Sale barn !!!!!

[Bfields30]

Went to Emory sale barn today was my first time going to a sale barn I liked it seeing and see all type of cattle it has me leaning towards investing in calves and flipping them in 2/3 months . As well as buying bred cows 7-8 months bred carving them then reselling as pairs. Or buying pairs cheap and reselling when calf is weaning age need insight on it but just seeing prices feel like I could make good amount of money doing it.. I have 50 acres of grass and it’s knee level so I can’t do anything but gain in my opinion thinking of vaccinations then turn them out which ever option I pick to do .

 

[BRYANT]

Its a tricky business !! I have bought a bunch at the sale barns and made money on them but have been around cattle trading most of my life. If you ain't REAL CAREFUL you will loose your britches. You need to know cattle very well and also know the tricks of the sale barns.
Just my 2 cent.
GOOD LUCK !!! Let us know how it works for you.

 

[Bfields30]

Its a tricky business !! I have bought a bunch at the sale barns and made money on them but have been around cattle trading most of my life. If you ain't REAL CAREFUL you will loose your britches. You need to know cattle very well and also know the tricks of the sale barns.
Just my 2 cent.
GOOD LUCK !!! Let us know how it works for you.

if I got calves how long you think I should keep them months wise as well as if I grazed them just on grass vs grass and feeding them

 

[ddd75]

yes, lots of money to be made.

lots of money to be lost.


you buy those bred cows, they have dead calves are don't raise them. tits too big, or no milk..

calves look great.. you buy them.. they get pneumonia.. some die.. some live.. but don't gain.


be careful, start small.

do you have handling system so you can monitor and take care of these? If not, thats the first step.

 

[kenny thomas]

yes, lots of money to be made.

lots of money to be lost.


you buy those bred cows, they have dead calves are don't raise them. tits too big, or no milk..

calves look great.. you buy them.. they get pneumonia.. some die.. some live.. but don't gain.
be careful, start small.

do you have handling system so you can monitor and take care of these? If not, thats the first step.

I will second the handling equipment. Get a friend that knows cattle to help you. How many cattle did you notice that were retrades, already a little sick? I have never been to that yard but if it's a good size I can guarantee there were some there.
Seen a guy give $1675 for a cow-calf pair last Saturday. The experienced people all seen the faint tag marks and the trader bidding against him. He called me Thursday and said his cow was sick. I expected her to be sick. She had been bought at a yard in KY and a couple days later hauled 100+ miles to here to sell again. I told him to call the vet.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

"Good judgement come from experience and experience comes from bad judgement" No shortcut to this process.

What you mentioned is all possible but lots of landmines and booby traps along the way. If it were very easy everyone would be doing it. You will have to get an education/experience but the unanswered question is what will the tuition cost? Cheapest tuition is learning as much as possible from others experience most especially their bad experiences.

 

[kenny thomas]

Also remember that if your seeing calves sell let's say for $1.25 a lb or bred cows got $850 when you start bidding they will be higher than that. Buyers and especially traders love an inexperienced person coming to a sale. They feel it's their duty to give them a lesson.

 

[BRYANT]

Handling equipment is important BUT 40 years ago we did not know what handling equipment was. Corral made out of whatever we had, a lot of the time it was some big wooden pallets that they had bought from some place that were about 6' X 8' and very heavy all corrals had a piece of a highline post buried in it to rope them and snub them up to . GOOD OL DAYS I sure am glad I don't have to do it that way today !!!! but I do have some good/funny memories of them days.

''how long to keep them '' can't say, don't know how good you grass is or condition of the stock ????

 

[greybeard]

Bfields30...get someone to go with you that's been there and done it. Be careful who you're bidding against, some of them old boys will learn you a lesson real quick,and hang you out to dry.. 'just to help you along in your learning curve'. btdt.

HurleyJD is right up the road from you, across the lake in Yantis. I still have relatives in Emory raising registered Beefmasters unless they sold out in the last 12 months. That's a nice area and will sure grow good grass as long as they get a little rain.

 

[Bfields30]

yes, lots of money to be made.

lots of money to be lost.


you buy those bred cows, they have dead calves are don't raise them. tits too big, or no milk..

calves look great.. you buy them.. they get pneumonia.. some die.. some live.. but don't gain.
be careful, start small.

do you have handling system so you can monitor and take care of these? If not, thats the first step.

I will second the handling equipment. Get a friend that knows cattle to help you. How many cattle did you notice that were retrades, already a little sick? I have never been to that yard but if it's a good size I can guarantee there were some there.
Seen a guy give $1675 for a cow-calf pair last Saturday. The experienced people all seen the faint tag marks and the trader bidding against him. He called me Thursday and said his cow was sick. I expected her to be sick. She had been bought at a yard in KY and a couple days later hauled 100+ miles to here to sell again. I told him to call the vet.

yeah my friend that been around cows for awhile and been around it for awhile is gonna help me but yeah I won’t be spending crazy amounts of money doing I know my price range and know what I will like to wrong as well as my preferences are. For heavy breds and pairs I won’t pay more then 850-1100 and for calves 400-550 . If I have to spend more then that I’ll just go to reputable breeder and get quality I have 50 acres with 2 cows and 3 calves on it. Grass is to my calf level and nice and green but I hear what your saying about getting burned I know I need to go to more to learn more and see more

 

[Bfields30]

Bfields30...get someone to go with you that's been there and done it. Be careful who you're bidding against, some of them old boys will learn you a lesson real quick,and hang you out to dry.. 'just to help you along in your learning curve'. btdt.

HurleyJD is right up the road from you, across the lake in Yantis. I still have relatives in Emory raising registered Beefmasters unless they sold out in the last 12 months. That's a nice area and will sure grow good grass as long as they get a little rain.

do you think you could get him to direct message me

 

[Bfields30]

:banana:

Handling equipment is important BUT 40 years ago we did not know what handling equipment was. Corral made out of whatever we had, a lot of the time it was some big wooden pallets that they had bought from some place that were about 6' X 8' and very heavy all corrals had a piece of a highline post buried in it to rope them and snub them up to . GOOD OL DAYS I sure am glad I don't have to do it that way today !!!! but I do have some good/funny memories of them days.

''how long to keep them '' can't say, don't know how good you grass is or condition of the stock ????

my grass is good right now green and tall I know sale barn is a risk I might need to stay away from it but i was just trying to get insight from you guys

 

[kenny thomas]

Sale barn is a great place to get a bargain, or get burned. If you have someone to ask for advice you should do ok. Prices for fall look better than now.

 

[Allenw]

yes, lots of money to be made.

lots of money to be lost.


you buy those bred cows, they have dead calves are don't raise them. tits too big, or no milk..

calves look great.. you buy them.. they get pneumonia.. some die.. some live.. but don't gain.
be careful, start small.

do you have handling system so you can monitor and take care of these? If not, thats the first step.

I will second the handling equipment. Get a friend that knows cattle to help you. How many cattle did you notice that were retrades, already a little sick? I have never been to that yard but if it's a good size I can guarantee there were some there.
Seen a guy give $1675 for a cow-calf pair last Saturday. The experienced people all seen the faint tag marks and the trader bidding against him. He called me Thursday and said his cow was sick. I expected her to be sick. She had been bought at a yard in KY and a couple days later hauled 100+ miles to here to sell again. I told him to call the vet.

yeah my friend that been around cows for awhile and been around it for awhile is gonna help me but yeah I won’t be spending crazy amounts of money doing I know my price range and know what I will like to wrong as well as my preferences are. For heavy breds and pairs I won’t pay more then 850-1100 and for calves 400-550 . If I have to spend more then that I’ll just go to reputable breeder and get quality I have 50 acres with 2 cows and 3 calves on it. Grass is to my calf level and nice and green but I hear what your saying about getting burned I know I need to go to more to learn more and see more

Your preference has nothing to do with making money trading cattle.

 

[Son of Butch]

Its a tricky business !

if I got calves how long you think I should keep them months wise as well as if I grazed them just on grass vs grass and feeding them

Depends on breed, health, stocking rate, quality of pasture (high/low energy forage) how long of grazing season.
Implant and deworm and shooting for 2 lbs per day for 100 days = easy math and 200 lbs
1.75 day 100 days = 175 lbs
2.25 day 100 days = 225 lbs

To get 2.3+ lbs per day... the odds are... you will have to supplement energy (corn) and do everything right.
2.5+ is possible, but I prefer to estimate low and be pleased with result vs expecting high and being disappointed.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Went to Emory sale barn today was my first time going to a sale barn I liked it seeing and see all type of cattle it has me leaning towards investing in calves and flipping them in 2/3 months . As well as buying bred cows 7-8 months bred carving them then reselling as pairs. Or buying pairs cheap and reselling when calf is weaning age need insight on it but just seeing prices feel like I could make good amount of money doing it.. I have 50 acres of grass and it’s knee level so I can’t do anything but gain in my opinion thinking of vaccinations then turn them out which ever option I pick to do .

The salebarn is not for rookies.
You had better have a heck of a set of working pens and good fences along with a quarantine lot.
I have bought a many an opportunity girl through the barn over the last few decades. Never pay over 200 bucks over kill prices. Your not going to end up with a 100% calf crop more like 80.

 

[Gators Rule]

I’m sure you learned a ton on Saturday! Best advice I can give is to continue to repeat that trip, and keep learning before jumping in head first. Assume everyone there is looking to earn a few bucks off your inexperience, because they do. Some want to earn it honestly, and some want it anyway they can get it. Make yourself wise....and then bid!

 

[Bfields30]

I’m sure you learned a ton on Saturday! Best advice I can give is to continue to repeat that trip, and keep learning before jumping in head first. Assume everyone there is looking to earn a few bucks off your inexperience, because they do. Some want to earn it honestly, and some want it anyway they can get it. Make yourself wise....and then bid!

Yeah I’ll Definitely gonna go back there but yeah I’m not just going to just buy calfs and cows I was asking for insight to see what people thought I know my budget and know I can’t just spend spend as well I know not everything that’s cheap is good I know the animals there are there for a reason.

 

[kenny thomas]

Don't let us discourage you from enjoying the sale barn and cattle. A very small percentage there has the issues we talk about. Most there are fine. Just get good advice till you feel more confident.

 

[ddd75]

i always have done good with the bred cows, but haven't been able to get calves under 500 lbs to gain very well.