Where do you weigh your cattle?

[cmjust0]

How many of you folks have scales on your farms? I've been to quite a number of auctions on farms around here, and I've never seen a livestock scale...

I'd really like to buy some weaned steers this spring from a local producer (don't know who yet) instead of buying from the sale barn, but I'm not sure how I would go about getting them weighed...

The sale barn is 30 miles away, and the closest scale that might potentially work is the grain scale at a feed store 15 miles away.. To use that one, I'd have to find the difference between the loaded and unloaded weight, and I'm not even sure the scale is large enough for that.. Nor am I sure that the feed store would let someone use it for that purpose..

Any suggestions?

 

[SimmAngus]

We use a Tru-Test SR2000 Scale Head with the SHD load bars under the squeeze chute.

Before we got that scale we would take the truck and trailer to the local elevator weigh it empty and weigh it loaded. Generally they don't mind and I was never charged.

Another option is to find a TruckStop nearby that has a scale, which will prob cost $8.00 per trip over the scale.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Where I work they have the portable chute/scales for the cattle.
At home I don't have these so the few times I've had to weigh, I've gone to the local co-op and weighed empty then full.
Other folks I know, when selling/buying an animal for which they have no scale, the buyer and the seller do a "guesstimate" of the wieght of the animal that they both agree upon.

Katherine

 

[Craig-TX]

Why not just agree on a price and buy them by the head?

 

[cmjust0]

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...

 

[cmjust0]

Why not just agree on a price and buy them by the head?

Per head, by the LB, or by CWT, it's still all dependent on weight.. What I mean is, I don't believe a 400lb steer and a 500lb steer are worth the same money per head, so not being able to tell the difference between the two means that I wouldn't be able to agree on a per head price...

The problem is, I'm a total noob... :lol:

 

[Craig-TX]

In that case you could haul them to a public scale. You would have to sell a trainload of calves to make a scale pay for itself.

 

[cmjust0]

I figured scales were expensive.. Sounds like I'll be heading to the truckstop! :lol:

 

[Susie David]

Ours are weighed one half at a time. Not many leave the farm mooing but that's our operation.
We buy by the head, private treaty mostly...we figure the weight by looking, figure what's the market doing and start kicking prices around trying to sound broker than the other fella. Once we get close to what I'm willing to pay and he's willing to accept then we spit on the ground, shake hands and money is passed between us. Load up and go home and stick the animals in the isolation pen. DMc

 

[Saltydawg]

I use the scale at the local gravel pit when I need an accurate weight....otherwise I just tape them.

 

[Victoria]

Our Municipal District owns a cattle weighing scale. We go and rent it from them. It's far cheaper than buying one. We only need it to get our 205 day weights on the purebreds so it's just one day a year. We thought of buying one and figured it would need replacing far before we'd reach that cost through renting.
See if your Ag department rents one.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Our landfill ("the dump") has a scale and said we could drive through to weigh our next steer...two trips, but worth it to me to get a lie weight on him.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Uhhh, make that LIVE weight.

 

[BC]

You might check with your Extension agent. Some counties have portable scales or access to scales that can be rented. Our county's Extension Beef/Forage committee has one that thye rent to encourage perfromance record keeping.

 

[Scotty]

Do like Craig said and agree on a price. If you insist on them being weighed make the seller transport them. If he were going to sell them at a barn he would have to do it anyway.


Scotty

 

[jkwilson]

If you buy feed or fertilizer, see if the dealer will let you weigh. Our local applicator swings the scale head around at night so you can see it from outside.

 

[jcarkie]

we use the redimix/gravel scales or at a truck stop they charge so mush each time

 

[plbcattle]

I bought a set of scales on ebay for less than $700 new. I put them under my chute and weight them when i need to. I am going to move my scales back to an area in my runway so if I don't have to put them in the chute I still can weight them without having to run them in the chute

 

[SimmAngus]

I guess being an engineer type I like numbers. Use those silly things to make charts and graphs.... deciding which critters to keep and those to cull..... how feed rations are working.... blablabla kinda like my digital therometer too but that is another post.... RFID wand??? what the (be nice).... must be just another gizzy to steal money from the small farmer, next you know they will want electronic ID on cattle....... A good scale has been part of the farm for years and years. It is not just the luxury of the rich and famous... heck most of them don't own cattle anyway. I started with a scale older than my Father and I would not be without one today. If you are serious about raising beef cattle, and can afford one..... get a good scale and grab every bit of data you can. Not that I could define the difference but.... a HOBBY Farmer will not require a scale, beyond that I think it is just a part of every working operation.

 

[BC]

It is hard to manage what you do not measure.