What size do you sell?

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So the buyers can make $3,600 on a truck load of 450# bull calves by simply cutting them. I used to think it's only $.08 cents too....
Probly more...

Because by the time the ballz have dropped, they are weaned and straightened out too!

I've experimented a bit with a few bought bull calves. Has worked out well for me.
 
So the buyers can make $3,600 on a truck load of 450# bull calves by simply cutting them. I used to think it's only $.08 cents too....
I guess if they had a truck that held 160 450# calves they could! Would take 160 at 5 cents a pound difference. Or 80 calves if a dime a pound difference. Ideally around here, ypu'd wean your fall ( September-October calves) in April, and the hobby farmers etc, buy them and graze them all spring and summer, and sell them in the fall. The people who buy them have anywhere from 10' stock trailers to 24' to 30' trailers, just like the sellers have. At a large sale barn like in Calhoun Ga, it might take a month for 160 calves that size to come through the sale. There are no feedlot buyers or packer buyers with 18 wheelers at sales around here.
 
My target sell weight is 825. All weaned, castrated, vaccinated, and heifers guaranteed open. They might not bring the $1.50 posted above but I'll take it. 😉
Current market price isn't far from $1.50 based on the OKC report from Monday.

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I guess if they had a truck that held 160 450# calves they could! Would take 160 at 5 cents a pound difference. Or 80 calves if a dime a pound difference. Ideally around here, ypu'd wean your fall ( September-October calves) in April, and the hobby farmers etc, buy them and graze them all spring and summer, and sell them in the fall. The people who buy them have anywhere from 10' stock trailers to 24' to 30' trailers, just like the sellers have. At a large sale barn like in Calhoun Ga, it might take a month for 160 calves that size to come through the sale. There are no feedlot buyers or packer buyers with 18 wheelers at sales around here.
Using your example above I figured on a avg of 8 cents. A truck holds 45,000 - 50,000# that's just how it is, so it'll hold 100 calves that weigh 450#'s. Based on your original example (and keeping it easy) I figured .08 × 450= $36. $36 × 100 = $3,600 for buying calves one week cutting them and selling them 2 weeks later. When we talk about truck loads here we mean 45,000#. Sometimes they'll annouce that the seller has several trailer loads but nobody knows if that's a 10' trailer or 36' trailer. Anyway my point is this, cattle don't bring enough money as it is so we need to do everything we can to be more profitable. You may think 5-10 cents isn't much but someone that owns a calculator can make a good living off that same 5-10 cents. Even if you only have 10 calves $360 isn't bad for castrating them. It's also the right thing to do.
 
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Amongst the 72 yearling on the hill there is a couple of 550 pound steers which I bought last winter as 300 pound bulls. They cost me $300 to buy them. They are now worth $900 based on the local sales. I darn sure don't have $600 worth of feed into them. If I run into one of them I will get a picture.
 
My son is doing more buying of 375 to 5 wt bulls and castrating, vacc and they are naturally weaned once they are bought... he can make up some groups to sell and has made an average $.15-.20 lb on the bought cost. They will usually gain a little weight and yes "get straightened out"... learn to come right into the barn bunk for some corn silage and a little supplemental feed. Have had a few get sick and have lost a couple. But they mostly do pretty good and make some money. All of ours get banded and vacc and most are weaned and co-mingled with these to make groups... occasionally we will "trailer wean" if the market is "right".... it just depends.
 
My target sell weight is 825. All weaned, castrated, vaccinated, and heifers guaranteed open. They might not bring the $1.50 posted above but I'll take it. 😉
850lb steers yesterday in a load lot with 20% Charolais cross, 10% Red, and 70% Black brought 1.45. That's in East TN.
 
Using your example above I figured on a avg of 8 cents. A truck holds 45,000 - 50,000# that's just how it is, so it'll hold 100 calves that weigh 450#'s. Based on your original example (and keeping it easy) I figured .08 × 450= $36. $36 × 100 = $3,600 for buying calves one week cutting them and selling them 2 weeks later. When we talk about truck loads here we mean 45,000#. Sometimes they'll annouce that the seller has several trailer loads but nobody knows if that's a 10' trailer or 36' trailer. Anyway my point is this, cattle don't bring enough money as it is so we need to do everything we can to be more profitable. You may think 5-10 cents isn't much but someone that owns a calculator can make a good living off that same 5-10 cents. Even if you only have 10 calves $360 isn't bad for castrating them. It's also the right thing to do.
Yep. That is why I said " it is worth the price of a band or a single edge razor blade to steer them".
 
I find it interesting that just like here, every single weight class is worth more per head than the lighter class above it on the list.
Yes, pounds still pay the bills, once you have the expense of caring for the cow for the year it makes sense to maximize your income as long as you do it in a profitable way. I attribute the misconception to some people not being very good at math but then maybe they just don't have the right kind of cattle that will grow. Over the years I've had some that just wouldn't seem to grow but those don't get to stay here.
 
The other folks in this thread have already given you some good input, and I can't add much to it. We wean our calves at around 6-7 months and they will typically average around 575-625 at that time. We started preconditioning our calves for 45 days before selling a few years back and found that it's worth the extra effort and expense to do so. I'm a small producer, so the local cattle alliance/feeder calf sales that are held several times a year helps us by getting enough head together for truckload lots that the buyers will pay more for at than the regular weekly sale. Sometimes you just have to sell them when you can, but if I have some calves to go to the weekly sale, I try to avoid selling in July and October. One of my older friends that trades cattle for a living told me years ago that, at least in our market, those are months to avoid selling calves if I can due to the prices going down some due to the heat in July and the temperature swings in October making the calves more likely to get sick. The market the last few years hasn't been as seasonably predictable with what prices will do, so it's hard to know for sure when is the best time. Usually the week before or after I sell mine is the best time. Ha ha.

I was told October is dead calf month because of the temperature swings.
 
I went to the auction today and sat behind a guy that appeared determined to never be outbid. He paid more for what he bid on than anyone else. 400/450 pound calves that were going for$1.80/85 a pound were common and he was paying over $2 at times. The high price he paid was $2.275.
There was a 480 pound Corriente steer that that sold for 15 cents a pound. Something like 72 dollars.
Bulls were surprisingly high. Pairs going for $690 (skinny, desert starved) to just over $1400. If they split them they were getting $1700 or more.
 

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