• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

looking for advice

Help Support Ranchers.net:

H

Hereford76

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Messages
1,163
Reaction score
0
Location
North Central Montana
is anyone custom feeding calves over the winter for the grass market or to go back on grass. trying to get examples or ideas on how to charge for wintering calves

buyer from wyo wants to buy calves here mid october and have me winter them till 4/1. i am thinking about locking them up and free choice feeding them chopped alfalfa/grass with either pea straw or oat straw and salt/min and no protein supp at all.

how would u charge for that?
 
Most outfits charge cost of feed plus yardage-your cost of gain will be quite a bit higher than a finishing lot because a bigger % of the ration will be used just for mmaintenance not alot left over for gain. We winter on straight hay here but I'm thinking of adding a bit of energy-the last few winters we've hit some long stretches of -40. If you have real good hay you'll probably be fine that isn't always the case here. Just make sure it's worth your while-even 100 calves at .50/day yardage is only $50. Whatever you do don't winter calves for grass on a cost per gain deal!!!! You'll have to make sure who pays treatment and who stands death loss too.
 
we used to send the calves to a background lot years ago, though spring came they were too big to go back to grass, but did have sone great replacement hiefers.
the one I know that go back to grass with thier calves are calving Late May thru June, or June thru July
 
I second that suggestion on a pound of gain payment. There are so many ways you can feed cattle like that and not make any money at all. Death loss, burnouts, poor cattle all add up to expenses that you have to absorb. I've seen guys do it, and lose money custom feeding. Not good. :shock: :shock: :shock:
 
Northern Rancher said:
Most outfits charge cost of feed plus yardage-your cost of gain will be quite a bit higher than a finishing lot because a bigger % of the ration will be used just for mmaintenance not alot left over for gain. We winter on straight hay here but I'm thinking of adding a bit of energy-the last few winters we've hit some long stretches of -40. If you have real good hay you'll probably be fine that isn't always the case here. Just make sure it's worth your while-even 100 calves at .50/day yardage is only $50. Whatever you do don't winter calves for grass on a cost per gain deal!!!! You'll have to make sure who pays treatment and who stands death loss too.
Click to expand...

AMEN...
 
I wouldn't advise free-choice feeding them either. It's hard to manage what you can't measure. There will be lots less waste if you can feed them morning and night. They seem to do better too. Less acidisosis, etc.
I realize it is less time consuming to feed free choice, but I sincerely feel it is not as efficient feed-wise.

Good luck with your venture. I hope it works out for both of you.
 
usually feed my replacement hiefers right with my flock of ewes, have 3 fields feed them in the morning in one , then open the gate to another that evening
 
Have some rations run, taking into account the weather, sex, breed, and age of the cattle, and what feedstuffs you have along with the results you expect, on a least cost basis, with and without supplement figured in. (Your local LOOMIX dealer can/will do this for you.) Providing a little supplement may pay off big time for you and the owner. Whatever you do, RUN RATIONS!
 
Hell, yes! Have ALL of your hay (grass, alfalfa, straw, cane, etc.) tested, so the values can be plugged into the rations! Just plugging in NRC values is kinda like horseshoes & hand grenades...your hay might be close to NRC values, and it may be off by a mile. The only way to know for sure is to get the tests....and, it may not hurt to have the water tested as well to see if there are any potential tie ups that may occur, therefore jeopardizing desired results.
 
boy am i ever glad i read this just got home from the auction mart . a guy was trying to get me to feed calves for .50 per lb of gain calves weighing 400 to 450.from what you guys said that dont sound that great. i was just starting to pencil this out.any imput is aprecated thanks.
 
Last ration we had was all boughten feed set at a 3# per day gain if I remember correctly the cost per day was $1.26 per head per day the pen gain 3.46#'s per day for 120 day feeding coming in at 600#s

We had syrup from the ethanol plant that was next to free as about 7#s of their daily ration.

They started at 4#s shell corn 1/2# soybean meal 1/2#mineral 19#s of syrup and free choice hay each month we bumped them up 2#s of corn and left everything else the same. The hay consumption rose as the animals grew.
 
I guess the big question is what does the buyer plan on doing with them next spring. If he simply wants to winter them at a pound or so of gain so they can go out on grass next spring it is a far different deal then wintering them to gain at a good rate so they can go into a finishing lot.

There are increasing numbers of people wintering calves on native grass or cornstalks at a low rate of gain so they can go to grass in the spring. If that is the case put a price on your hay, grass or whatever is to be fed and any protein supplement you have to feed as well as your time and machinery cost.
 
Angus 62 said:
I guess the big question is what does the buyer plan on doing with them next spring. If he simply wants to winter them at a pound or so of gain so they can go out on grass next spring it is a far different deal then wintering them to gain at a good rate so they can go into a finishing lot.

There are increasing numbers of people wintering calves on native grass or cornstalks at a low rate of gain so they can go to grass in the spring. If that is the case put a price on your hay, grass or whatever is to be fed and any protein supplement you have to feed as well as your time and machinery cost.
Click to expand...

That's why you plug all this information in when you are filling out a ration request form. If the rep is there, with his laptop, then you can ask, "what if we did this?" and see the results instantly. Depending on all the variables, there can be quite a difference in cost/head/day. Swapping out a little alfalfa for grass hay can make a significant change in cost or results. I had a guy who bought every bit of alfalfa he fed. The rations indicated he needed better quality alfalfa. When questioned, it turned out his supplier was passing poorer quality alfalfa on him for higher quality price. He then got the higher quality alfalfa for the same price as the junkier stuff, and, not having to feed as much alfalfa, the savings paid his entire LOOMIX bill, as opposed to feeding more of the junk at the same price. The bottom line was, he got his cows through the winter and calving with excellent results, and, at a price per head/day that he was comfortable with.
 

Latest posts

Top