Craig-TX
Well-known member
If you're a rancher running commercial cattle you measure with your eyeballs.
Where do you weigh your cattle?
- Thread starter cmjust0
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BC
Well-known member
Craig-TX":wr71hdn8 said:
Eyeballs lie. Go see how many order buyers have to change a calf from to a different order because their eyes missed the weight.
DD RANCH
Well-known member
cmjust0":j5j61aav said:I do have a couple of truckstops near, so that might be an option.. Hadn't thought of that, but it seems like a no brainer now.
I think I might ruffle some feathers asking to have them weighed, but I'm trying to avoid any guesstimating. I'm no where near a point where I could judge weight with any accuracy. It would be far too easy for someone to shortchange me.
If I offend someone just by asking, I'll keep looking until I find someone who wants things on the nose like I do...
I agree when you sell by the pound buy by the pound There is a cattle buyer here he likes to buy everything by the head but he's slick and end's up with alot of free pounds...
Craig-TX
Well-known member
BC":1qkz0aha said:
IMO an order buyer who, after seeing calves go across the scales, has to change them to different orders on a regular basis isn't worth his salt.
But, back to the point, scales simply aren't necessary for a cow/calf operation. You can generally eyeball them to within +/- 25 pounds and that's plenty close enough. Heck, +/- 50 pounds is close enough. Every now and then there will be very long or tall or blocky calf that will fool you for more but that's the exception rather than the rule. Besides, a producer makes selling decisions based on a lot of factors in addition to weight. Market conditions, cash requirements, grass or hay, time of year, and on and on. Not having scales has zero to do with how well a commercial operation is managed.
sidney411
Well-known member
When I sell strait to a buyer I load up all steers and weight the whole bunch at the farm store/feed mill then divide out the weight by number of animals, same for the heifers. I also weight the empty trailer and truck for a base point. My buyer gives me a CWT based on the average weight for each group. Otherwise they get weighed at the auction as they run through the ring.
We borrowed a scale from the extension office once. It was a pain in the butt to use. It wasn't one of those digital ones though. Every time the calf shifted the weight would be throun off and I'd have a heck of a time balancing it. I've never used one before that though, so it was probably user error.
We borrowed a scale from the extension office once. It was a pain in the butt to use. It wasn't one of those digital ones though. Every time the calf shifted the weight would be throun off and I'd have a heck of a time balancing it. I've never used one before that though, so it was probably user error.
cmjust0
Well-known member
All good suggestions, and I appreciate'em... I'm especially glad to see that so many people here get creative with the task of weighing cattle -- truck stops, gravel pits, landfills, etc... Tells me that I'm not the only one looking to get accurate weights, nor am I the only one without a scale...
I don't think I'll be so apprehensive about asking to have them weighed, knowing that such a thing isn't all that uncommon..
Besides, the more I think about it, the faster I think I should run from somebody who insists on selling their cattle to a greenhorn based on an eyeball weight guestimation... I figure the more certain they are that they're getting a good deal, the more likely it is that I'm getting the shaft... For that matter, an old hand with a good poker face could always look a lot less certain than they actually are.. :shock:
Scales don't lie, though.. Except the one in my bathroom, of course, which is CLEARLY too high...
I don't think I'll be so apprehensive about asking to have them weighed, knowing that such a thing isn't all that uncommon..
Besides, the more I think about it, the faster I think I should run from somebody who insists on selling their cattle to a greenhorn based on an eyeball weight guestimation... I figure the more certain they are that they're getting a good deal, the more likely it is that I'm getting the shaft... For that matter, an old hand with a good poker face could always look a lot less certain than they actually are.. :shock:
Scales don't lie, though.. Except the one in my bathroom, of course, which is CLEARLY too high...
cmjust0":3q0h47vq said:
When buying breeding stock via private treaty, price is usually determined on a per head basis - not weight. In the instance that a sale would be based on weight the seller would have an accurate, verifiable weight.
lakading
Well-known member
Craig-TX":dvxm0o3q said:
:lol: :lol: :lol: Now there's a profitable proposition........for one of the parties involved. :lol: :lol: :lol:
lakading
Well-known member
Craig-TX":20h54a7n said:
+/-50 pounds is close enough??? Dear God, at $1.00/lb or more it doesn't take many head to make that payment on a good scale.
Regardless if you are commercial or purebred, profit is profit. If you're getting by doing it that way, that is fine. However, to throw it out there as blanket advice demonstrates some of the worst business acumen I have ever been witness to.
Craig is probaly talking 25 lb to 50 lb on a potload of calves or just eyeballing them to decide if they are ready to sell.lakading":2up0okwf said:
But IMO a 25 to 50 lb mistake on a potload of cattle is pretty close.
lakading
Well-known member
la4angus":32ypj8v7 said:
That makes more sense. However, I'd be willing to wager that you would be more that 50 pounds off on the weight of the potload by simply eyeballing it.
Scales really don't cost that much. They will last a long time and almost undoubtedly have a positive ROI.
I know Craig personally and he does have a good eye for cattle and weights. Besides we aren't talking about selling on the eyeball wts, just deciding if they should be sold at any given tiome or waiting a few days to get closer to the optimum wt if the market is advancing or maybe selling sooner if expecting a decline.lakading":iuosqehe said:
lakading
Well-known member
Ah, sorry wasn't following.
Nowland Farms
Well-known member
Speaking of weighing cattle, where does one find the correct scales to weigh'em all, biguns' and little ones?
What are the types? Price ranges?
What are the types? Price ranges?
Craig-TX
Well-known member
la4angus":l9bw7ss1 said:
Thanks for the vote of confidence LA. lakading, he's right. I guess I didn't make myself clear enough. I was talking about making selling decisions and scales not being necessary for that. A rancher hardly ever buys calves so there's no need for scales on that end. If buying private treaty I would just look each cow over and decide what I would give for her. It wouldn't matter to me exactly what each weighed. Same for calves if I actually had enough grass to buy some for gain - ha.
As for buying or selling a bunch of calves, try this sometime. Guestimate the weight on each. If you practice in the salebarn you will get pretty decent at it. Let's say you are weighing 10 calves and you miss each one by 25-50 pounds. You're going to be heavy on some, light on others. Figure that times what the average price is at the time. You'll be high on some and low on others. Generally your misses on weights will average out and you will be within 50 pounds for the total. Same with the prices. You'll surprise yourself on how close you can get on the total weight and price.
Anyway, thanks again LA for clearing it up.
Bullbuyer
Well-known member
CMJUSTO -
I see that you are in Kentucky - check with your county fair, usually they have a set (often portables). If you're looking to buy a set you could probably check in at the New Holland Dealer in Georgetown, not sure of the name but I have bought some equipment there and they have a huge selection.
I see that you are in Kentucky - check with your county fair, usually they have a set (often portables). If you're looking to buy a set you could probably check in at the New Holland Dealer in Georgetown, not sure of the name but I have bought some equipment there and they have a huge selection.
If you're buying feeders you should buy by the pound. Then you know exactly what you're getting at price per pound.
We have a scale at home that we use for weaning and yearling weights but when we sell our calves we use the creamery scale in the next town. The truck and trailer get weighed empty, get a weight slip, and then we load the calves and get another weight slip. That way the buyer knows exactly how many pounds he bought. He then can figure how much it will cost to finish them out and how much he'll need when he sells them finished - per pound.
The only cattle that I've seen sold by the head are breeding stock and show steers.
If someone came to my farm trying to buy our steers by the head they could just mosey right on their way.
We have a scale at home that we use for weaning and yearling weights but when we sell our calves we use the creamery scale in the next town. The truck and trailer get weighed empty, get a weight slip, and then we load the calves and get another weight slip. That way the buyer knows exactly how many pounds he bought. He then can figure how much it will cost to finish them out and how much he'll need when he sells them finished - per pound.
The only cattle that I've seen sold by the head are breeding stock and show steers.
If someone came to my farm trying to buy our steers by the head they could just mosey right on their way.
