So please tell me, who's getting rich on the cow?

[Silver]

Who the hell said it took 210 days to get to 450-500lbs?!!! That is 7 months!!! Even our Corrientes, bred to black bulls, would have calves 500 to nearly 550 if we waited just 6 mos to wean them.. That is why bigger framed cows are preferred. It doesn't take as long for say, a Chi-Angus calf to reach that 450-500 size as an Angus calf.

No one said. 210 days is what my cows get. I'd have to be a special kind of stupid to take the calves off my cows at 180 days or less thereby putting my cows out of a job and putting them on welfare.

 

[Warren Allison]

One way to avoid pulling calves is to cull any breeding stock from that family. Also use some common sense on bull selection.
Also if you sell a calf at 500# what is generating income from that pair for the remainder of the year?
A cow will NEVER recover profitablity from the loss of a calf.. If you want to name and keep her that is on you.

ROFLMAO. No one wants to avoid weaning the calf at 450-500 lbs. They WANT to wean it at that size.

 

[Warren Allison]

No one said. 210 days is what my cows get. I'd have to be a special kind of stupid to take the calves off my cows at 180 days or less thereby putting my cows out of a job and putting them on welfare.

No, a special kind of stupid would be leaving them another 30 days or more, to lose cents per lb. Why would your cows be out of a job? Would they not already be bred back?

 

[callmefence]

No, a special kind of stupid would be leaving them another 30 days or more, to lose cents per lb. Why would your cows be out of a job? Would they not already be bred back?

You know they're not paying more per pound for the little ones because they're scared of the big ones.... don't you?

 

[Silver]

No, a special kind of stupid would be leaving them another 30 days or more, to lose cents per lb. Why would your cows be out of a job? Would they not already be bred back?

I'm not going to go over this math again. But I use dollars per head, focusing on cents per pound is a good way to go broke.
…and I already explained that my cow's job is to turn grass into beef. No calf, no job.

 

[BFE]

Silver, what weight is your average cow?

 

[Silver]

Silver, what weight is your average cow?

Cull cows usually cross the scale 1350-1400. Some bigger, some smaller but that's average here for cows in good condition.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I will take dollars per acre over cents per pound any day. Of course there are conditions which apply.
Main one being calf ready for feed lot or herd retention and cow bred back on schedule.
Thus far none of my cattle expense has been paid by anyone's opinion on these forums.
One can only hope!

 

[Warren Allison]

…and I already explained that my cow's job is to turn grass into beef. No calf, no job.

So you get rid of a cow once you wean the calf?!!

 

[BFE]

Cull cows usually cross the scale 1350-1400. Some bigger, some smaller but that's average here for cows in good condition.

Thanks. I was expecting bigger. Getting those weaning weights I'd say you're doing a pretty good job.

I'm like Jan on the weaning weights. I've tried a lot of different genetics and that's normally where they fall. I don't creep spring calves but maybe I should start. August and September heat humidity and fescue slows them down a bunch in my experience.

 

[simme]

Reasons to wean 450# calves:

1. Thats the heaviest calf that I can haul on my trailer and truck. If they go in the back seat, I have to wean at 350# and make special arrangements for unloading.

2. Thats what they weigh at 7 months. Time to get them off the cow and give her a years rest before she calves again. Takes some time for the cow to recover on my pasture and program.

3. 450# is pretty good for the breed I have. I invested big time in my bull to reach this level.

4. Someone on the internet said thats what should be done.

5. It works best for me in my situation. The cows came with the place and I have never spent a dime on their upkeep. All profit.

And the winner is: .............. Where did Steve Harvey go with the card?

 

[Warren Allison]

You know they're not paying more per pound for the little ones because they're scared of the big ones.... don't you?

Down here, the reason those 400+ bring so much, is that there are so many people around with little 5 to10 acre home sites. This month, especially, they are all getting grass, and they buy these and keep them til around November til the grass is gone. More and more, however are buying goats and sheep. You would not believe how much dang goats sell for around here. Al of my life, or the first 50 years or so, you could go to the sale any day and get goats for $2 to $10 each. Now they are all selling in the 3-figures! Sheep too, but until recently the last decade or so, I haver saw a sheep at a sale, so have no idea what they cost back in the $5 goat times.

 

[mwj]

Here 3 day old calves are bringing between $3-$5 per pound, that is the way to make big bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Silver]

Here 3 day old calves are bringing between $3-$5 per pound, that is the way to make big bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I imagine by the time they are kill weight you gotta pay them to take them!

 

[wbvs58]

At one time during history, there were no chemicals in farming. Ladybugs are natural pest controllers. Manure can fertilize quite well. Are there any tractors and combines nowadays that don't burn those dirty fossil fuels?


Man's sheer numbers: major environmental threat. Man has overpopulated well beyond ecological soundness.

more people = more pollution, more waste, more litter, more consumption of resources, some rare and/or non-renewable, more erosion of land, greater loss of habitat for wildlife, endangerment and extinction of vital species, greater dependency on destructive mass agriculture which erodes the land, pollutes the air with dust and relies on unhealthful chemicals and genetic engineering

Humans are too numerous for their own damn good.

Controlling population seems to be very unpalatable to governments. They want bigger populations for more taxes and bigger armies.

Ken

 

[farmerjan]

There may be something to that. However, even up North most peoples calves do not average 600 lbs plus. It might come as a surprise to many but there is an incredible amount of management (both genetics and grass) that goes into it. They don't get big just because they are up North. SAV angus calves don't get big just because of the herd letters stamped in their ears. That's my rant for the day.

I agree that genetics plays a big deal in that. You have some real nice looking cattle... very uniform in that video of feeding out that hay. I agree that your management plays a big part of the weights you get for weaning.... I am certainly not taking anything away from your genetics or management... I LIKE the way your cattle look... and if it wasn't for the color, I would love to have 50 heifers to raise up... but with the markets here, that would be a foolish move for us. We have to breed and raise what the market demands, and in this area it is black... and 500wt weaned calves... I get to play with a few outliers because we market some beef on the side too.

 

[MurraysMutts]

And here I started a thread on weaning weights and all I had to do was look in the deli section!

Smdh....

Valuable info here guys. My calves are 6 to 7 months and don't weigh 600!
I'm trying to better understand how to get there myself.
Like was mentioned, it's not dollars per pound. Dollars per head!
If a cow can do 600 lb in 7 months, that beats the heck outta 450lb!

 

[Silver]

And here I started a thread on weaning weights and all I had to do was look in the deli section!

Smdh....

Valuable info here guys. My calves are 6 to 7 months and don't weigh 600!
I'm trying to better understand how to get there myself.
Like was mentioned, it's not dollars per pound. Dollars per head!
If a cow can do 600 lb in 7 months, that beats the heck outta 450lb!

Well, if two cows under the same conditions raise calves that wean 200 pounds apart I would say there is a problem with one of them. Of course there is an expense side of the ledger too, but I figure if a cow takes an extra $50 to get through the winter but grosses $250 more than the other cow then that $50 was well spent.

 

[farmerjan]

Agree with your example/reasoning @Silver . We cull cows that do not produce good sized calves also. Got 2 that will go after this calf... not making enough milk and calves are small.

 

[MurraysMutts]

All my gals make good milk. So I got that going for me anyway!