Million cows left Texas

[Faster horses]

A rancher from Hobson, MT, started a cattle company in Russia and exported 1400 bred cows last year. There was a pretty interesting article about these cattle exports to Russia in the Western Horseman too. Russia doesn't have any breeding stock and trys to build up their own beef supply. Looks like Russia is doing business the Russian way - decided to hop on the cattle business when the prices are the highest :???:

Rumor only that Russians are looking for 8500 550 pound heifers for ailine transport. Also 20,000 more if that can be filled. They do not want to ship on freightliners again only airlines.
Thats a third hand rumor though

I have also heard they are shipping Holsteins out the port of Galveston to Russia. When I was doing market reports I seen most of the East Texas cattle heading to the East coast. Now cattle are pretty bare around here and some pastures just haven't pick up like people was hoping they would. The last few weeks we have pick up about 4-5 inches of rain and my clover and vetch crop is really coming on. (Thank God) A guy call me out of Dallas this week wanting me to graze some yearlings out for him. I told him to give me about 3 more weeks to get some more growth on my grass and I will be ready. He said he can keep me in yearlings year around which is good news for me. It will be nice to see some calves grow out this year. Last year I was only about to put 150 on the yearlings I had and I had them for 5 to 6 months. I have more grass in the last 28 days than I did all of last year. So IF this keeps up we will be in good shape.

That is wonderful news. We'll keep praying the rains keep comin'.

 

[Trinity man]

My wife got me one of these new Tablets for Christmas that can take pictures and tons of other things. When I figure out how to take some pictures I will post them. All I can say its sure nice to see GREEN NOW.

P.S. The old Trinity River is up for the first time in over a year.

 

[Hay Feeder]

Rumor only that Russians are looking for 8500 550 pound heifers for ailine transport. Also 20,000 more if that can be filled. They do not want to ship on freightliners again only airlines.
Thats a third hand rumor though

I have also heard they are shipping Holsteins out the port of Galveston to Russia. When I was doing market reports I seen most of the East Texas cattle heading to the East coast. Now cattle are pretty bare around here and some pastures just haven't pick up like people was hoping they would. The last few weeks we have pick up about 4-5 inches of rain and my clover and vetch crop is really coming on. (Thank God) A guy call me out of Dallas this week wanting me to graze some yearlings out for him. I told him to give me about 3 more weeks to get some more growth on my grass and I will be ready. He said he can keep me in yearlings year around which is good news for me. It will be nice to see some calves grow out this year. Last year I was only about to put 150 on the yearlings I had and I had them for 5 to 6 months. I have more grass in the last 28 days than I did all of last year. So IF this keeps up we will be in good shape.

That is wonderful news. We'll keep praying the rains keep comin'.

This topic took from loosing 1 million cows out of Texas to exporting a few thousand females to Russia the past few years.
estimating 50,000 head of norhtern us blacks and whiteface to Russia for the past five years compared of one million being moved out of Texas in one year. A cattle buyer here bought 2200 head to Russia last year he said the money is to slow and way to much loss on the ships. We need to remind ourselves on the get to Russia they still have a few weeks to get where they are to go if not eaten by then. NO highways folks.

 

[littlejoe]

I have also heard they are shipping Holsteins out the port of Galveston to Russia. When I was doing market reports I seen most of the East Texas cattle heading to the East coast. Now cattle are pretty bare around here and some pastures just haven't pick up like people was hoping they would. The last few weeks we have pick up about 4-5 inches of rain and my clover and vetch crop is really coming on. (Thank God) A guy call me out of Dallas this week wanting me to graze some yearlings out for him. I told him to give me about 3 more weeks to get some more growth on my grass and I will be ready. He said he can keep me in yearlings year around which is good news for me. It will be nice to see some calves grow out this year. Last year I was only about to put 150 on the yearlings I had and I had them for 5 to 6 months. I have more grass in the last 28 days than I did all of last year. So IF this keeps up we will be in good shape.

That is wonderful news. We'll keep praying the rains keep comin'.

This topic took from loosing 1 million cows out of Texas to exporting a few thousand females to Russia the past few years.
estimating 50,000 head of norhtern us blacks and whiteface to Russia for the past five years compared of one million being moved out of Texas in one year. A cattle buyer here bought 2200 head to Russia last year he said the money is to slow and way to much loss on the ships. We need to remind ourselves on the get to Russia they still have a few weeks to get where they are to go if not eaten by then. NO highways folks.

Canada used to send fats to England on 'silk trains', then ships, and it worked pretty well.

And about a hundred yrs later, they can't make it work?! And we're exporting winter calving, from what i read. Dumb and dumber.

 

[Aaron]

As far as I know, all shipments are by air to Russia now. Too much death loss on a ship, compared to loading a few hundred head on a plane and be there and back in a matter of days.

I sold one purebred heifer calf to Russia in November (just to test the waters). $1200 check was mailed out the day she hit the quarantine yard in Ontario and the export company phoned and asked me to sell all my registered calves to them this fall at $1200. Always nice to have something to look forward too.

 

[katrina]

I have a friend who will sell some to Russia in the next few weeks.. They want 700 pound registered hiefiers will go to Illinois to be bred and then shipped on a boat... I think he said it was Krebs who was putting this together. I think he said bunches over 100 was $1500 apiece.

 

[Denny]

Was offererd $1400 a head for the cull type heifers as long as they were registered to bad mine all went to a feedlot 3 months ago.

 

[leanin' H]

Not trying to rock the boat, but selling heifers to the Russians is like selling bullets to somebody that plans to shoot them back at ya! :shock: :???: Wouldn't it make more sense to ship them boxed beef? I get that they want to build their own cattle base. But down the trail it might bite us on the backside.

Glad to hear you Texans are getting some moisture. It's been a while for you guys and here's hoping it continues!

 

[mwj]

Not trying to rock the boat, but selling heifers to the Russians is like selling bullets to somebody that plans to shoot them back at ya! :shock: :???: Wouldn't it make more sense to ship them boxed beef? I get that they want to build their own cattle base. But down the trail it might bite us on the backside.

Glad to hear you Texans are getting some moisture. It's been a while for you guys and here's hoping it continues!

They will buy what they want, not what we would like them to buy! If boxed beef was an option we would already be selling it to them.

 

[George]

Even if they have extremely good luck it will take at least a decade before they will have a large enough base to affect us. And with the way they have run everything else I don't see it happening that soon.

I would think they should have made their purchases in Canada as the climate would be more like their's. Easier for the cattle to adjust, they should also rent some good cowboys for a couple of years.

 

[Faster horses]

Even if they have extremely good luck it will take at least a decade before they will have a large enough base to affect us. And with the way they have run everything else I don't see it happening that soon.

I would think they should have made their purchases in Canada as the climate would be more like their's. Easier for the cattle to adjust, they should also rent some good cowboys for a couple of years.

They did. Paid 'em $100,000/yr but some of the cowboys couldn't take
it and came back.

 

[leanin' H]

Not trying to rock the boat, but selling heifers to the Russians is like selling bullets to somebody that plans to shoot them back at ya! :shock: :???: Wouldn't it make more sense to ship them boxed beef? I get that they want to build their own cattle base. But down the trail it might bite us on the backside.

Glad to hear you Texans are getting some moisture. It's been a while for you guys and here's hoping it continues!

They will buy what they want, not what we would like them to buy! If boxed beef was an option we would already be selling it to them.

I disagree! We have desimated our steel industry with regulations. Then we turn around and sell everything to China and even train them on how to run our technology. Then we turn around and buy steel from them which makes our trade deficits worse. :shock: When we could be making steel right here! How is sending cows to Russia any different? :???: Our government could step in, in a heartbeat with tariffs or negotiate a trade agreement. But we'd rather cash the check now and say to hell with the future. :? My opinion only and not meant to offend. If you are selling heifers that go to Russia, good for you. Just thinking big picture.

 

[Aaron]

H, I have heard your concerns from others, ie shooting ourselves in the foot.

But the simple fact is, the former USSR is going to raise cattle, and they are going to export it. I doubt they will be an exporting concern within the lifespan of many on here, but I think in my lifetime, they have the shrewd business sense to get it done.

Look at equipment manufacturers. Kazakhstan agriculture minister comes out and says to John Deere, Agco, CaseIHNH, etc. you want your equipment here, you BUILD it here, and the first ones to build plants here will have market dominance. Pretty smart! Might not be the free market, but you can't argue with results.

So, if they don't buy cattle from us, they will go somewhere else. And I don't know for sure, but if you try to tell me to buy a bull when I want a heifer, I'll politely go somewhere else to shop.

The big picture for ag in North America in 20 years is not the current one.

To give a rough idea of what I am thinking, in my area alone, out of 160 or so beef producers, less than 30 are under the age of 40, and over half of that number are currently bachelors. Do you see where producer numbers are heading?

 

[gcreekrch]

H, I have heard your concerns from others, ie shooting ourselves in the foot.

But the simple fact is, the former USSR is going to raise cattle, and they are going to export it. I doubt they will be an exporting concern within the lifespan of many on here, but I think in my lifetime, they have the shrewd business sense to get it done.

Look at equipment manufacturers. Kazakhstan agriculture minister comes out and says to John Deere, Agco, CaseIHNH, etc. you want your equipment here, you BUILD it here, and the first ones to build plants here will have market dominance. Pretty smart! Might not be the free market, but you can't argue with results.

So, if they don't buy cattle from us, they will go somewhere else. And I don't know for sure, but if you try to tell me to buy a bull when I want a heifer, I'll politely go somewhere else to shop.

The big picture for ag in North America in 20 years is not the current one.

To give a rough idea of what I am thinking, in my area alone, out of 160 or so beef producers, less than 30 are under the age of 40, and over half of that number are currently bachelors. Do you see where producer numbers are heading?

So.....you batchelors need to trade heifers for Russian farmgirls. :wink:

That way you could keep the rest of your cattle here and perpetuate the farmer breed.