show steers

[dun]

I was talking with a friend of mineethi s morning and sthe subject of people spending thousands of dollars for their kids show calf came up. I referred to it as "cattlemans little league". Pretty well sums it up

 

[I luv herfrds]

We traded our vet's daughter a steer for a steer. She has her next 4-H steer. Will have to get a pic of him.
The steer we traded brought $428.00 and it was her own.

 

[Jovid]

We raise our own.....and either eat them ourselves or sell them as locker beef when we are done. That way I know my granddaughter will make money on her steer.

 

[iowahawkeyes]

This has been discussed time and time again. Showing cattle is a hobby, just like boating or camping. It's not going to make you money but for our family it's something we do as a family. People spend a lot of $ on a boat or a camper that sits in a shed 8 months a year (around here) but nobody gets on their case about it. :???:

 

[6M Ranch]

I agree. It's no different than hitting a little white ball around on a perfectly good pasture. I agree it's out of control, but if you don't want to play, stay home. I don't think anyone on here would object to selling a steer for $10k.

 

[dun]

What brought the subject up was the annual 4H/FFA market calf sale put on by the local fairboard and FFA alumni. Our fair jdges partially based on carcass value for dtermining the final placing of the market steers at the fair. The FFA alum/fairboard go around the area and find a few good quialty calves from each year that will have good carcass (ultrasound) and are sowy and auction them off to the kids for next years fair. This year the high seller was $855. A couple of the members had gone to a sale for clubby type calves last week and calves were selling for multiple thousands of dollars and a few of the local kids were there and paid those kind of prices. In past years the clubby type calves do very well in the beauty contest part of the show but place lower when the total scores are tallied because they don;t have very good carcass data.

 

[tom4018]

What brought the subject up was the annual 4H/FFA market calf sale put on by the local fairboard and FFA alumni. Our fair jdges partially based on carcass value for dtermining the final placing of the market steers at the fair. The FFA alum/fairboard go around the area and find a few good quialty calves from each year that will have good carcass (ultrasound) and are sowy and auction them off to the kids for next years fair. This year the high seller was $855. A couple of the members had gone to a sale for clubby type calves last week and calves were selling for multiple thousands of dollars and a few of the local kids were there and paid those kind of prices. In past years the clubby type calves do very well in the beauty contest part of the show but place lower when the total scores are tallied because they don;t have very good carcass data.

We know of someone who went to a steer show where there was 10 head and the final show of the year and were butchered and graded after the show. He said the class was almost exactly backwards by carcass compared to the judge's placing.

 

[Jogeephus]

Back when cattle farming was a means to make money and put food on the table, our FFA teacher would find out how many children needed a calf to show and he would go to the sale and buy that number of head. They would then pick lots and each child would pay the average purchase price of the steers bought. I still like this idea but it would put a few people out of business.

 

[grannysoo]

Show steers and high prices are cheaper than auto accidents, dui's, and drug rehab. If you did the research, I bet you would find that the youngsters doing show steers get in very little trouble compared to other youth their age.

Considering all things, show steers are pretty cheap.

 

[pwilli3]

I just was at the Jr. Premium Livestock Auction at the American Royal last night. It was my second year in attendance. I was again FLOORED by the prices paid for animals that were available only for slaughter. Granted, the price is more an investment in the future of the children showing, and the Royal itself, but I saw a steer go for $140k last year. Hogs were going for $5k when I left last night. I sure hope reallity is being taught to these youngsters, as well as charity.

 

[Brandonm22]

I just was at the Jr. Premium Livestock Auction at the American Royal last night. It was my second year in attendance. I was again FLOORED by the prices paid for animals that were available only for slaughter. Granted, the price is more an investment in the future of the children showing, and the Royal itself, but I saw a steer go for $140k last year. Hogs were going for $5k when I left last night. I sure hope reallity is being taught to these youngsters, as well as charity.

Somebody had a good year and needed a tax loss. They charged it off under "marketing" and probably won't even eat a steak off of it as generally they donate the carcass to a football team, homeless kids' ranch, homeless shelter, food bank etc. We would have to look at it on a case by case business as to whether or not that business generated enough good will and ~free advertising to justify spending $140,000 on it.

 

[grand chaser09]

I was talking with a friend of mineethi s morning and sthe subject of people spending thousands of dollars for their kids show calf came up. I referred to it as "cattlemans little league". Pretty well sums it up

im so calling it this from now on. good one. never would ahve thought of it.

 

[ArrowHBrand]

This has been discussed time and time again. Showing cattle is a hobby, just like boating or camping. It's not going to make you money but for our family it's something we do as a family. People spend a lot of $ on a boat or a camper that sits in a shed 8 months a year (around here) but nobody gets on their case about it. :???:

I couldn't agree more. We had show cattle for a long time and really enjoyed it. My wife showed growing up through 4-H and open shows. All of her sisters and her father all would go to shows and it was really a family affair. When I met my wife and would go to watch her show she'd have six or seven calves at almost every show. When we got our own place we continued to produce show calves that our nephew would show for us. It's a good hobby to have as long as it doesn't get out of hand. We've spend A LOT of money on a single calf, but not nearly as much as some who spend $20-$50,000! We made some money, but we spend whole lot more. Our neighbors bought a huge fifth wheel camper two summers ago and it has moved five times and twice was to put it away for winter. 'Nuff said I think.

 

[HEREFORD ROADHOG]

What brought the subject up was the annual 4H/FFA market calf sale put on by the local fairboard and FFA alumni. Our fair jdges partially based on carcass value for dtermining the final placing of the market steers at the fair. The FFA alum/fairboard go around the area and find a few good quialty calves from each year that will have good carcass (ultrasound) and are sowy and auction them off to the kids for next years fair. This year the high seller was $855. A couple of the members had gone to a sale for clubby type calves last week and calves were selling for multiple thousands of dollars and a few of the local kids were there and paid those kind of prices. In past years the clubby type calves do very well in the beauty contest part of the show but place lower when the total scores are tallied because they don;t have very good carcass data.

We know of someone who went to a steer show where there was 10 head and the final show of the year and were butchered and graded after the show. He said the class was almost exactly backwards by carcass compared to the judge's placing.

thats probably because the judge couldn't even see the steer under the 2" of hair he was judging. :banana: I say shear the daylights out of them so we can see the real deal. :cowboy: the FFA sale sounds like a great place for a sensible family to get a decent steer at a fair price ,with the chance to make a profit. And as for the boat & camper comparrisons,at least with that they should last several YEARS & have resale value. The multithousand spending steer buyers usually get what they deserve; a large negative bank balance in the end. :cry2: to sum it up in one word - STOOOPID

 

[iowahawkeyes]

There are a lot of shear or no fit shows. I love a no fit show, saves me a lot of money and time. A club calf will still win and probably the family will have spent a lot of money. Who Cares??? :roll: If you don't like it, don't show. :cry2: