What weight and when to sell steers ??

[Lrj505]

I have 6 steers on the ground 2 months old. Already eating lots of hay and grain. I have 4 more pregnant cows due anyway. My question is what weight do I fees them until ? Should I use Synovex ? I have included a pic of what steers at my sale go for. Thanks

 

[bird dog]

yes on the implant. Feed them as long as you have adequate forage for them and their mothers. I would like to have those 600 lb ones that bring $150 to 190. I strive to get $800 net on each calf on the ranch. Doesn't always work, but thats the goal.

It also means some good ones will have to bring $1000 because of few duds may only bring $600.

 

[Lrj505]

I pretty much pay $100 a ton for hay alfalfa or oats. Which implant is best ? Also how much grain ?

 

[bird dog]

Sorry I didn't word that correctly. It should have read keep them as long as you have forage. If you don't have cattle on pasture, I am not any help.
My calves don't get any feed until weaning. Everything comes from moma and grass. Sometimes I will put a creep feeder out a couple weeks before weaning but since I rotate through different pastures, I have quit that. I only hay from late fall to early spring.
I use Revalor G at first work and again at weaning. I don't have any idea if its best, just what I use. Synovex is probably just as good or better. Ralgro is fine but hard to find at times.

Where are you at? What are your goals with these calves. Are just just feeding out of a dry lot, no grass?

 

[Lrj505]

November 15-February 15th pasture. Fed to November corral and hay. Cost is less than $1.50 a day per cow. Goal is just to make my mortgage payment. So far it's working. Now want to make more money . Open to ideas. I figure I make about $500 minimum a cow after feed. Right now young pregnant cows 3 stripers at the auction are going for $600 due to our drought. So we bought 25 , figure they will calf soon. In March sell the calf and the cow as a pregnant cow. Should triple money.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I used that same kind of math when I started, and through the years I've been schooled. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

 

[farmerjan]

We are buying some bred cows for $7-800 . Most are fall calvers. Also bought 3 cow calf pairs at a sale. Avged $800. The cows at this sale had a big group from a farm that had been sold. They obviously didn't have much grass, and must have run out of hay in March because I haven't seen cows that poor and thin in awhile. One char. cow we got, with a pretty decent heifer calf about 200 lbs, weighed 1150 and she needed 300 lbs to cover her ribs. NO JOKE. Paid right at $850 for her. There were cows there that were so thin, and their calves were so under nourished, that they had the scruffy hair coats. So many of them will never grow right because they have been starved/stunted.

The 3 we got are mature cows, we haven't mouthed them yet, but would say in the 8-10 yr old range. Their calves looked pretty decent, so you know everything the cow was eating was going to milk for the calf. It was sad to see these cows so underfed. This is a monthly sale, so there are also trader cows there; but they announced the ones that came from the farm that was sold out, and there were a group from another farm that were so fat they had rolls of fat on their butts. Only about 20 of them, but I wouldn't touch them. Too much money and potential for too many problems.

One of the bred cows is probably pretty old, but she was in decent flesh and only cost $465. If she is short mouthed or no teeth, if she raises her calf she will make a little. We have plenty of grass so figured that we could get a group and turn them out on pasture until Sept or so and then move them closer to calve them. Since we sold 8 cull cows, open, old whatever; we figured we did okay on these. Didn't spend 2500 more and got 3 cows w/calves and 7 confirmed preg. And a coupld will gain 2-300 lbs so will do okay when the time comes to sell as culls if they don't measure up.

 

[True Grit Farms]

We are buying some bred cows for $7-800 . Most are fall calvers. Also bought 3 cow calf pairs at a sale. Avged $800. The cows at this sale had a big group from a farm that had been sold. They obviously didn't have much grass, and must have run out of hay in March because I haven't seen cows that poor and thin in awhile. One char. cow we got, with a pretty decent heifer calf about 200 lbs, weighed 1150 and she needed 300 lbs to cover her ribs. NO JOKE. Paid right at $850 for her. There were cows there that were so thin, and their calves were so under nourished, that they had the scruffy hair coats. So many of them will never grow right because they have been starved/stunted.

The 3 we got are mature cows, we haven't mouthed them yet, but would say in the 8-10 yr old range. Their calves looked pretty decent, so you know everything the cow was eating was going to milk for the calf. It was sad to see these cows so underfed. This is a monthly sale, so there are also trader cows there; but they announced the ones that came from the farm that was sold out, and there were a group from another farm that were so fat they had rolls of fat on their butts. Only about 20 of them, but I wouldn't touch them. Too much money and potential for too many problems.

One of the bred cows is probably pretty old, but she was in decent flesh and only cost $465. If she is short mouthed or no teeth, if she raises her calf she will make a little. We have plenty of grass so figured that we could get a group and turn them out on pasture until Sept or so and then move them closer to calve them. Since we sold 8 cull cows, open, old whatever; we figured we did okay on these. Didn't spend 2500 more and got 3 cows w/calves and 7 confirmed preg. And a coupld will gain 2-300 lbs so will do okay when the time comes to sell as culls if they don't measure up.

Maybe you can triple your money.

 

[Lrj505]

These ones are thin too. At least most of them. But we have had some super fat ones too. The calves from thin cows are scary small

 

[Lrj505]

We bought a dozen 1st to 2nd calf heifers for $750 3 strippers

 

[farmerjan]

We sold 17 steers on Friday; 4 wts did $1.55 to 1.63 I think. The ones that went a bit over 500 did in the $ 1.48 to 1.55 range. Not bad, these calves were pretty nice. Got 3 steers with runny eyes we held, and will make a culling decision on the heifer calves. Got to preg ck the cows the first of the week. We have to move the cows off this pasture in mid-June, and then they go back right after deer hunting season after Thanksgiving. We hay about 10 acres of it then let it all regrow and often feed 35-40 c/cf pairs there for the winter. If we don't have much snow like the last 2 winters, they will graze for at least 30-60 days with no hay; all of Dec and then often in Jan. We make hay available after 30-45 days, and it is surprising how much picking they will do. All depends on the rain in late summer. The calves do real good there. Some steep ground so we only put "younger cows" there that are athletic enough for the hilly terrain.

 

[farmerjan]

TG we needed to increase our fall calving group as that is where it seems we have culled the most. Triple???? LOL.... Positive cash flow will be just fine. Not needing to make a fortune....I have also been there over the years and making a little is just fine. We are trying to just add back what we culled. We did not keep alot of heifers a few years ago when they were high so sold most of the 4-5 wts. So, we don't have any heifers being bred right now, although there are about 15 that will go with the bull in Nov for fall calves next year. And we have found that some of our cows are older than we were thinking...time gets away and a few cows that we were saying were getting up to 8-10 are more like 14 plus.... So when the opportunity was there we picked up some that we can just as easily sell if they are not up to snuff since we do not have a fortune in them. Right now they are at the barn, we will mouth and worm all of them, give lepto shots and they are in the process of eating all the hay they can. Want to get them filled up so they don't go to grass and founder or anything else by gorging on grass. In about a week or 10 days, they will go to pasture.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I gotcha Farmerjan, I bought 20 thin young bred cows calved them out and ended up keeping 6 as replacements. It's sad to see some of the old gals hit the road because of age and being broken mouth.

 

[skyhightree1]

490# for me

 

[jltrent]

If selling off the cow I like to keep them under 600 # as the steer buyers don't what them bigger and leaving them on the cow that big is not good on the cow or next calf coming. Some cows all you can get is 500-550 # calf as not great milkers.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Looking at these answers - you have to remember it depends on the herd.
I wean based on age. I wean on one day (day after Labor Day), all calves will be 6-8 months of age. I don't weigh them the day they are weaned. They had been weighed & worked twice before weaning, then I work them about 2 weeks after weaning. Last year the steers sold to a feedlot averaged 658# on 9/21. 3 Show steers & 4 bulls were not in this average weight.
Also, I direct market my steers to a feedlot, price is set based on a great feeder calf sale here in NY. So, I don't care how much they weigh as far as over 500# or over 700#.
So, your question is tough to give you best advice.

 

[Lrj505]

Is it better to sell to a feedlot or at the sale barn?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Feedlot any day in my book. Feedlot, you determine price (or negotiate price). Sale barn, buyers choice.
I base my sale price on the highest price the group of buyers is willing to pay. But, I have a long standing reputation, they buy "sight unseen".
People think they can get into the cattle business and make a killing - or make top dollar. That is usually EARNED - through reputation and "hard-knocks".

 

[TexasBred]

Feedlot any day in my book. Feedlot, you determine price (or negotiate price). Sale barn, buyers choice.
I base my sale price on the highest price the group of buyers is willing to pay. But, I have a long standing reputation, they buy "sight unseen".
People think they can get into the cattle business and make a killing - or make top dollar. That is usually EARNED - through reputation and "hard-knocks".

Sure Hope Everybody Reads That Last Comment.

 

[hornedfrogbbq]

We are buying some bred cows for $7-800 . Most are fall calvers. Also bought 3 cow calf pairs at a sale. Avged $800. The cows at this sale had a big group from a farm that had been sold. They obviously didn't have much grass, and must have run out of hay in March because I haven't seen cows that poor and thin in awhile. One char. cow we got, with a pretty decent heifer calf about 200 lbs, weighed 1150 and she needed 300 lbs to cover her ribs. NO JOKE. Paid right at $850 for her. There were cows there that were so thin, and their calves were so under nourished, that they had the scruffy hair coats. So many of them will never grow right because they have been starved/stunted.

The 3 we got are mature cows, we haven't mouthed them yet, but would say in the 8-10 yr old range. Their calves looked pretty decent, so you know everything the cow was eating was going to milk for the calf. It was sad to see these cows so underfed. This is a monthly sale, so there are also trader cows there; but they announced the ones that came from the farm that was sold out, and there were a group from another farm that were so fat they had rolls of fat on their butts. Only about 20 of them, but I wouldn't touch them. Too much money and potential for too many problems.

One of the bred cows is probably pretty old, but she was in decent flesh and only cost $465. If she is short mouthed or no teeth, if she raises her calf she will make a little. We have plenty of grass so figured that we could get a group and turn them out on pasture until Sept or so and then move them closer to calve them. Since we sold 8 cull cows, open, old whatever; we figured we did okay on these. Didn't spend 2500 more and got 3 cows w/calves and 7 confirmed preg. And a coupld will gain 2-300 lbs so will do okay when the time comes to sell as culls if they don't measure up.

I love this story!!! Graham and Dodd investing in cattle!