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Crossbreeding didn't pay yesterday

B

BRG

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Apr 20, 2005
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North Western SD
I am not trying to spur an argument. I just wanted to show you this interesting information, as I think crossbreeding has its place, but it sure didn't pay yesterday. Check this out.

A very good customer of ours sold around 600 head of Red Angus and Red Angus cross heifers yesterday in Philip, SD. They had 3 loads weighing 539 lbs and they brought $1.25 or $674 a head which totalled $62,682 a load. We purchased all of them for Broken Arrow Ranch, McLaughlin, SD. Then they had a few loads of heifers that were out of Simi cows and Red Angus bulls. They were good calves but they had curley hair and white faces. They weighed 550 lbs and they got $.96 or $528 a head which totalled $48,048. This is around $14,000 per load less for the crossbred heifers!!!
(I may be off just a little on the weight and price for the last group, but it is real close)

They had another load of red heifers that were lighter and they got around $1.30 for them. Then a couple smaller groups sold as replacements too and they did very good as well.

They are keeping mostly straight Red Angus heifers as replacements.

They haven't sold their steer calves yet, so it may be the other way around for them, but I dought it will be this much of a difference.
 
If they were the right kind of Simmi/Angus heifers somebody did some smart buying-if they weren't they sold where they should. Today we'll sort about 1500 calves they'll be some simmX cattle you'd die for and some you'd die raising.
 
They were real good heifers, but nobody wanted them, as nearly everyone that came wanted straight Red Angus heifers. The Simi cross heifers went to a feeder. To bad as they would make good cows.

I like your saying. "cattle you'd die for and some you'd die raising." That is pretty good!
 
NR, we agree on something. Since we didn't see the cattle ourselves we will just have to guess but I would say the guy that bought the semi x cattle bought himself a $100 advantage at the sale barn. Plus the fact that the xbred cattle (the right kind) should show a better ADG. A little of the right Simmental blood does nothing but improve Angus cattle. Too much is not advantageous.
Why can't markets pay for good cattle regardless of colour and leave the fads/gimmicks out of the equation?
 
Sounds like a real good deal for either feeding or for replacement heifers. If they don't make somebody a bit of money then we're all in trouble.
 
$674 on a 5 weight calf that needs 700 more lbs of gain to finish. That only gives you $440 to keep them healthy, alive, growing and gaining on $3.50 corn, if you can get $90 for them when they finish, which may be a stretch with the current market. Just curious on what you're thinking.
 
Sorry, I sure was not clear in my reply. I was referring to the xbred heifers @ $528. The guy that bought them has a heavier calf for $150 dollars less. The money he saved pays for the first ton of corn that goes into those calves and he should gain a bit on xbred vigor.

I just know I would hate to sell our calves for that kind of money. Which is why I'm not trying the markets with them this fall.
 
The Red heifers that brought $674 dollars will be turned into cows and they won't get any corn. The guy we purchased them for will breed them and sell bred heifers next fall. He sells around 1000 head of bred heifers every year.
 
I'm debating right now with what to do with my steers. They have been weaned for about 3 weeks and the decision is to push them and finish them or ease them along at about 1.5# a day and try to hit the grass market next spring. My nutritionist figured about a 70 cent cost of gain with my feed at $4.50 corn. Corn is up the limit today so that is helping my decision a little bit. He figured .90 fat price and 1.10 starting price and came to a $40 per head profit. I don't know what I'll do. I'm getting to the point in my life where I think it would be easier to just sell feeders and corn. Let someone else take the risk.

Sounds like a bargain on the crossbred heifers though.
 
I have tried to tell a couple of Charolais guys around here that they would have been the buy for the last year but for some reason the Char guys that want red cows want straight Red Angus. I always figured a crossbred cow would raise a bigger calf if you can get that 3rd blood.

Not to knock the straight reds but the guy on both sides told me they would rather have the baldies for cows and both run Char bulls but neither bid.(one guy was full of replacements having bought 200 red angus out of Mont. on the video. He thinks they are priced OK now)

A side note, that was the first time I had ever seen a full load of straight red baldie cattle.
 
We sold calves yesterday and the gelbvieh/angus cross calves easily outsold our lighter straight red angus calves. Our average price was $545.91 on heifers with an average weight of 612. The steers brought 657.47 with an average weight of 657 lb. This year the heavy calves pay, and that is what you get when you cross breed!
 
We just finished selling 2600 presort calves throught the local yards-I pulled a 19 hour shift yesterday sorting and weighing so a bit fuzzy lol. It only took us two hours to sell the calves though. I'm thinking our market might be a bit stronger than yours right now-I'll have to pick up a price sheet next time I work. I sold a plain yearling that we had trouble capturing at 730 @97.50 on Monday. Simm/angus or Hereford Angus are my flavour of choice for momma cows-we still have alot of the traditional simms in our area but they are getting rarer lol.
 
Funny how all the guys pimping bulls want the the guys running straight angus herds to crossbreed to their particular breed. I don't sell my calves in the fall but we just weaned and weighed the calves at home. Mid April to late May steers ave. 596 lbs with lots of the big dudes well over 630 which we will finish ourselves.
 
If they are straight angus you are the rarity! The all angus sales in this country are 50+ lb shy of the cross bred sales .And thats a fact.... from sugar bear.
 
elwapo said:
If they are straight angus you are the rarity! The all angus sales in this country are 50+ lb shy of the cross bred sales .And thats a fact.... from sugar bear.
Click to expand...
Whats even more rare is a gelbvieh breeder with straight red angus calves :D
 
I have tried to keep very good records and for the last two years the stright Angus calves have out performed the Charolis cross ( smokey ) calves about 20 to 40 # That isn't much but then I can feed 10 Angus cows on the same hay as 6 Charolis so I feel it is a no brainer - - - The beautiful white cows are getting scarce around here
 
this is just my opoion but maybe the straight bred heifers brought more because most guys like to breed with a more purebred cow that way heterois is better when there crossbred. sometimes cows get so crossed up you eventully end up losing heterois. personally I like a F1 cow crossed with a purebred bull. A very wise guy told me once You never get a bargin at auction because no one else was willing to pay more than you .
 

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