realize $50-100 a head. $50. $2500 for 50. Worth it? Have 5000. Yes.
I used Gregory Feed Lot in Iowa. Good bunch. I quit retained ownership when I could get$1000 for a 700 lb steer.

We think we would do well on the grid based on what carcass data we’ve been able to get back. It was eye opening the range of carcass quality in the same pen.

 

[SBMF 2015]

We think we would do well on the grid based on what carcass data we've been able to get back. It was eye opening the range of carcass quality in the same pen.

That is a slippery slope. 1 or 2 in a load that don’t grade can shoot all the premiums on the rest of the load.
I’m not saying don’t do it. I think we would be way ahead if cow calf guys would get data back on the calves they sell.

Just remember most feedlots feed cattle on days not on finish. If you have a pen of 50 and 40 of them are ready you may be selling 50 so they have an empty pen to fill again.

 

[simme]

I'm not saying don't do it. I think we would be way ahead if cow calf guys would get data back on the calves they sell.

Agree. I sometimes read here that all cattle and breeds will finish the same or similar. I don't subscribe to that thought. But even if it were true, the profit would certainly not be the same. Days on feed, pounds of feed consumed and feed conversion might be things that cow-calf guys don't think much about. Retaining ownership will provide that education - maybe at a cost.

 

[Dave]

The people I bought bulls from had retained ownership on about 400 of their own calves plus about another 100 which they bought and grazed all summer. Things I learned from talking to them. Take time to select the feedlot you feed at. Honesty is extremely important. Drop in unannounced on several occasions to look at your cattle. Brand all your calves before they go to the feedlot.

 

[Warren Allison]

What does the term "retained ownership" mean, exactly? I think it might be what the man we bought his Corr herd from., and who has contracted to buy back the calves from us, does. He raised 400 from his herd a year, and another 500-600 from people he had loaned bulls to and contracted to buy their calves. ( This year, the acres he used for his 400 cows that we now own, is going into corn, and a couple more conditioning lots.) He gets the calves at 6 mos...weaning...and feeds them for 120 days or so, on sorghum silage, spent mash from the Budweiser plant, cotton seed and gin trash, and chicken litter. He then sends them to a feedlot in Oklahoma, and they feed his cattle on corn for 120 more days. He pays them on pounds gained. When they are where he wants them to be, he goes and gets them and carries them to the buyer's processer. ( He has a contract with the buyer for a high-end steak house chain, to produce CAB prime+ beef.) So, is this what y'all mean by "retained ownership?" Just paying a feed lot to feed your calves?

 

[Warren Allison]

Q

 

[BC]

What does the term "retained ownership" mean, exactly? I think it might be what the man we bought his Corr herd from., and who has contracted to buy back the calves from us, does. He raised 400 from his herd a year, and another 500-600 from people he had loaned bulls to and contracted to buy their calves. ( This year, the acres he used for his 400 cows that we now own, is going into corn, and a couple more conditioning lots.) He gets the calves at 6 mos...weaning...and feeds them for 120 days or so, on sorghum silage, spent mash from the Budweiser plant, cotton seed and gin trash, and chicken litter. He then sends them to a feedlot in Oklahoma, and they feed his cattle on corn for 120 more days. He pays them on pounds gained. When they are where he wants them to be, he goes and gets them and carries them to the buyer's processer. ( He has a contract with the buyer for a high-end steak house chain, to produce CAB prime+ beef.) So, is this what y'all mean by "retained ownership?" Just paying a feed lot to feed your calves?

Yes, you own them up to the time of harvest.