What is a Cattle Trader?
- Thread starter CopeMan
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Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Some buy at barns that have a reputation for cheaper Cattle, and they buy there and send to a barn with more buyers, and higher prices.
Crowder has it right. An 'order buyer' is filling orders for stockering operations, feedlots, individuals buying replacement heifers etc. A true cattle trader has no order he is just there looking for deals. IF calves are bringing $5 a hundred weight more at a barn 25 to 125 miles away, they will buy a couple trailer loads and truck them to the next sale. (500lbsx$5/cwtx50 calves=a $1250 payday minus commissions and diesal) Shrink is the big enemy of this game. They will do things like buy cows by the pound, preg check them, sale the opens on the rail, and sell the breds in a replacements sale or to somebody they know who is looking for cheap cows. These are the guys who buy calves off of the trucks before sales and then run them back through hoping to make $10 to $70 a head more than the owner thought they were worth. This is a very cool game for someone who likes attending 3 to 5 sales a week, has a real eye for cattle and can do all the math in their heads. These are also the people who scream the loudest about the checkoff since it cuts directly into their bottomlines.
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Two Buddies of mine do it all the time. One got so good at it, he quit his day job. Sometimes they have stuff I would'nt touch with a 10 foot pole other times they have nice stock anyone would be proud to own.Their specialty now, seems to be short mouth cattle, and short bred full mouths. Mostly Blacks. If you really watch the sales, you'll spot cattle you saw at sale barn "A" on Monday, that will show at sale barn "B" on Thursday. I've always called these types "Transit Cattle" But we really know they are "Trader Cattle" Sometimes, you will see where the sickers have been removed from the hide. A good trader will have the barn slap the new one where the old one was. Some barns dont follow their orders, and it's real easy to spot. Thank Goodness.
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Both fellers I know have their own herds, with inventories of over 150 head.One has a commercial herd, the other has a commercial and registered herd.Both are what I would label as "Highly Sucessful" Don't mis-construe these guys as the old "Pen Hookers" that a lot of sale barns have run off in the last few years. There's a big difference.These do their business inside the barn, not on the outside.I can remember years ago an old car dealer told me " I can turn 5 grand into 10, 10 into 20 grand, 20 into 50 grand" and so on. These traders work on the same principle, when they hit a home run, they always tell me about it. When they strike out, no one's told a thing. They also buy up a lot of "Back Yard" cattle from folks unknowing what the markets are doing. I found them some the other day, and they knocked the ball out of the park with them...CopeMan":31uorqfy said:
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Let's put it this way.One of these Boy's is a lot more reputable than the other, in the Honesty dept. I've done quite a bit of business with the other, but not with trader cattle.This is a real small community, and if you do something good, it may go un-noticed, do something bad, and it's Hell's Fury. Overall, they probably would do a Man right.CopeMan":3ajn49dw said:
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Brandonm2":160ip212 said:
Shrink is an issue, and it you only hold them for a week or two they will gain little if any. Thats why the pros do not even unload them - - they just get truck the cattle to tomorrow's sale where they are sold as having stood overnight.
I have done some trading with very mixed results. I have not been able to make consistent $ with good beef cattle in large groups. Shrink plus $3 per mile plus $10 per head eats up the profits. I have had more success with small groups. The most consistent profit has been with belted or dairy cross feeders. They sell well some local barns but not others...
Like everything else you have to be careful. Order buyers- Some are fine, some will skin you alive and smile while they are doing it. If you find one you like to work with and he is honest with you, it can work out well for everybody. I've known some really fine people who were order buyers.CopeMan":12h0e9fe said:
Traders- I would say for most people the only way to come out on a deal with a good trader is not to trade with them.
BC
Well-known member
Crowderfarms":1yl0alsv said:
There are bargains at all barns. We have one in the area that everybody thinks has the best market around and I have a friend that consistently buys cows and resales them at our local sale by the way which does not have the perception of having the best market unless you visit with the order buyers.
Several have told me that week in and week out their calves are higher here than any other barn, just don't have the volume.
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
There's a barn about 30 miles from here with the reputation of a "Buyers Market" and the rep of "I would'nt sell a billy goat there" You can buy at times, good cattle off local farms, but the owner of the barn buys any culls that he can, and tries to make a buck, hence he's a cattle trader! They are also known for preg, checks that might say 6-7 mo, bred, that are actually short breds. Also notorious for selling "Gummers" as short mouths. Very little credibility. VERY few order buyers. But at times there have been some darn good cattle there, and I've bought a few several years ago from there, that I still have.Darn good ones too. proves the point buyer beware! Your local sale Barn stands a good chance of being owned by "Cattle Traders"BC":27cgcyos said:
