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Poor prices

G

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
998
Location
Central Alberta, Canada
Took a hit at the auction yesterday with an open heifer which I thought I'd illustrate for those of you south of the border who think your prices are bad. She was open last fall and I stupidly opted to try and breed her again to make her a fall calver. :roll: She didn't hold and I missed the chance to sell her as a grass-fed beef last fall. Bad decision - in this case my first loss would have been the best. Yesterday 21 months old, 945lbs = 50c/lb for a gross before deductions of $472.50 ($451.66 US $) :mad: :mad:
 
Sorry to hear that, GF. I guess one way to look at it is to be glad
you only sold one.

And Mr. FH always says your first loss is the easiest to take.
He pretty much lives by that motto.

I hope your other sales are better. The prediction is for higher
prices~sometime in the future. So we can hope...
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Why would she still not have sold for beef?
Click to expand...
She wasn't adequately fattened for slaughter now and I sell grass-fed beef not silage fed beef as I find it has an off taste. In retrospect I should have held onto her and got her fat off early grass and marketed her that way. I blew $500 on that decision and I accept that it was my miscalculation. Why the h@% are 9 weight feeder heifers only bringing 50 cents though?? I see no excuse for that. VJV Ponoka sale today is quoting 9 weight heifers at 77-87c. Oh, yes I know she must have been "poor quality and discounted" - except she wasn't she was a perfectly good heifer.
So many of the hogs with their snouts in the trough of commodity agriculture will get a wake up when there aren't enough cow/calf guys left to supply their needs.
 
Your silage must be put up wrong because silage fed beef has anything but an "off taste" to me. In fact, it fattens calves quicker and with plenty of marbling unlike grass fed, which seems to have no marbling to me. Just my two cents. :? Sorry the price on the heifer was low.
 
Maybe "off taste" was the wrong thing to say - it would taste different to our grass-fed and it would not have the health benefits of the Omega 3 to 6 ratios and CLA levels because you only get them grazing fresh green grass. I do not want to compromise the integrity of the product we market.
We must have very different silages and grass leanin' H - we consider our silage to be pretty good this winter with protein around 13% and TDN of 63% but there is no way that will the finish and get the gains of 2.5lbs+ a day that we get in summer and fall off grass. To get higher gains and more marbling off silage my guess is you would need corn silage?
 
Northern Rancher said:
If your cryin' start buyin'-put an order in and buy a couple hundred and make the money.
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I thought you'd given up on quoting that old peach NR? Seemed like you used to quote it a lot but for the last while you've been talking about getting tired of living on beaver crap or something? We are actually pretty much maxed out on cattle numbers at the moment given our feed, pasture and financial resources. We've done as much as we can to position ourselves for any potential upturn in markets and can't retain any more.
 
Grassfarmer said:
Maybe "off taste" was the wrong thing to say - it would taste different to our grass-fed and it would not have the health benefits of the Omega 3 to 6 ratios and CLA levels because you only get them grazing fresh green grass. I do not want to compromise the integrity of the product we market.
We must have very different silages and grass leanin' H - we consider our silage to be pretty good this winter with protein around 13% and TDN of 63% but there is no way that will the finish and get the gains of 2.5lbs+ a day that we get in summer and fall off grass. To get higher gains and more marbling off silage my guess is you would need corn silage?
Click to expand...

Yep! Corn silage is what I was speaking of. They gain around 3 PPD or a little better and ya get the added benefit of how good it smells when ya feed it. I re-read my post and it sounded condescending which was not my intent. If folks enjoy grassfed beef and you are able to earn a good living marketing it, cudo's to you sir! I am having success selling finished beef using a different approach and have learned what works for my customers. Diversity adds to the spice of life!
 
Grassfarmer said:
Took a hit at the auction yesterday with an open heifer which I thought I'd illustrate for those of you south of the border who think your prices are bad. She was open last fall and I stupidly opted to try and breed her again to make her a fall calver. :roll: She didn't hold and I missed the chance to sell her as a grass-fed beef last fall. Bad decision - in this case my first loss would have been the best. Yesterday 21 months old, 945lbs = 50c/lb for a gross before deductions of $472.50 ($451.66 US $) :mad: :mad:
Click to expand...

Never keep an open heifer while thinking of flipping her from spring to fall and vice versa. Always a money loser. Cows, not worth it either, but they are more likely to catch.

I like that quote NR. It is so true.
 
Northern Rancher said:
It works sunshine-the most money i've ever made when cattle were really in the toilet. You sold a cull cow and didn't ring the bell-the sun will rise tomorrow.
Click to expand...

most money i ever made with cattle was off a drought in SD - just south of pierre. bought first calf pairs in early august with 500lbs calves at side bred back to black x maine bulls for $900 on a backhaul. weaned and sold calves and sold the mamas for $1100 before the end of the year. I think the cattle gods are getting even with me now - can't seem to break this stupid drougth
 
It's setting up to be dry up north here too-mind you a big snow in march or some rain inn april and grass fever is going to hit. In 96 I bought a cutter Tarentaise bull at 750# and 40 cents I sold him off grass at 900 @ 85 cents picked up at the pasture. Some other deals haven't worked quite so well. You tend to make big money on the small bunches and get your fingers slapped on the big one-the two hundred bred heifers I had on hand when BSE hit come to mind lol.
 
GF. Did you sell her with an age verified certificate? I am just curious. It seems to me that anything that looks older than one year seems to get discounted as a 'heiferette.' :x
 

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