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Calves

RSL

Well-known member
We shipped out some of our 2008 born steers yesterday and they sold today. I think the grass market will be tight this summer for all but the very careful (at least in Canada). By my math there is roughly $800 a calf into these steers going onto grass right now. Not much left by the end of August. I hope I am wrong.
There are a whack of cattle being sold. Over 4000 today at the auction we deal with.
 

gcreekrch

Well-known member
I'm thinking of selling my yearlings instead of going to grass with them. They are getting to be worth so much compared to the last 6 years that you can't even talk to them anymore! :wink: Another few cents will convince me to take a profit now.
 

gcreekrch

Well-known member
leanin' H said:
Buy high and sell low is my motto! :wink: The way to make a small fortune ranching is to start with a big one! :D


If you want to deal with the COOL BS I'll send you a load of steers to keep your motto going. :D
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
I'd have to change my marketing program! :wink: Maybe something like this;
Are you tired of wondering where you beef comes from? Sick of paying way too much for inferior quality? Upset over the countless re-calls of burger? Our cattle come straight from the wilds of British Columbia! They have been chased by real wolves and fattened on snow and tundra! They are more colorful than a kindergarten art class! They are carefully bred by only choosing the absolute very bottom of salebarn culls and breeding them to the finest crossbred dairy calves money or sweat equity can buy! Marbling? Way over-rated! Tenderness? Our steaks will strengthen your jaw muscles! Place an order today for a freezer full of artic circle born and desert finished beef! It will melt in your mouth! (after it kicks, hooks, sh!#s and exhausts your taste buds)
Proudly offered by Gcreek/Leanin'H enterprises :D
We also specialize in rustling sheep, farm implement hunting services and smart alec comments since 2009!
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
gcreekrch, Tough one to call as usual - we have just moved to selling yearlings too and it's hard to know if you should pull the trigger early. I sold my steers around May 1st last year and thought I did well - wrong, should have kept them till August.
It depends on your grass availability and cost of gain as well as market fluctuations. By the look of your calves they are carrying more flesh than mine so I would lose out more by selling now (losing more compensatory gain come grass time)I figure the way mine have been wintered they will easily do 1.6-1.8lbs gain for 100 days from May 1st.
Our cost of gain will be 26-30c/lb for grass and mineral/salt only. If the current 20 cent slide between 6+8 weight steers remains come August (and the price remains around where it is now)we will still pencil a profit. As there is only a 10 cent slide on heifers they will pencil a better return. Lots of guesswork involved, prices could collapse (again) but if they continue to rise you may leave money on the table.
 

RSL

Well-known member
Everyone has their own situation. We pulled the trigger at our place because of the value of calves right now combined with the risk factors including uncertainty in the economy and potential fluctuations in the Cdn $. It would not take very much death loss to make a venture with even your own calves a somewhat costly one. Our steers were green having only had grass and dry hay/greenfeed their entire lives, but the demand for grass cattle right now is incredible and the futures are not (although that can change in a hurry).
 

gcreekrch

Well-known member
Circumstances in the fall of 2007 led us to hold back about 80 calves, they were replacements,dinks and some good steers that came off the range late. Prices late 2007 were so poor I would not sell them. We pastured these yearlings on good rented grass which cost .45 per day, the steers ADG was 2.2 lbs on grass. I sorted off 20 of the heavy steers in mid July and sold them. They ave. 940 @ 102.50 per lb. and were the second highest selling steers of that weight in BC last year. Douglas Lake Ranch beat us with a package of about 600, 950 wt. steers at around 106.00.

It is my hunch that 950 wt steers in this area will be worth 110.00 to 112.00 by this July or August. If someone wants mine enough to pay me what I think they are worth, they will own them. If not, they will go to grass.

Having said all that, if we sold them on todays market, we would pick up around 15-20 cents on the calf pounds and would be paid about 30 cents a day for the gain over their feed cost.
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
We still have out calves and 50 more 5 weights bought between $1.19 and $1.26. They are about $1.34 now. We have pasture for them at $.65/day. It's mostly native so I don't think we get the gains possible that tame grass would do. It is tempting to sell now but we sacrificed to get to the point of keeping them until fall. :?
 

cowsense

Well-known member
I kinda like it when the market is good enough that you can't afford to keep them.............in my eyes this summer's market is a real crap shoot; the economy is still unsettled and commodities will probably continue to yo-yo around; as well I think the loonie will gain value back on the US buck especially if oil continues to gain value.
We probably will sell almost all our grass cattle in the near future. As well we have been seeing good interest in replacement females........several guys have stated that they need to get back to more British influence after a tough winter with high feed prices. We were going to retain extra bred heifers this year to expand but will see what kind of money we can turn out of our herfs & baldies as open replacements.
 

Silver

Well-known member
cowsense said:
several guys have stated that they need to get back to more British influence after a tough winter with high feed prices.
I wonder what that has to do with the price of rice in China?


I plan on holding mine until about Aug again this year. It worked awfully good last year, and it's pretty hard to pull the trigger on them when there's all that cheap gain / green grass out there.
But I'll keep them close in case I either can't stand it anymore :wink:
 

cowsense

Well-known member
Silver said:
cowsense said:
several guys have stated that they need to get back to more British influence after a tough winter with high feed prices.
I wonder what that has to do with the price of rice in China?


I plan on holding mine until about Aug again this year. It worked awfully good last year, and it's pretty hard to pull the trigger on them when there's all that cheap gain / green grass out there.
But I'll keep them close in case I either can't stand it anymore :wink:

Silver.........I don't know much about either rice or chinamen......... :???:

But as to my statement above I have had several guys state that they need to get back to easier doing, more moderate types of cows that can handle tough conditions better without breaking the bank on expensive extra purchased feed just to maintain condition.
 

Silver

Well-known member
cowsense said:
Silver said:
cowsense said:
several guys have stated that they need to get back to more British influence after a tough winter with high feed prices.
I wonder what that has to do with the price of rice in China?


I plan on holding mine until about Aug again this year. It worked awfully good last year, and it's pretty hard to pull the trigger on them when there's all that cheap gain / green grass out there.
But I'll keep them close in case I either can't stand it anymore :wink:

Silver.........I don't know much about either rice or chinamen......... :???:

But as to my statement above I have had several guys state that they need to get back to easier doing, more moderate types of cows that can handle tough conditions better without breaking the bank on expensive extra purchased feed just to maintain condition.

I understand that, but was wondering about the correlation between that and British cattle to the exclusion of others.
 
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