Back in the 70's and early 80's, when you could only import steers from Mexico for teamroping and dogging, I have seen prices at $500-$550 and up. After you could import cows and bulls, and people started raising them here ( Charlie Daniels' ranch was one of the first) I have seen prices some years $300 or less.
Here, everything is trailer weaned at 6 mos or so. Lots of people don't even cut the bull calves, and they bring close to what steers do. We weaned ours at 6 mos at around 500lbs. They were all solid black and polled, and no one could tell if they were 1/2 Corr. They bring whatever other Angus cross, polled black calves that age and weight bring. I did a poll on here once, with a pic of one of them, a Chi-angus ,a reg Angus , and ultra black, and some commercial mostly angus . None the Negative Nancy nay-sayers could pic them out. Only person that got it right was
@MurraysMutts.
We only keep salt and minerals inside the corral we have on the place. No other food or supplements, no wormer or vaccines, etc. We'd round them up when they had all done calving and cut or band the bull calves. So, our total inputs was salt and minerals, and some rubber bands or single-edge razor blades.
No way in hell 120 British or Contiental cows with no inputs could thrive on that land. Even if they could, you'd have 5 to 6 times the proce per cow in them, so you would not make the money the Corrs make you. We probably had an average of $250 per head in these cows. about $30k. So, using the same money you might could buy 20 "good" beef cows , and they MIGHT thrive on that 200 acres of junk, but those 30 calves will not bring even half the money the Corr- Angus calves do. Let;s say caalves were down and these calves only brought $1 pound. 120 @ $500is $60k. Those other 30 beef breed calves would have to bring $2000 each at 500 lbs, and that aint gonna happen.
Brahmas would probably fair as well as far as the rough forage and no feed, but you couldn't run as many on that 200 acres. Probably 1/3rd or less, and you gonna have $1500 to $2500 each in those cows. Right now, all we have is 5 Plummer cows, a 1/2 Br /1/2 Chianina and a 1/2 Br.1/2 Chiangus , both 18 months old. and four 19 month Corr heifers on the place. And a Corr bull. Those seven 1/2 Brahmas all looked fat and happy a couple of weeks ago, but no way could we run 120 like that on the place without feed and supplements. The way I traded, I ended up with about $300-3250 in those Plummers, but you could probably only run 1 of them vs 3 Corrs on that place. The 2 half brahmas I probably have $1200 each in them, so they would not be as cost efficient as the Corrs. Bottom ;line is, on rough pasture like that, with no other inputs at all, and given the same money to buy cows with, no way in hell can you do better than these Corr cows bred to Angus/Brangus/Ultrablack bulls.