The thread on breeds board got me wanting to post about something I've been studying for awhile. Has anyone run the numbers on shipping preconditioned calve from say Tennessee to some of the better markets say OKC, Joplin or elsewhere. I can't seem to get a grasp on what size, age, time of year, etc would be most profitable. Not sure how much shrink one would get but seems a little shrink might bring a better price per pound. In my case with both a spring and fall calving herd I would have to do mixed loads steers and heifers, typical load for me would be 90% black and bwf, 5% charx, 5% with 1/8 ear....all angus sired. I've even considered trying a 32' gooseneck load not sure if it would pay over a 9-10 hour drive but I'm thinking it would. I'm not really asking a specific question here just wanting to start a discussion.
Shipping from southeast
- Thread starter Midtenn
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kenny thomas
Well-known member
Got a friend in eastern Arkansas 40 miles from Memphis TN that sends to OKC. Always big loads though. He sends precondition calves 2-3 days before they sell.
OKC or ElReno both have good sales. It's about $4.25 a mile to ship calves by the truck load. The thing for you guys would be the shrink. ElReno (OKC West) has a Facebook page that has sale videos, check it out if you haven't yet.
Chocolate Cow2
Well-known member
We bought loads and loads of cattle from Eastern. We got caught up in the mess when it went down. For the most part, the calves were good but it sure depended on how fast a load could be put together. If Eastern was still in business, we'd still be buying. I guess this doesn't have much to do with the OP-just remembering what once was.
True Grit Farms
Well-known member
kenny thomas said:
Sure miss his pictures.
Lucky said:
49,000 here at $1.30 = $63,700
49,000 x 5% additional shrink = 46,550 at ElReno at $1.50 =$69,825
Minus trucking 678x4.25 = $2881
$69,825-$2881 = $66,944
Profit of $3244 if my assumptions of shrink and price difference are close
If not, then maybe it's a starting point for further discussion?
Remember even selling here we have 3-4% shrink on precondition calves in the first few hours. I think the shrink slows down the longer on the truck or in the yards. Yes there's more overall, but the faster shrink is in the first few hours.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Gone in name only. Business still goingChocolate Cow2 said:
bird dog
Well-known member
There used to be a poster on here that shipped from south Louisiana all the way to OKC so its not unheard of. I would ship at least two days early to OKC west. They keep them in a smaller pen with fresh water and are fed multiple times a day if they are cleaning it up. I shipped 300 miles and they recovered all of my shrink and had a small gain. Color doesn't matter to that crowd as much as health and quality. You also don't want to ship more than 1/4 ear especially going into winter.
They need to be long weaned and eating well from a trough. It also helps if the weather is moderate and going to stay that way for a few days.
They need to be long weaned and eating well from a trough. It also helps if the weather is moderate and going to stay that way for a few days.
Red Bull Breeder
Well-known member
Won't be no shrink at OKC if you ship a few days before the sale. OKC is not your regular sale barn.
Midtenn said:
Can't be a calf sold here verses a calf sold there, minus fuel and shrink. Has to be a calf bought here, weaned and running straight. 60 days off momma, and 90-100 pounds heavier. You get 50,000 pounds together, and it'd be a shame to take them to a yard. That's a here they are, come get em amount.
Chocolate Cow2
Well-known member
"What do you buy cattle to put on grass or feed?"
Midtenn, we did both. Some calves went out on grass and some stayed in pens and were fed. We're a state licensed facility with the capacity to feed 999 head. Anything over that number becomes a Federal facility with a different set of rules.
Midtenn, we did both. Some calves went out on grass and some stayed in pens and were fed. We're a state licensed facility with the capacity to feed 999 head. Anything over that number becomes a Federal facility with a different set of rules.
Midtenn said:
I would check on salebarn commissions too. I know El Reno and OKC are quite a bit cheaper than our local barns. In fact it is usually enough to pay the freight. You need a selling agent but they are easy to get. They do feed them well also.
mwj
Well-known member
If you had the grass some yearlings on video would be a decent way to sell. That market lets you take the most profit and puts you selling direct to the feeder. The problem I would see on putting groups together, is people waiting for there money.
Dave
Well-known member
I ran up against the issue in Western Washington. Cattle with a poor reputation which most deserved. Not enough cattle at the sale on any week to make it worth while for the big boy to come and buy. I ended up doing three different things all of which worked. One was to get others with good cattle to go together and share a semi. They were hauled to a central location to load on the truck. Everyone used different colored ear tags or in my case they were branded so they wouldn't get mixed up and they loaded in the truck in a manner to keep them separate. The second I became one of those traders for a week or two. I bought good quality calves that would match up with my calves. Took them home, weaned and preconditioned along with my calves. Added enough to make a load. The price difference was good enough that I always came out. The third was to do the same thing except I sold them on the video. That worked. However, the issue goes back to the same thing of the reputation of cattle from your region. I always thought there needed to be a way to give them a different address to sell from.
5S Cattle
Well-known member
Dave said:
Who were you marketing them to?
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