US Herd Size Trends

[kenny thomas]

I totally agree that the video sales are normally very good but that's almost always load lots of like kind and size calves.
Many places the average cow herd is 30 cows. Lets say they end up with a 90% calf crop at selling time. Thats 27 calves. At least 1 wont match up. Possibly more. Half of those will be heifers and half steers so 13 of each. Not a good video sale when your talking 13 like kind and size calves.
With this size herd the profit may be in what money you dont spend on hay and feed. Graze more days even if its less cows. Good grass management will actually allow you to graze more cows.
Virginia Tech is pushing a program they are calling Graze 300. Check it out. With good fall rains promoting fescue stockpiling im aiming for 330 days of grazing this year.

 

[Lucky]

The fewer hands your cattle run through the more you'll make.

 

[Brute 23]

Reasons why I find it hard to make money: time working a primary day job, sickness and injuries (last year has been tough), buying equipment I want but don't need, buying poor doing cows, selling through the local sale barn.

I agree with Dave on negativity here at CT. Now Dave is apparently blessed with good neighbors and role models who are making it. There are some making money here but its primarily as secondary operation to day jobs, row crops or the chicken houses. Its a tax game. I hear talk about those west Virginia boys "they have good cows because they have to live off of them". Suspect that's close to Dave's area.

I don't see people being negative. They are being honest about their situation and the struggles many producers are up against.

If you have been reading Dave's posts for years like some of us, context goes a long way. I'm glad he is happy with his situation but he is not as objective as some when it comes to the realities of the business as a whole.

It's like talking about the stock market. If you pull one time period, out of one stock, you can pretty much make the story to match it. It's far from an objective view of the whole market though.

A lot of the conversations are about the market as a whole and future obstacles, not niche markets on snips in time.

 

[greybeard]

Regarding some of the posts, including mine... I don't see it as being negative.

Many of us are simply in very different situations, especially different than Dave.
Don't (didn't) have nearly as much land so we can't run as many pairs or singles as he does. Cattle production is not (and never ever has been a one-size-fits-all thing.

And as BBirder says, there are more aspects to consider than just the bottom pencil line.

Dave, are you running some cattle on govt land at a pretty inexpensive cost compared to buying or leasing it from private ownership it outright?

 

[shaz]

I totally agree that the video sales are normally very good but that's almost always load lots of like kind and size calves.
Many places the average cow herd is 30 cows. Lets say they end up with a 90% calf crop at selling time. Thats 27 calves. At least 1 wont match up. Possibly more. Half of those will be heifers and half steers so 13 of each. Not a good video sale when your talking 13 like kind and size calves.
With this size herd the profit may be in what money you dont spend on hay and feed. Graze more days even if its less cows. Good grass management will actually allow you to graze more cows.
Virginia Tech is pushing a program they are calling Graze 300. Check it out. With good fall rains promoting fescue stockpiling im aiming for 330 days of grazing this year.

Wow!

 

[BFE]

Many good points. Everyone's situation is different. Not much pasture left here, makes it hard to deal in volume unless you build a confinement type operation. Then you're increasing overhead at every turn, which defeats the purpose in many ways.

 

[simme]

Several years ago, one of the local county's cattlemen's association had a program that put together load lots of similar cattle for the video auctions. To make that work well, the members need to produce similar cattle as far as breed composition, age, weights, etc. There is a good bit of work to coordinate all that, but they did get better prices.

 

[farmerjan]

Several years ago, one of the local county's cattlemen's association had a program that put together load lots of similar cattle for the video auctions. To make that work well, the members need to produce similar cattle as far as breed composition, age, weights, etc. There is a good bit of work to coordinate all that, but they did get better prices.

There are a couple of "organizations" here that do that now... have to follow the same vacc protocol and someone goes around and looks at the cattle and you tell them what you think you will have and they work with you... if the type/build/breeds meet the qualifications... and the vacc program is followed ... your cattle will get co-mingled with others... you could have 2 - 400 lb steers and 3-500 lb steers and 1 -450 lb heifer and 4 -500 lb heifers... they will take them and get them into groups on the "take up day"...

 

[gman4691]

At my place, the "catching up" is a big input up front but we don't do any big infrastructure project unless we can pay for it outright. Of course, that infrastructure will be used for quite a few years through quite a few calf crops. So if I don't include that in the year by year analysis, we do show a profit off of cows and excess hay to sale but it wouldn't be enough to live on. Just 110 acres and anywhere from 20-40 cows at any given time. The infrastructure projects provide a good tax write off and as I said, those are things that we will continue to have moving forward...don't want to put the burden of those costs on one or two crops of calves.

That being said, the numbers in the article are interesting. I have no frame of reference for more than say 50 head of cattle. I know a few folks that have 100-200 head but they are few and far between. Looks like us small operators have a significant role to play in keeping the meat on the shelves. Me and my 20-30 girls will try to do our part.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

I think Dave is making good use of his location. Relatively good selection of nearby sale barns, the advantage of a nearby
processing plant and if I understand correctly closer to feedlots.
If he is able to take advantage of BLM/Forest Service lands, there are additional risks involved there.
Shoot if I could afford a place in Dave's area I would load up my Little Arab and my Corriente crosses
and move on over there.