Stripped them right of the cow, yesterday morning and hauled them straight to the yard. Out of character for me, but we do what we do.
They were bred to a heterozygous black bull, and I had close to half red or yellow (That's the kiss of death here). Out of the 23 calves about three were really colored odd, and they got hammered for sure. Four or 5 really showed some ear. That's also the kiss of death here.
Final results:
Oldest claves were March, youngest was a couple of June calve. I'm going to say the average age was 6 and a half months old
The stats:
average weight was 497........First calf heifers bred to the bull they were bred to, i was pretty pleased with that
4 averaged over 600
two in the high 300's (they were the youngest, but still small boned and a hatchet butt (Mom may have to go, but them 2 will get another chance)
Low price per pound was 92.50, and High was 1.58
Average of steers and heifers together was 1.24 (That will seem low to many, but we get hammered for a bunch of things, and I had most of the "things" going aagainst me). i can fix all the "things" on the second calf. Maybe not the ear, but the color for sure.
Best two calves brought $813, and worst calf brought $434, with average at a little over $600
CONCLUSION:
For me, in my area, with my management style, I was pleased with the end result. A run of heifers that all sold $800 calves would be better than a field full of $600 calves. I realize that, but can't seem to make every animal on the place "that kind of cow".
When these heifers were a year old, they were probably worth $1000-1100, so That's where I start my figures. I bout have to have $500 in feed/hay/shots/mineral/etc in them on top of that.
When I consider a heifer that I have $1500-1600 in just sold a $600 calf, it is a little depressing. Those figures don't even begin to include insurance/depreciation/fuel/maintenance/etc.
Why did I post this?
We talk among ourselves a lot, and that's fine. Some beginners visit here and that's fine (that's really what we should be here for). It's good from time to time, to see some real numbers, and tell what you did wrong, and what you could have done better. Yaw are welcome to expand on these thoughts and offer suggestions, but these are my numbers for my heifers, and it's not that great.
I look for better weaning weights and a better price per pound in the future. And an extra $200 per head will go along way, but IMHO it's just not covering the cost of production. I won't be quiting, but the industry more specifically the packers are propped up by people like myself. I played in a sand box as a child, and I guess I play with cows now. People that turned a profit in 2021, can judge that, and they can judge me, but those numbers are my reality.
They were bred to a heterozygous black bull, and I had close to half red or yellow (That's the kiss of death here). Out of the 23 calves about three were really colored odd, and they got hammered for sure. Four or 5 really showed some ear. That's also the kiss of death here.
Final results:
Oldest claves were March, youngest was a couple of June calve. I'm going to say the average age was 6 and a half months old
The stats:
average weight was 497........First calf heifers bred to the bull they were bred to, i was pretty pleased with that
4 averaged over 600
two in the high 300's (they were the youngest, but still small boned and a hatchet butt (Mom may have to go, but them 2 will get another chance)
Low price per pound was 92.50, and High was 1.58
Average of steers and heifers together was 1.24 (That will seem low to many, but we get hammered for a bunch of things, and I had most of the "things" going aagainst me). i can fix all the "things" on the second calf. Maybe not the ear, but the color for sure.
Best two calves brought $813, and worst calf brought $434, with average at a little over $600
CONCLUSION:
For me, in my area, with my management style, I was pleased with the end result. A run of heifers that all sold $800 calves would be better than a field full of $600 calves. I realize that, but can't seem to make every animal on the place "that kind of cow".
When these heifers were a year old, they were probably worth $1000-1100, so That's where I start my figures. I bout have to have $500 in feed/hay/shots/mineral/etc in them on top of that.
When I consider a heifer that I have $1500-1600 in just sold a $600 calf, it is a little depressing. Those figures don't even begin to include insurance/depreciation/fuel/maintenance/etc.
Why did I post this?
We talk among ourselves a lot, and that's fine. Some beginners visit here and that's fine (that's really what we should be here for). It's good from time to time, to see some real numbers, and tell what you did wrong, and what you could have done better. Yaw are welcome to expand on these thoughts and offer suggestions, but these are my numbers for my heifers, and it's not that great.
I look for better weaning weights and a better price per pound in the future. And an extra $200 per head will go along way, but IMHO it's just not covering the cost of production. I won't be quiting, but the industry more specifically the packers are propped up by people like myself. I played in a sand box as a child, and I guess I play with cows now. People that turned a profit in 2021, can judge that, and they can judge me, but those numbers are my reality.