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

Red heifers strike again

BRG

Well-known member
Last week at Mobridge Livestock their was a Red Angus steer and replacement heifer special. A few of our customers sold that day. The heifers that looked like they were pure Red Angus topped the market big time. Lazy Ace had a good set that sold very well as well. Here are some prices.

Broken Heart Ranch - 84 Red Hfrs - 674lbs - $113.50

Prairie View Ranch - 40 Red Hfrs - 641lbs - $113.50

Merle Leibel - 34 Red Hfrs - 649lbs - $110.00

Jerry Leibel - 59 Red Hfrs - 627lbs - $109.50


Good black heifers in the same wights sold for $101 and $103 while feeder heifers all sold under a buck. Hopefully at our sale coming up the commercial open heifers sell like this as well.
 

jeff in ca

Well-known member
I get a kick out of you Red Cattle Breeders. Good cattle are good cattle no matter what the color they are. It just so happens most of them are black. Look at the big picture! CAB has been the most successful marketing plan agriculture has ever witnessed. Our "Urban Friends" ie customers, are so far removed from the dinner plate. That, they have no idea what is involved with getting their steak, from the pasture to the plate. All they know is Certified Angus Beef is top shelf. They have no idea that cattle of any color can make the qualifications for CAB. They don't care, either. All they want is a good eating experience every time they spend their hard earned money.
Latest example is McDonalds Angus Burger. Spice up a butcher cow the right way. whaa laa! We have a good product that sells!
It is all about marketing Someday maybe red cattle will be cool again?? Until then ride the CAB wagon till the wheels fall off.
 

BRG

Well-known member
jeff in ca said:
I get a kick out of you Red Cattle Breeders. Good cattle are good cattle no matter what the color they are. It just so happens most of them are black. Look at the big picture! CAB has been the most successful marketing plan agriculture has ever witnessed. Our "Urban Friends" ie customers, are so far removed from the dinner plate. That, they have no idea what is involved with getting their steak, from the pasture to the plate. All they know is Certified Angus Beef is top shelf. They have no idea that cattle of any color can make the qualifications for CAB. They don't care, either. All they want is a good eating experience every time they spend their hard earned money.
Latest example is McDonalds Angus Burger. Spice up a butcher cow the right way. whaa laa! We have a good product that sells!
It is all about marketing Someday maybe red cattle will be cool again?? Until then ride the CAB wagon till the wheels fall off.

Easy their Jeff. I was just showing what they brought. Not saying either is better. Just proud that our customers did well and that the barn isn't one of those color blind barns that only promote black cattle. Have another cup of coffee bud:)
 

jigs

Well-known member
Jeff points out the fact that irritates me the most. you promote a CERTIFIED type of animal, yet accept anything under the sun. an open lie about your product is a great foundation to build on....

black hide biased buyers really piss me off.
 

BRG

Well-known member
jigs said:
Jeff points out the fact that irritates me the most. you promote a CERTIFIED type of animal, yet accept anything under the sun. an open lie about your product is a great foundation to build on....

black hide biased buyers really p*** me off.

I am not sure what you guys are talking about, as I never mentioned anything about CAB or certified. I was just showing what the market was. Go back and read my post again. by the way, Red Angus does not qualify for CAB.
 

John SD

Well-known member
Guys, I think you're reading too much into this. I took Jeff's post as a "tongue in cheek" comment meant in good humor. Good cattle are good cattle regardless of color, but marketing is everything to the consumer who doesn't know or care. Compared to other breeds, Black Angus has done a superior job of marketing their product to the consumer. Much like JD has in the farm equipment business to guys who will only wear green undies. :wink: :lol:

Bryan, I'm glad to see your customer's red cattle weighed and sold well. I have neighbors with a commercial Red Angus herd. Any time I have to go out in their bunch to get one of my wayward Hereford critters back I am very impressed with the quality and disposition of their cattle.
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
jeff in ca said:
I get a kick out of you Red Cattle Breeders. Good cattle are good cattle no matter what the color they are. It just so happens most of them are black. Look at the big picture! CAB has been the most successful marketing plan agriculture has ever witnessed. Our "Urban Friends" ie customers, are so far removed from the dinner plate. That, they have no idea what is involved with getting their steak, from the pasture to the plate. All they know is Certified Angus Beef is top shelf. They have no idea that cattle of any color can make the qualifications for CAB. They don't care, either. All they want is a good eating experience every time they spend their hard earned money.
Latest example is McDonalds Angus Burger. Spice up a butcher cow the right way. whaa laa! We have a good product that sells!
It is all about marketing Someday maybe red cattle will be cool again?? Until then ride the CAB wagon till the wheels fall off.

A rather contradictory statement jeff in ca. I agree with the first sentence I highlighted, as most would, but in the second you are maybe confusing "good" with "fashionable". CAB and their qualification standards are consumer deception by any other name - it's funny how some folks get hot under the collar about what qualifies for "grass-fed" beef status but nobody queries this BS.
 

High Plains

Well-known member
BRG, I know whereof you speak on some of these Red Angus cattle. The well bred cattle in the breed are awfully good. Doesn't matter who's they are or where they came from. Buyers put their money on good cattle, period.

Then, on this CAB rant. It's kind of funny that other breeds are mad at CAB for using black color as the gate pass before going in the cooler for the grader's inspection. When CAB was started there were no other black breeds to speak of. Many other breeds made their cattle black and now it's the non-Angus breeders that are mad? I bet the Simmy, Limmy and Gelbvieh guys aren't raising a fuss. And what about those black baldies? If those dudes didn't make it into CAB then would the Hereford market be quite what it is today? Don't ask me, ask your local feedlot operator. In the end, if a breed can't stand on it's own four feet then it will fail regardless of color, or it will inject another breed to make composites and benefit from complementarity.

I believe there are several carcass measures that must be met before CAB goes on the box of meat. There's something to it beyond marketing, there's quality. CAB makes money for a lot of cattlemen, most of them have crossbred cattle.

This is a hijacked post in the highest degree and I've contributed to that. I appreciate BRG pointing out some interesting market figures. Thanks for sharing.

HP
 

katrina

Well-known member
Bravo!!!!! Good cattle are good cattle and bring premium price. No matter what color.. And buyers know that!!! Each of us have our own nitch to fill.
Even jiggy's tattoo ones!!
 

Justin

Well-known member
i'm happy to hear that the heifers sold well Brian. it says alot for your operation and your customers. it's always easier to sell good cattle, no matter what color they are :)
 

Big Swede

Well-known member
The fact that a small percentage of ranchers have retained ownership and finished out their own cattle amazes me. Do you know if your cattle make money for the feeder? If they come back year after year to buy them then you have a pretty good idea that they perform well. Some feeders will actually share their closeouts with you but most won't because if they are that good they will want to keep it a secret so they can buy them as cheap as they can.

Now on the other end of the spectrum are the cattle that don't perform or make money. People that complain that their cattle don't sell well year after year do so for a reason. I don't care if it's hide color, breed, type, condition, disposition, you name it if there's a problem it's up to the owner to do something about it. The buyers have either owned your cattle or cattle just like them and they don't want them for a reason. If they sell cheap enough they might take a chance on them. Like they say "bought right is half sold." I hope this fat cattle thing turns around soon because the feeders have been taking a beating and we have less and less customers every day for calves.

I get a red calf or two every so often and they always sort them off and they sell for less. They are genetically identical to the black calves and hide color is the only difference. This is my fault, the buyers want a uniform set of calves.
 

movin' on

Well-known member
When those Red cattle top the market, they do it by a mile!!

There are always a few sales a year where good Reds are just a grand slam.

As far as the "most good cattle are black" statement goes......what a hoot. I always get a kick out of that. Does it not stand to reason that when the vast majority of all cattle in the U.S.A. are a certain color, then, by matter of reason, there should be more "good" cattle of that color.?
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
movin' on said:
When those Red cattle top the market, they do it by a mile!!

There are always a few sales a year where good Reds are just a grand slam.

As far as the "most good cattle are black" statement goes......what a hoot. I always get a kick out of that. Does it not stand to reason that when the vast majority of all cattle in the U.S.A. are a certain color, then, by matter of reason, there should be more "good" cattle of that color.?

When one color is predominant in a country - yes, there should be numerically more of these "good" cattle as a percentage of total cattle population. This does not imply however that there are more of these "good" cattle as a percentage within their own colored population. Big difference. :wink:
 

movin' on

Well-known member
Grassfarmer said:
movin' on said:
When those Red cattle top the market, they do it by a mile!!

There are always a few sales a year where good Reds are just a grand slam.

As far as the "most good cattle are black" statement goes......what a hoot. I always get a kick out of that. Does it not stand to reason that when the vast majority of all cattle in the U.S.A. are a certain color, then, by matter of reason, there should be more "good" cattle of that color.?

When one color is predominant in a country - yes, there should be numerically more of these "good" cattle as a percentage of total cattle population. This does not imply however that there are more of these "good" cattle as a percentage within their own colored population. Big difference. :wink:


Exactly.

I'm actually inclined to believe that there are higher percentages of "good" cattle in the off color breeds then there are in "blacks".

I love good black cattle, but there are so very, very many poor black ones out there.
 

Latest posts

Top