Largest Auction Barn in Eastern Half supports R-Calf

[ocm]

If you are Randy Stevenson, I hope your health is improving.


~SH~

I hope so too, but that's not me.

Kit Pharo has some good ideas although I don't agree with him completely. The most important of which is not an idea as much as a principle. Look at the total bottom line.
Don't go after weaning average. Go for the bottom line.
Usually this means selling the most pounds. A higher breedback percentage usually means better profit. On some open ranges a cow that produces a lot of milk for her calf this year would have a hard time breeding back and a hard time wintering. Cows that produce only moderate milk retain their condition in hard grazing conditions better. Their calves don't perform as well but there ends up being more of them, so a better opportunity for profit. Also weaning early will help those cows winter over better. Calves weaned early don't usually get as sick at weaning and by winter have well surpassed their mates that stayed on the cows. Even on lesser quality calves starting some corn that early and continuing will end up greatly increasing marbling.

Lot's of great easy opportunity in the calves for the first 6 to 8 months. But the bottom line is that there are many many more buyers for 800 lb calves (and greater flexibility in timing) than there are for fats. Competition works wonders.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Cattle that do good on grass will just do that much better in the feedlot the opposite isn't necessarily true-our cowherd functions on forage and our calves usually gain right around that 3.5 or a little better on feed. Were at 95 percent AAA over last several years but our yield grade could improve some-there's any number of exotic breeds we could throw in the mix to do that but haven't as yet. I've taken the money and run on our grass cattle the odd time but usually it's works best to retain ownership and sell them on the grid.

 

[Anonymous]

OCM: "Also weaning early will help those cows winter over better. Calves weaned early don't usually get as sick at weaning and by winter have well surpassed their mates that stayed on the cows. Even on lesser quality calves starting some corn that early and continuing will end up greatly increasing marbling."

I agree!

I measure profitability from two parameters. Pounds weaned per cow exposed and pounds weaned per acre.

Pounds weaned per cow exposed considers fertility into the equation. Pounds weaned per acre considers OPTIMIZING the number of pounds you can wean per acre rather than the number of pounds per cow WITHOUT OVERGRAZING.

ocm: "But the bottom line is that there are many many more buyers for 800 lb calves (and greater flexibility in timing) than there are for fats. Competition works wonders."

Competition in not measured by having more bidders but rather by the buying power of the bidders you have. Every auction ends up with two bidders in the end. Coke and Pepsi proved you can have competition with two companies. In the packing industry, we have 5 major players and numerous level two players.

Give me 5 buyers with deep pockets over a hundred shallow pockets any day.

How ironic that those who claim to want more buyers would eliminate one of the largest buyers for feeder calves by banning packers from buying feeder calves. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.


~SH~