The cattle market really is starting to tank : (

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chippie

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I'm not sure what forum this should have gone in.

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago at our county fair, our extension agent and I were talking about the cattle market. He told me that cow prices were down and going lower. Bummer.

I really didn't realize it until last week. Our daughter's Jersey cow had a little bull calf, Peanut. My husband had business out of town and I am not a good hand milker (slow slow slow....), so he told me to go buy a baby calf to put on her with Peanut. I asked him if he wanted me to get two if they were cheap enough. Sure he said.

Well, the calves were certainly cheap enough. I bought Dumb for $25 and Dumber for $15. I am so out of the loop. I was so
shocked.gif
at the prices. I was expecting to pay double or more. Last Spring and Summer baby calves (including Holstein bulls) were bringing over a $100 ea at the sales. Craigslist sellers had them listed for more.

There were some very nice young Braunvieh type 7 to 8 month bred cows that sold for about $500 a head. The prices on all of the cattle were low too.
 
Chippie, you have been in a bubble for a while. :p Starting to tank isn't correct. It is listing quite heavly for a while and acts like it wants to roll over. :nod:

Dumb and Dummer? Prices you paid really suggests that isn't a joke in which you paid for what you got. Hope you got lucky and got some good calves cheap instead of something that should have been buzzard food. Good luck with them.

Last month good cows were selling pretty well. Large numbers were comming thru the sale and a lot of opportunists were comming in, buying them up and hauling them to greener pastures. Really helped keep the cow market up. Now that we have gotten some, well, lots of rain and the grass is green again mostly junk cows are coming in. Buyers are scarce and the they are taking advantage of it.
 
Yeah, I guess that I have been cruising along in my own little world. I haven't bought or sold anything since last spring. I've been more concerned about how bad the horse market has become.

I'm pleased with the calves. They are healthy and good sized. Dumb weighed 85 lbs and Dumber 105 lbs. Both were a couple of days old. We'll butcher one at 8 to 10 months for young beef and feed the other out longer. We've done this in the past.

I call them Dumb and Dumber because little Holstein bulls are so darn stupid. Dumber is a big calf and I swear that it took forever to teach him that he had to reach down to nurse the cow. I was getting very aggravated with him. He would suck the cow's hock, side, even the milk vein. What a knot head! Dumb is shorter and caught on fairly quickly.

I do enjoy watching them play. It's shame that they grow up and will be eaten.... Not!
2i9m5j5.jpg
 
If I've said it once.... I've said it a hundred times....


If all cattle were as stupid as calves...I wouldn't own a single one. Fortunately they get smarter.

I wonder if the geography has a lot to do with the prices. I've heard that food is in short supply in some areas of Texas this year. Around here, it's a sellers market, because people need to pick up extra head to feed up exess hay.
 
chippie":3n6h79jg said:
I'm not sure what forum this should have gone in.

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago at our county fair, our extension agent and I were talking about the cattle market. He told me that cow prices were down and going lower. Bummer.

I really didn't realize it until last week. Our daughter's Jersey cow had a little bull calf, Peanut. My husband had business out of town and I am not a good hand milker (slow slow slow....), so he told me to go buy a baby calf to put on her with Peanut. I asked him if he wanted me to get two if they were cheap enough. Sure he said.

Well, the calves were certainly cheap enough. I bought Dumb for $25 and Dumber for $15. I am so out of the loop. I was so
shocked.gif
at the prices. I was expecting to pay double or more. Last Spring and Summer baby calves (including Holstein bulls) were bringing over a $100 ea at the sales. Craigslist sellers had them listed for more.

There were some very nice young Braunvieh type 7 to 8 month bred cows that sold for about $500 a head. The prices on all of the cattle were low too.

Nothing new here - been on the way down for a few years - just sliding fatser now.

I think it was almost 6 years ago when the cattle orgs were claiming the average cattle guy was only making 100 bucks a cow.

Now it is in the negatives for many if not most

Bez+
 
Bez+":3dwh8g67 said:
I think it was almost 6 years ago when the cattle orgs were claiming the average cattle guy was only making 100 bucks a cow.

Now it is in the negatives for many if not most

Bez+

I'm often embarrassed for only having a few cows, but you make me feel better. Guess I'm making more money than anyone here.
 
Definately tanking in Texas. I hauled 5 cows last week.. three Brahman cows, one Simbrah and one black Simmental cross. They all went to kill.. four of the five were bred. The Brahmans were 1200 to 1400 lbs. Good cows.. but older. I wasn't really surprised, but we've had rain, so I thought there might be a chance someone would take them home. Also shipped five calves, they did better than I thought. The black bull calves were over .90.
 
Those three heifers on the nurse cow are over 400 lbs now and butterball fat. The two brangus heifers (splits) are especially nice. No way they would have taken in that much milk on their normal momma. They'll get weaned and I am considering buying some of the nicer $45 holstein heifers for nurse cow prospects a few years from now.

Dairy heifers have not been this cheap in a while. 6 years ago they were $850 at a day old with papers. Some of those coming thru the sale barn last time I was there were obvious free martins. I'll be looking close. Saw some go for $20 but some of the nicer dairy heifers were fetching $45. Maybe I can get a good look out in the pen before they hit the ring.
 
backhoeboogie":9yotk2tm said:
Those three heifers on the nurse cow are over 400 lbs now and butterball fat. The two brangus heifers (splits) are especially nice. No way they would have taken in that much milk on their normal momma. They'll get weaned and I am considering buying some of the nicer $45 holstein heifers for nurse cow prospects a few years from now.

Dairy heifers have not been this cheap in a while. 6 years ago they were $850 at a day old with papers. Some of those coming thru the sale barn last time I was there were obvious free martins. I'll be looking close. Saw some go for $20 but some of the nicer dairy heifers were fetching $45. Maybe I can get a good look out in the pen before they hit the ring.
Wow that is extremely cheap for Holstein heifers! Even with milk prices in the tank :lol: heifer calves are still pulling a pretty good price around here.
 
backhoeboogie":23m3u7ex said:
Those three heifers on the nurse cow are over 400 lbs now and butterball fat. The two brangus heifers (splits) are especially nice. No way they would have taken in that much milk on their normal momma. They'll get weaned and I am considering buying some of the nicer $45 holstein heifers for nurse cow prospects a few years from now.

Dairy heifers have not been this cheap in a while. 6 years ago they were $850 at a day old with papers. Some of those coming thru the sale barn last time I was there were obvious free martins. I'll be looking close. Saw some go for $20 but some of the nicer dairy heifers were fetching $45. Maybe I can get a good look out in the pen before they hit the ring.
our sale barn tells wich heifers are freemartins.an those calves only bring $30 or $40.
 
I've been going to the salebarn for the last three weeks..... I missed the baby calves this past tuesday but the week before holstein bull calves were $50 - $75.00 each and baby beef calves started $120 to $150 (mostly sold for $125 to $135)

This past tuesday I was shocked at the cow prices......... nice, nice 7 yr old cows 2nd and 3rd period $600 to $650 (and I'm not a black angus person but I did like these cows).... it was a herd sell out and the man had some nice cows. At this rate, by December bred cows will be $300.

I think I must be the only one writing my congressional leaders complaining about beef imports......
 
MoGal":1tb6pgaj said:
I've been going to the salebarn for the last three weeks..... I missed the baby calves this past tuesday but the week before holstein bull calves were $50 - $75.00 each and baby beef calves started $120 to $150 (mostly sold for $125 to $135)

This past tuesday I was shocked at the cow prices......... nice, nice 7 yr old cows 2nd and 3rd period $600 to $650 (and I'm not a black angus person but I did like these cows).... it was a herd sell out and the man had some nice cows. At this rate, by December bred cows will be $300.

I think I must be the only one writing my congressional leaders complaining about beef imports......

yes, MoGal, in south seattle, wa., i saw starter black heifer were selling very cheap around 59-65 cents. bred 4-6 months black and white face angus cows were selling around 40-42 cents per pound. the bull holstein calf were selling 10-15 dollars. longhorn was at 10 dollars. cull cows or hamburger meat were 37 cents per pound. i can wait till end of oct or early mid-nov. :D :wave:
 
kenny thomas":21szxpu5 said:
With the futures price rally this week have we hit the bottom and started to recover in calf prices?
A $.55 higher ending to the week you consider a rally?
 
I guess if you look at it that way. $.55 won't get me excited. 3 of 5 closed up.
 

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