Buying cows?

[3words]

With all this rain again this year,and 150 pairs not even putting much of a dent in all this grass.Would you guys and Ladies be willing to gamble on $2000 to $2400 pairs and the cattle market staying strong for a few years? I really don't know what i should do?People thought i was nuts paying $1650 for pairs last spring,and that ended up being a pretty good decision to buy them.50 pairs for $100000 or more just seems like a lot of money for 50 pairs,and i just don't know if i want to stick my neck out that far.I guess i'm just still feeling the burn of 7 years of bse years,when we were basically just giving our cattle away.And please don't respond with me leasing grass out to other ranchers to run there cattle on,if i'm going to look after more cattle there going to be my own or it will just not be used.

 

[4Diamond]

Do it. With weigh cows bringing what they are, but those pairs and if nothing else bust em up in the fall and sell em all.

 

[katrina]

Alot of this country is dry... So my prediction is that bred cow prices will be down so if you can hold out for say a month, you might be in the driver seat for more profit...

 

[HAY MAKER]

Lotsa reasons to get back in slowly down here its been the drought which I have my doubts is over, anyway my advice go slow, I was out looking at a few pairs today and bought a nice bull and some heifers, shoulda been buying me a parade saddle but thats another story, for another time.
good luck

 

[eatbeef]

Cows prices stayed high last year thru the drought in the south, i wouldnt expect much less this year, but most of them cows that were in the south are here now and the cattle are started to move again. Its hot, dry, and not looking good. I sold some pairs for 2200 this spring but also bought pairs for 1500. Shop around, dont fall in love with the fancy 2000 to 2400 pairs when you can make money with the 1500 ones.

 

[gcreekrch]

There were older pairs (I'm guessing 8+) sold at Calgary Stockyards this week in the $13-1500 range. 1400 lb + Sim Angus cows with 150lb young calves beside them. For a short term deal to use extra grass they were a good buy on this market. Weigh up cows at the same sale were .85.

 

[3words]

Cows prices stayed high last year thru the drought in the south, i wouldnt expect much less this year, but most of them cows that were in the south are here now and the cattle are started to move again. Its hot, dry, and not looking good. I sold some pairs for 2200 this spring but also bought pairs for 1500. Shop around, dont fall in love with the fancy 2000 to 2400 pairs when you can make money with the 1500 ones.

Trust me i won't fall in love with the fancy pairs and just buy them,your average run of the mill cows are the ones they are wanting $2000 for,the fancy ones are the ones for $2400.Another problem is with all the grass,not a lot of people are selling any.The cheapest pairs i have seen yet were $1850,and they were basically canner cows and had may calves on them.

 

[LazyWP]

I must be the only pessimist on here. I remember the 80's all to well. My dad broke his back in 83, I was 19 years old, and tried to get the family to sell the cows the week he broke his back. They all fought me, and we ended up selling them in November of the year. What would have been $1200 pairs ended up as $300 registered Pinzgauer cows.
As long as a person doesn't fall in love with cows, there is money to be made, but I would say be CAUTIOUS!

 

[Soapweed]

I must be the only pessimist on here. I remember the 80's all to well. My dad broke his back in 83, I was 19 years old, and tried to get the family to sell the cows the week he broke his back. They all fought me, and we ended up selling them in November of the year. What would have been $1200 pairs ended up as $300 registered Pinzgauer cows.
As long as a person doesn't fall in love with cows, there is money to be made, but I would say be CAUTIOUS!

I can't remember if it was 1983 0r '85, but one cold snowy November afternoon at a local sale barn, some Limousin heifers bred to Longhorn bulls came through the ring. They had been preg checked before the sale. There were over a hundred head total, and the opens weighed just about the same as the breds. The opens brought $370 per head, and the breds brought an even $300. It was a drought year, and I sure didn't have any extra hay, but thought if a person would have bought them he could have lost every calf at calving time and still made money. Any live calves would have really been frosting on the cake. Opportunity knocks, but it sure doesn't insist that you open the door. :? :wink:

 

[RSL]

You said it yourself in a way. There is opportunity in pairs, but there is also big risk at these prices. Eventually someone will get stuck paying too much for cows, but likely not this summer.
Is there another grade of animal with good profit potential? or some off type cows/grass cattle that might work? Another opportunity may be to stockpile some of that forage and graze later into the year, cutting costs on the cows you already own.

 

[Larrry]

That pesky weather seems to always throw a wrinkle in a guys plans. The only thing worse is the government throwing wrinkles.

One old feller always said about these markets, "there is always something lurking around the corner, you just hope it's something good. But most likely not"

 

[ANGUS327]

With all this rain again this year,and 150 pairs not even putting much of a dent in all this grass.Would you guys and Ladies be willing to gamble on $2000 to $2400 pairs and the cattle market staying strong for a few years? I really don't know what i should do?People thought i was nuts paying $1650 for pairs last spring,and that ended up being a pretty good decision to buy them.50 pairs for $100000 or more just seems like a lot of money for 50 pairs,and i just don't know if i want to stick my neck out that far.I guess i'm just still feeling the burn of 7 years of bse years,when we were basically just giving our cattle away.And please don't respond with me leasing grass out to other ranchers to run there cattle on,if i'm going to look after more cattle there going to be my own or it will just not be used.

I am in similar situation here, lots of good cattle for sale when it was dry but not so many now. I did buy 25 pair of black one owner first calf heifers with March calves on them for $2150 from a dispersal with the plan to sell the calves and heifers this fall.

 

[GM88]

Is there another grade of animal with good profit potential?

I keep my hfrs so I have some flex, in a dry spring I can sell early or hold them late in a wet year. I realise it is to late for you but I watch the yrlg market close , I see at the sale barns if you are willing to pick up singles or off cattle there is some money to be made there . I have seen pairs bringing 13-1400, not the best cows in the world but 6 months green grass can make a world of diff. I like the yrlg route better cause fall marketing is way more flexible if we dry out in aug and sept.

 

[3words]

You said it yourself in a way. There is opportunity in pairs, but there is also big risk at these prices. Eventually someone will get stuck paying too much for cows, but likely not this summer.
Is there another grade of animal with good profit potential? or some off type cows/grass cattle that might work? Another opportunity may be to stockpile some of that forage and graze later into the year, cutting costs on the cows you already own.

That was another good reply,i'm grazing the cows now until mid november and then i switch them to good feed,since i'm still one of those guys that calves in january.If the spring is decent enough for the cows to graze,no real reason why i can't turn the pairs back out to pasture early.Save all my pasture at home,and just put all the cows out on rented pasture this year.

 

[3words]

You said it yourself in a way. There is opportunity in pairs, but there is also big risk at these prices. Eventually someone will get stuck paying too much for cows, but likely not this summer.
Is there another grade of animal with good profit potential? or some off type cows/grass cattle that might work? Another opportunity may be to stockpile some of that forage and graze later into the year, cutting costs on the cows you already own.

Your right,and i don't want to be one of those guys stuck paying to much for cows.

 

[3words]

There were older pairs (I'm guessing 8+) sold at Calgary Stockyards this week in the $13-1500 range. 1400 lb + Sim Angus cows with 150lb young calves beside them. For a short term deal to use extra grass they were a good buy on this market. Weigh up cows at the same sale were .85.

Thats exactly what i'm looking for,could turn a nice profit with cows bought at that price!!

 

[gcreekrch]

There were older pairs (I'm guessing 8+) sold at Calgary Stockyards this week in the $13-1500 range. 1400 lb + Sim Angus cows with 150lb young calves beside them. For a short term deal to use extra grass they were a good buy on this market. Weigh up cows at the same sale were .85.

Thats exactly what i'm looking for,could turn a nice profit with cows bought at that price!!

Listing 25 pairs with more expected for Moosejaw on June 16.

 

[3words]

There were older pairs (I'm guessing 8+) sold at Calgary Stockyards this week in the $13-1500 range. 1400 lb + Sim Angus cows with 150lb young calves beside them. For a short term deal to use extra grass they were a good buy on this market. Weigh up cows at the same sale were .85.

Thats exactly what i'm looking for,could turn a nice profit with cows bought at that price!!

Listing 25 pairs with more expected for Moosejaw on June 16.

The only problem with a sale of only 25 pairs,once you buy 1 pair you better be ready to step up to the plate to buy the rest,doesn't matter if trucker is loaded or one pair on his trailer.He is going to be charging you buy the mile and not the load.This is moose jaws report for there may 26th pairs,bred cows and hfr report.40 cow/calf pairs, bred cows, open heifers
Pairs sold up to $2300
Open heifers sold up to $1360

 

[gcreekrch]

Not sure where you're at 3words. Know about full trucks, try a load from Val Marie to here. That load is still reasonable compared to what these heifers are worth as pairs. Course, I haven't sold them either.