SO, how do I read the auction reports?

[oreohaven]

I am trying to figure out what cattle are selling for in different parts of Texas..How do I read that report. I have a 500 lb heifer and a 1100 lb steer that I want to sell, but have no idea what they are going for right now. Where can I go to figure out how to read the reports?
Thanks,
Jon

 

[Bullbuyer]

Jon -
The best way to figure what the calves are worth is to take a drive down to where you are going to market them and just watch the auction for a while. What you have to remember when you are looking at those reports is that these are usually based on grade (S,M,L and 1,2,3) and often times owners feel their cattle are better than they actually are! Then when they market them they get upset because theirs didn't bring as much as was printed in the local newspaper.
That being said - I'd say your heifer (if she's a good beef-type) is worth around $112/cwt - that meaning one hundred and twelve dollars per 100 pounds -
SO -$112/cwt (500lbs) = $560 (minus various fees charged by the stockyards.) Hope this is not too basic for you.

 

[Gliderider]

Is cwt carcass weight?

 

[Bullbuyer]

NO.
cwt is an abbeviation that means "per hundred pounds" just as the letters oz. is "ounce" or any of many other abbreviations.
Actually, most older guys don't use the "per hundred pounds" when talking about their cattle - they just say "A dollar twenty a pound" (Which, of course, is the same as $120/cwt.)
To find local reports you could probably access the Texas Agriculture Website to get some updated reports. If not - I use http://www.kyagr.com - the Kentucky site. Go to check market prices (on the scroll down) then Kentucky Livestock, at the next page at the top you'll be able to access market reports from all over the U.S.

 

[Susie David]

Hundred weight...i.e. $112.00 for every one hundred pounds of animal=$1.12 per pound. The price can be bid at amounts less than one dollar this way. Some sell as lots of, say, ten calves weighing 5,250 on the scale; at this weight a few cents a hundred weight can make a big difference in the checkbook even if you pay four bits more to get the bid. Usually the auctioneer won't break it down so close unless it is a big lot and there are two or three folks in the action.
There was a thread on auctions a week or so back that had alot of helpfull info. DMc

 

[Susie David]

Oreo...about three pages back...titled "auction language"
will have a bule star on the folder. Click on the page # at the botton right of the page.
Good luck

 

[oreohaven]

THanks for all the help...the CWT is what I was having problems with... I unbderstand the rest. THere is actually a link to different auction reports in this web page. I just didn't understand how to read it. Thanks again for all your help. I don't value my cattle as much as the next person does their own. We have belted Galloways which are more of a breed that people get for conversation, not for beef. I will be slaughtering one soon, so I am interested to know about the quality. Other than that, they are primarily pasture ornaments for us.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Jon

This is a link to the USDA site for the TX feeder cattle reports.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/AM_LS795.txt

This is a weekly summary of 20+ auctions in Tx. An updated report comes out late Monday for the previous week. It gives the high, low and weighted average for each class & weight of feeder cattle. As you will see there is a large variation of price within each class. Also, because Texas is such a big state the prices vary based on the distance from a particular auction to the Tx panhandle. Because most feeder cattle end up in the panhandle (or farther north), the farther from the panhandle the lower the price for most feeders. You will not find a price for 1100lb steers because very, very few feeder cattle of this size show up at an auction. My best guess for an 1100lb steer would be around 70 cents/lb. A top 500 lb beef type heifer would have brought about 1.15/lb today in the Waco Tx area. However, it is my observation that unusual or off color individual animals will sell at some discount depending upon what kind of orders the buyers happen to have that day. Belted Galloways usually fall into that catagory. The higher volume auctions will have better odds for this type of order.

As others have mentioned, to get the best feel for what you animals will bring, go to the auction and watch animals like yours sell. There is so much variation within each class of animals that an auction report cannot be an accurate indicator of the value of an individual animal with a reasonable degree of reliability. JMO

Regards

Brock

 

[Central Fl Cracker]

How do these prices compare in the fall market? In other words $1.12 in Feb what are the prices in the fall?

 

[Susie David]

Been a high year up here, the prices have remained fairly constant all year. Larger animals are starting to drop a bit and calves are on the rise right now.
Normally the spring prices are on the climb with folks wanting animals to put on pasture and remain about the same all summer with the seasonal decling starting in October.
Traditionally the lowest prices of the year are at the sale right before Christmas.
DMc

 

[Alan]

I notice they also drop quite a bit the day I take them to the sale.

Alan