Sold Holsteins-Need Advise

[PaMike]

I sold 7 Holstein steers Thursday at the sale barn, and I thought I did very poorly. They averaged about 812 lbs, and I got about .64/lb. Last fall I sold some weighing 874 and got .73/lb and sold 1 weighing 1020 and got .63/lb. Is the market down compared to the fall or were my animals just of a lot less quality?
I run the steers on pasture, and feed hay and grain in the winter. I only feed about 2lb of 18% feed in the winter, and no grain when there is pasture. This winter I had some pretty poor hay, so maybe the condition of the steers showed that. I did still average about 1.4 lb/day gain which I didnt think was bad for steers on pasture. Since I have them on pasture and they get large frames without filling out a lot would that be a reason for them to sell cheaper? I am a little frustrated and need some advise. Thanks

 

[Nowland Farms]

I don't know about PA but here in Alabama, when you take calves to the salebarn you are going to get about the same price for 450 pounders as you will for 650 pounders when it comes time to fold the money. The higher the weight, the lower the cost per lb.

Sound like your market may be down some compared to last time.

 

[stocky]

Here are this weeks reports from 3 different southwest Missouri markets

Brookline Missouri
Holsteins: Large 3 250-300 lbs 101.00-104.00; 300-400 lbs few 94.00
-95.00; 400-435 lbs 89.00-96.50; 500-600 lbs 80.00-91.00; 600-700 lbs
76.00-81.00; pkg 802 lbs 73.50; 900-925 lbs 66.00-69.00.

Joplin Missouri
Feeder Holstein Steers: Large 3 500-600 lbs 77.00-81.50; 600-650 lbs
77.00; 725-740 lbs 74.00-77.50.

West Plains, Mo
Feeder Holstein Steers Large 3
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
6 352 352 94.00 94.00
26 568-596 593 75.00-76.00 75.11
12 750-760 758 72.50-74.00 73.63
24 835-848 846 72.50-73.50 73.38
7 972 972 68.00 68.00

 

[PaMike]

Thanks for the market report. My price may not have been as far off as I thought. It kinda kicked me in the gut cause I made some changes this year that I thought would really help me produce a better steer. Oh well... I will have to look at the market report in the paper tonight. I could have sworn that last week they had 1200 lb Holstein steers going for .75/lb.

 

[somn]

In my area fat cattle are up about 5 to 6 dollars from a year ago. Feeder cattle are down 5 to 7 dollars from a year ago. I'm not sure what I would classify your as. Certainly not fats kinda heavy for feeders. At only 2 pounds of grain per day I'm guessing they had barely enough to sustain weight certainly not enough to gain. A 1000 pound Holstien steer will eat 18 to 20 pounds of corn per day. I never seen your cattle but the lower price could have been directly caused by poor condition. In addition to a lower market price.

 

[somn]

A 1200 pound holstien steer is twice the quality of steer in the meat compared to a 1020 pound holstien steer. And a 1500 pound holstien steer is again as good.

 

[Aero]

the only way you are going to get paid for feeder calves at the barn is during a graded feeder calf sale. i imagine they wont let dairy types in the sale. at the weekly sales you are just taking a chance. the market is down and maybe one buyer didnt show up on that particular day that would hav ebeen there any other time.

with some of the estimates of future cattle, be very happy with what you got; it could be 4 to 5 times as much as projections say.

 

[MikeC]

Here is an artcile on feeding high quality Holstein steers:

http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic. ... t=holstein

 

[milkmaid]

I saw 7wts going for .64/lb in January when I was back home... I think you did about average for steers of that weight. I got .82-84/lb on some 650-750wts last August... kind of depends on the market and the quality of the animals. Those big framed animals with a belly, poor coat, and not much cover on top don't sell too well.

Keep in mind that what you see in the auction report is often not what they're really going for at the auction... been there seen that.

 

[cattleluvr18]

i know here is NE prices are down...expecially for holsteins. i dont know why.

 

[Howdyjabo]

When grain is high- Holstiens prices drop hard.

It takes more feed to finish them -- feedlots don't want them unless they area bargain going in.

 

[bigbull338]

When grain is high- Holstiens prices drop hard.

It takes more feed to finish them -- feedlots don't want them unless they area bargain going in.

your right about the feedlots not wanting holsteins unless they can steal them.even when they buy a 1000lb steer at say .70 cents a lb or $700a hd.feedlot needs to put 400lbs on him in 150 days.an thats 1.5 tons of feed an 1.13 tons of hay.totasl feed cost to feedlot is $325 to get that steer to butcher weight.im using a base of 20lbs feed a day an 15lbs hay a day to get 2lbs gain a day with is 17.5 to 1.

 

[somn]

I don't know about PA but here in Alabama, when you take calves to the salebarn you are going to get about the same price for 450 pounders as you will for 650 pounders when it comes time to fold the money. The higher the weight, the lower the cost per lb.

Sound like your market may be down some compared to last time.

Here in the midwest that is not the case more pounds more dollars per head. I can't imagine an auction where you can buy a 650 for the same money as a 450. It must be a very local thing in your area. Maybe a real high demand for 450's or something.

 

[shorty]

The auctions at New Hollland and Leesport Pa. have special feeder sales in spring and fall. Holsteins ususlly make up half the sale or close to it.

 

[shorty]

What auction did you sell your cattle at.

 

[Aaron]

It's pretty hard to get a feeder to buy Holsteins at less than 1000 lbs. Get them up to the 1200-1300 pound mark as cheaply as you can and then sell them. 1600-1700 lb Holstein steers in a good sized bunch are a pretty good looking set.

It's such a gamble as you can buy the calves cheap, but it's getting them to a good size as cheaply as you can, and as quickly as you can.

In the end, I would put as much weight as possible on them, to get your maximum pounds, even if they get a little old on you. There is quite a difference between a 800 lber @ .70 and a 1600 lber at .40-.50. The question is, how long do you want to keep them, and can you?

 

[milkmaid]

In the end, I would put as much weight as possible on them, to get your maximum pounds, even if they get a little old on you. There is quite a difference between a 800 lber @ .70 and a 1600 lber at .40-.50. The question is, how long do you want to keep them, and can you?

800lber @ .70/lb is $560, 1600lber at .50/lb is $800, true, but it's going to cost a lot more than $240 to get that calf up to 1600lbs. On just hay and grass from 400lbs on up, that'd be a 2-3 y/o animal.

I personally prefer to sell my steers around 400lbs if it's springtime and folks want to put them on grass, or closer to 800lbs at other times of the year. I try not to hang onto them any longer than I have to since they just aren't worth that much.

 

[somn]

On just hay and grass from 400lbs on up, that'd be a 2-3 y/o animal.

Not only would it be a 3 year old it will be above 59" and with that away goes the good market.

 

[Aaron]

That's odd. Before BSE, that's how the dairy steers up here would go. About 2.5-3 years and then sold at massive frame and weight (some up to 1800-1900 lbs). Sure you would get cow price, but as long as you had at least 1/2 dozen in the ring at the time, you could get around .60. Back then I always said that a guy could do real well on dairy steers if he took them right from birth and had a little patience. Neighbour tried that, did real well, but lost his patience at 1000 lbs. :lol: Nothing was worse on testing his fences then a Holstein steer.

 

[Howdyjabo]

Before BSE the Canadian market was kinder to aged animals than down here. We had a customer banking on it --buying every big headed 8-9 wt bull he could find cheap here then selling them in Canada finished. That market is gone now.