Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Are calf prices low enough to load up on replacement heifers, or are you waiting till next fall ?
Retaining Heifers ?
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Till-Hill
Well-known member
Calf prices are low enough and feed is high enough that I got cull the commercial heifers, planned on buying 4-5 of boss' and keeping my 3-4 commercial ones along with 7 registered ones. Well I got bills to pay so down the road they are going. Same with keeping back bull calves, only kept 1 to use myself. No bull sales and probably no cow sales next year. If I make it thru next year I might see some daylight again!
Aaron
Well-known member
Don't know why you would retain a bunch of heifers when you're likely to see hoards of dispersals where the price of breds is a bid above kill (maybe). Because there are far more people wondering if they should get out, than in.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Aaron said:
Good point, if you want short breds. Heavy breds are high here due to demand of calf serum for fake meat.
Aaron
Well-known member
Stocker Steve said:
In this market you want quick turnaround. Input prices won't go down and heifer calves need lots of inputs before they have a calf to bring in some cash. Problem is they might be worth less than what you could have sold for if the market keeps diving. Gotta stay on your toes in this biz. One bad move and vultures will pick your bones clean.
NEFarmwife
Well-known member
We aren't using any commercial heifers as replacements this year. They'll all go get fat. This may be the first year we don't keep any heifers.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Aaron In this market you want quick turnaround. Input prices won't go down and heifer calves need lots of inputs before they have a calf to bring in some cash. Problem is they might be worth less than what you could have sold for if the market keeps diving. [/quote said:Anyone flipping calves on the Rainy, or is it too small of a market?
Already have a few bred heifers that are worth less...
Harlan has (re) called the heifer price bottom in 2020. It keeps moving out in time.
I need to cull and yet I'm keeping 5 - I can't help myself.
Till-Hill
Well-known member
Stocker Steve said:Aaron In this market you want quick turnaround. Input prices won't go down and heifer calves need lots of inputs before they have a calf to bring in some cash. Problem is they might be worth less than what you could have sold for if the market keeps diving. [/quote said:Anyone flipping calves on the Rainy, or is it too small of a market?
Already have a few bred heifers that are worth less...
Harlan has (re) called the heifer price bottom in 2020. It keeps moving out in time.
I bought 4 of the boss' commercial heifers last fall. $725 purchase, $500 in them on Tuesday when we preg check. Do I sell them for $1500 and run or keep them? If they stuck AI they are bred to sexed S Chisum female semen.....Got grass for them, but got bills to pay too. Taxes won't be a problem this year with buying tractor and utv.
Aaron
Well-known member
Stocker Steve said:Aaron In this market you want quick turnaround. Input prices won't go down and heifer calves need lots of inputs before they have a calf to bring in some cash. Problem is they might be worth less than what you could have sold for if the market keeps diving. [/quote said:Anyone flipping calves on the Rainy, or is it too small of a market?
Already have a few bred heifers that are worth less...
Harlan has (re) called the heifer price bottom in 2020. It keeps moving out in time.
Not too much backgrounding going on here anymore. All the backgrounders either died, retired or went into cow/calf and started raising their own. BSE wiped a bunch out and the highs in 14/15 finished the rest off - guys got a little sweaty when they had $150k invested in 100 calves. Local feeder/breeder finance co-op is hurting for people to take loans out to buy feeder/breeding cattle. Their numbers are way down as people pay off their loans and don't enter into new ones. They survive on admin fees and isn't worth the hassle to continue if they don't have enough loans out.
If 2020 is worse than this currently, I can see a lot of young bucks quitting and going into grain. Too many are up to their necks in debt and can't stand a continual downturn. These would be the ones that never learned their 'hard times' lesson during BSE.
Aaron said:
That depends on how long you you expect the dispersals to go on. We are dry and people are unloading a bunch of cows. I'm keeping heifers until next spring because we have the grass and hay. If we get wet in spring again I'll have some real nice exposed heifers for people to start restocking with. If we dont I will fill holes and go to town with the rest on weight.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Aaron All the backgrounders either died said:
NEFarmwife
Well-known member
Aaron said:Stocker Steve said:Aaron In this market you want quick turnaround. Input prices won't go down and heifer calves need lots of inputs before they have a calf to bring in some cash. Problem is they might be worth less than what you could have sold for if the market keeps diving. [/quote said:Anyone flipping calves on the Rainy, or is it too small of a market?
Already have a few bred heifers that are worth less...
Harlan has (re) called the heifer price bottom in 2020. It keeps moving out in time.
Not too much backgrounding going on here anymore. All the backgrounders either died, retired or went into cow/calf and started raising their own. BSE wiped a bunch out and the highs in 14/15 finished the rest off - guys got a little sweaty when they had $150k invested in 100 calves. Local feeder/breeder finance co-op is hurting for people to take loans out to buy feeder/breeding cattle. Their numbers are way down as people pay off their loans and don't enter into new ones. They survive on admin fees and isn't worth the hassle to continue if they don't have enough loans out.
If 2020 is worse than this currently, I can see a lot of young bucks quitting and going into grain. Too many are up to their necks in debt and can't stand a continual downturn. These would be the ones that never learned their 'hard times' lesson during BSE.
I don't know for sure whether the gentleman my husband met with this morning will go with us (he contacted us) or with another fellow/operation but he's asking us to background 1000 calves for him for 90 days.
I feel a little anxious about it.
Dave
Well-known member
We are getting close to time to cull the heck out of the cow herd. That means anything over middle age. Retain cheap heifers. Those cull cows sell as either bred cows or kill cows are worth more than the heifers. The next year you will have less to sell but own a much younger cow herd.
snoopdog
Well-known member
Gonna sell a few, but keeping most. As stated, we have grass and hay, hay market is tanked because of supply. Culling a few inefficient cows, and mooving on.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Dave We are getting close to time to cull the heck out of the cow herd. That means anything over middle age. Retain cheap heifers. Those cull cows sell as either bred cows or kill cows are worth more than the heifers. The next year you will have less to sell but own a much younger cow herd. [/quote said:
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
I retained 39 heifers in 2017. Too many.
I retained 10 heifers in 2018. Still too many, but then I got grass fever...
Bad news was I tried to put together some grass cattle this spring since I had alot less heifers. Good news was after 3 weeks I gave up - - too much wild money in the local sales barns. Sold my small group in June for a nice profit before the market tanked. Damm I am good. ;-)
Got some even better heifer calves this year from my OCC background bull. Probably need to keep some to try and ward off grass fever next year.
I retained 10 heifers in 2018. Still too many, but then I got grass fever...
Bad news was I tried to put together some grass cattle this spring since I had alot less heifers. Good news was after 3 weeks I gave up - - too much wild money in the local sales barns. Sold my small group in June for a nice profit before the market tanked. Damm I am good. ;-)
Got some even better heifer calves this year from my OCC background bull. Probably need to keep some to try and ward off grass fever next year.
Dave said:
Exactly, about 100 cows here on the list to go this fall. Still sound for someone that doesn't mind putting a calf to the teat first go but at the point we don't need to add work. Will likely replace them for 2 or $300, If we happen to get all this late cut hay in bale form we may look at buying an extra 100. If is a very large word though, first we need enough to feed what is here.
Sold steer calves, light heifer calves are for sale and then will put a bunch of cheaper calves at the feedlot again.
Ya win some, ya lose some but you don't make anything ( or lose
)on cattle if you don't own any.
