sold calves, feelin' big

[plumber_greg]

Usually, I send my calves to the feedlot and retain ownership. Figured the premiums I get were too small a percentage of what the calves were worth and not worth the risk. So today my calves sold at St. Joe stockyards.
Sold 91 head
820 lb. steers @1.19 15 head
780 lb. heifers @1.14 17 head
720 lb. heifers @1.14 16 head
Smallest 4 steers 614 lb. @ 1.28
Smallest 6 heifers 588 lb. @115.50
The steers all averaged 755.83 lb. @1.21
Most of the heifers went back as replacements, averaged 706.17 lbs. @ 1.14
All were treated as if I was gonna' retain them. Preconditioned, creep fed, weaned since mid-Sept. I have about 4 ton of creep feed left over, and a couple of ton of the complete feed I was hand feeding since I weaned them. Don't have time to use silage or commodity feed, my feed costs can be sometimes high. Last year I spent, including 10 ton of soy hull pellets to the cows last winter during calving, a little more than $15,000 on feed. This includes all purchased feed, mineral and the feed for my stupid birds I bought.
Thought my calves did good, did they? gs

 

[Jogeephus]

Sounds good in my neck of the woods. Would consider selling some more myself but its too close to tax time for me.

 

[bannedagain]

Usually, I send my calves to the feedlot and retain ownership. Figured the premiums I get were too small a percentage of what the calves were worth and not worth the risk. So today my calves sold at St. Joe stockyards.
Sold 91 head
820 lb. steers @1.19 15 head
780 lb. heifers @1.14 17 head
720 lb. heifers @1.14 16 head
Smallest 4 steers 614 lb. @ 1.28
Smallest 6 heifers 588 lb. @115.50
The steers all averaged 755.83 lb. @1.21
Most of the heifers went back as replacements, averaged 706.17 lbs. @ 1.14
All were treated as if I was gonna' retain them. Preconditioned, creep fed, weaned since mid-Sept. I have about 4 ton of creep feed left over, and a couple of ton of the complete feed I was hand feeding since I weaned them. Don't have time to use silage or commodity feed, my feed costs can be sometimes high. Last year I spent, including 10 ton of soy hull pellets to the cows last winter during calving, a little more than $15,000 on feed. This includes all purchased feed, mineral and the feed for my stupid birds I bought.
Thought my calves did good, did they? gs

What did the rest of them bring?

 

[plumber_greg]

Steers from 128.00 to 119.00
Heifers from 115.50 to 114.00

 

[bannedagain]

Sounds good, did you have any type of option on them?

 

[john250]

Those prices sound good.
I have a pen of steers I would like to sell--similar to your's but a bit rougher fed and therefore a bit lighter.
The Eastern Livestock fiasco hasn't ruined the market here but I would expect my calves would fetch .15/.20/lb less than yours. Calves here are typically .05/.10 lower than St Joe Mo. The other nickel or dime is the Eastern factor.
Eastern was the market maker.
If someone will give you the prices you mention why would you feed them? Yeah, big prices are coming in fat cattle. And I'm gonna win powerball. I think you did good to take the money and run.

 

[kenny thomas]

I need to buy 150 calves by Dec 30 but just don't have the nerve to pay the price it takes. I sold 655 lb steers here this week for 118.50. Probably the highest calves for that weight I have ever sold. I know for some of you this is not high but for the east this is very good. I hope the price stays high even if I never get to buy anymore.

 

[plumber_greg]

The way I figured it, a $50 premium on a 500 dollar calf is ten percent. Premiums won't go up with the market, the same premium on a $900 calf is only four percent, not worth the risk. Might be different if I was a big operator and had a thousand head. Even at that premiums aren't gauranteed, and neither is the market. gs

 

[plumber_greg]

I need to buy 150 calves by Dec 30 but just don't have the nerve to pay the price it takes. I sold 655 lb steers here this week for 118.50. Probably the highest calves for that weight I have ever sold. I know for some of you this is not high but for the east this is very good. I hope the price stays high even if I never get to buy anymore.

You know Kenny, it would take a lot of nerve. The more succesful operators I have worked for over the years are the ones that when you ask how many cattle they have when the market is good will have the same number when the market is bad. Don't know what difference it makes, but they are the landowners and drive the new tractors.
The ones that have a lot of cattle when the market is good and it's easy to make money, and none when things get tough, are the renters and the rainbow herds of anything cheap. Don't know if it's true everywhere, just never met a wealthy inner and outer. gs

 

[Angus Cowman]

Older gentleman I knew bought a pot load of calves every week and sold a pot or two every week
he said if he sold high he bought high, if he sold low he bought low and it had always worked for him had been doing it for 30 some yrs and made a pretty decent living

 

[Jogeephus]

Older gentleman I knew bought a pot load of calves every week and sold a pot or two every week
he said if he sold high he bought high, if he sold low he bought low and it had always worked for him had been doing it for 30 some yrs and made a pretty decent living

You just have to stay in it and it will work out. You hope anyway.

 

[larryshoat]

Older gentleman I knew bought a pot load of calves every week and sold a pot or two every week
he said if he sold high he bought high, if he sold low he bought low and it had always worked for him had been doing it for 30 some yrs and made a pretty decent living

You just have to stay in it and it will work out. You hope anyway.

I think you fellers are right. You can't be in and out of the cattle business. Buying cattle is a lot like buying land when you get it done you've just paid a little more than everybody else thought it was worth, just the nature of it.

That being said I think you did alright Greg. When you start paying $1.20 for 8 weight calves and feeding $5.50 corn, there ain't much meat on the bone the way I figure, even at a dollar fat JMHO.

Larry