What are buyers willing to pay premiums for?

[jemo]

I would like to hear cattle buyers of feeder calves say exactly what they are looking for and what they will pay premiums for. I don't mind going an extra mile or even two if I get a little extra money back. :?:

 

[Beefy]

i'd like to hear also.

 

[CKC1586]

Montana Range and Laura's Lean pay premiums on Piedmontese influenced cattle.

 

[J. T.]

Forgive me if I'm wrong Jemo, but I think the question is what breeds/breed combinations do buyers prefer. Also, does it pay to background and what kind of vaccination program can add to the price received from order buyers? Forgive me Jemo if I'm off the mark.

 

[msscamp]

Forgive me if I'm wrong Jemo, but I think the question is what breeds/breed combinations do buyers prefer. Also, does it pay to background and what kind of vaccination program can add to the price received from order buyers? Forgive me Jemo if I'm off the mark.

J.T. - I think that's a big part of it, but I also think it's things like steers as opposed to having to castrate bull calves, dehorned animals as opposed to having to dehorn them, calves that are bunk broke as opposed to calves that don't have a clue what a feedbunk is, etc, all of those things add to the cost and labor of feeding out animals. Depending on what part of the country one is talking about, buyers may or may not be willing to pay a premium, but I could be wrong.

 

[dun]

The catch with premiums is that when enough producers start doing the things that are now paid premiums, the premium goes away and those that don;t fit the bill are docked.

dun

 

[msscamp]

Very good point, Dun.

 

[cypressfarms]

Around here black baldy heifers/cows and tigerstripe heifer/cows will bring a very good price compared to almost anything else; especially the black baldies.

 

[msscamp]

I think that the black baldies bring a better price most anywhere. They are very hard to beat!

 

[bullred]

Keep in mind that an order buyer in Montana and an order buyer in South Texas probably aren't looking for the same things.

 

[cypressfarms]

Keep in mind that an order buyer in Montana and an order buyer in South Texas probably aren't looking for the same things.

I bet they'd both like black baldies, though

 

[bullred]

Keep in mind that an order buyer in Montana and an order buyer in South Texas probably aren't looking for the same things.

I bet they'd both like black baldies, though

I'm sure you're right about that. The question becomes how much are they willing to pay, or deduct, for the options (castrating, vaccinating, backgrounding, etc)?

 

[ga. prime]

I don't buy feeders, but I sell a few every year at auction. Castration is worth $5/cwt. What will hurt you more than anything on price is if an animal shows any hint of being short in length or stature(small to medium frame). There's a $20-$30/cwt swing there. Conformation sells moreso than color, though black is most certainly preferred. These are my observations from Ga. livestock markets and may not reflect trends or preferences in other regions of the country.

 

[Scotty]

How about good cattle. ones that are healthy, structurally sound and ones that a buyer could tell with 75 or higher % acuaracy what breeding it is. I have sat in on clinics were buyers talk about not wanting to have to guesse what type of calves they are looking at.


Scotty

 

[Frankie]

I would like to hear cattle buyers of feeder calves say exactly what they are looking for and what they will pay premiums for. I don't mind going an extra mile of even two if I get a little extra money back. :?:

I think if you're talking about taking 1-20 head to the sale barn, you're talking more about discounts than premiums. They'll discount for anything they can, too much ear, bulls, too fat, spots, horns, dairy influence.

In watching sales on Superior auctions, it seems they'll pay a bit more for animals in a specific health program and for "natural" animals. But those are larger lots of similar aged cattle.

 

[jemo]

Thanks for all the good advice. Sure makes me wonder about a Hereford Bull on my Angus cows. We have been using an Angus bull but not getting the growth we want. jemo

 

[msscamp]

Thanks for all the good advice. Sure makes me wonder about a Hereford Bull on my Angus cows. We have been using an Angus bull but not getting the growth we want. jemo

I'm not sure where Covington is, but with Colorado being my next-door neighbor I have a little trouble believing black baldies don't sell as well there as they do here. May want to think about visiting your local sale barn for a few weeks and see how they do.

 

[la4angus]

Thanks for all the good advice. Sure makes me wonder about a Hereford Bull on my Angus cows. We have been using an Angus bull but not getting the growth we want. jemo

I'm not sure where Covington is, but with Colorado being my next-door neighbor I have a little trouble believing black baldies don't sell as well there as they do here. May want to think about visiting your local sale barn for a few weeks and see how they do.

I agree with msscamp about using the Hereford bull on your black cows. It could be the best money making move you could make to improve your calves, replacement hfrs and price that you receive all in one move. Buy your Hereford bull now so he can start on his money making moves for you now.

 

[Frankie]

I agree with the advice to the advice that if you plan to sell at the sale barn, check out what sells well there. I'm not here to beat up Herefords, but at several female sales that I've been to, the buyers have asked or the auctioneer has offered, to cut out the white faced heifers from groups of black and black baldies. The blaze faced or mottled face ones seemed to be satisfactory. Good luck....

 

[dun]

several female sales that I've been to, the buyers have asked or the auctioneer has offered, to cut out the white faced heifers from groups of black and black baldies.

Those are the sales I'ld like to attend. Seems like other then the local area, Herefords don;t get docked as bad as they do locally. But the local barn is a joke anyway.

dun