Stocker Steve":2c9d3b2z said:
farmerjan":2c9d3b2z said:
And Sky is right, $200 per calf isn't worth all the time away from family and such over the course of the year.
I think you run more than beef cows. Have you split out the return per acre for cow/calf vs. yearlings?
Steve, we don't run many weaned or other calves except what heifers we are retaining. We buy and sell a few head, but don't have the fences or feed to run many past weaning. I run the calves on the nurse cows; this year got them established and then turned them out with some supplemental grain.... but it was not worth all the extra grain to get 2-3 groups off each cow with the dairy x feeders in the $.60 to $1.00 range at 350-450 lbs. Takes alot of extra grain to get them there. I am holding over my fall calving dairy heifers and will not be rebreeding them until June instead of now as I want spring calvers for the benefit of utilizing the grass better.
We try to do a fair amount of small square bales of hay as part of the overall farm income.2500 to 3000. Had a friend recommend my son to someone she knew. She took home a couple of sq bales, and that woman has gone crazy, BEGGING us for hay. She said her barn can hold 500 sq bales and asked to PLEASE be put on the "preferred customer list" for next year. It is just plain old orchard grass hay.... But if she wants to buy it.... ooookay...... we don't have near enough for our regular customers this year since it was so wet and hard to make it. We may start making some of our first cutting in small sq bales next year if the conditions are right to get into it early, rather than rolling it all and then making 2nd in small squares. Maybe that is the direction we will go in more. We are losing another pasture, it is a fair distance, and a mixed grass hay field next to it. With the price of beef, and the growing inkling I keep getting that in a few years the whole country is going to be seeing a severe recession or even a depression, maybe cutting the cattle numbers won't be such a bad thing. We are just trying to look at everything, and do some serious figuring right now. We have lost some animals this year with the horrible cold wet weather, and will be culling some more as we get some more preg checked. All the "old cows" are going to town unless they have raised a super duper bang up calf... and a few of the mediocre younger cows are leaving too. We will have to be more selective on what we are keeping as grazing acres will be a bit more limited. If the small sq bale market is that much better, as much as I hate dealing with some of them, it might be the way to go. There is a guy here who bought one of those "cube balers" that puts the sm sq.s in a cube, and ties it off, and we might have him do some custom, and see if it will work for us.
But no, we don't do many yearlings although we might retain a few more heifers if the prices continue to be low. Maybe in a couple years, if there is no big economic problem, then the cattle cycle will swing back up and we can sell some nice young cows bred or with calves, for a good price.... we will just have to see.
Prices here did come up a bit last week, so are looking to see when we are going to send some to town.... got about 40+ steers, but weights are not what we would like, that have to come off the cows in the next 2 weeks. Plus about 30 heifers of which we will be retaining some. Will either send them, or wean for 45 days or so. Talking to a couple of the sale barn owners and mgrs, to see what they are thinking for the market right now and this spring.