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Where to background calves?

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jingo

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I'm kinda new to this forum thing....but I see some good information here. Does anyone know of the outfit out in HaySprings, NE called Rafter4?

Seems they are a kinda new bunch and pretty good @ backgrounding calves. I've got about 150 or so and thought about sending them their way. Was wondering if anyone out there had any info.

This is a good and interesting place. I've been reading a bit off and on and decided to join up.
 
Welcome,

Being from Indiana I would not be able to help you with this question but I'm sure someone from the area will read and post.

you will find good friendly people here - - - but like everything else there will be disagreements at times.
 
Thanks for reply & welcome. I've ben reading some of the ' disagreements' and that's why I kinda held off jumping in....but what the heck.

Am still hoping to gain some outside infor on the Rafter 4 deal in HaySprings NE. I like the looks of it all....but geuss I want to hear other opinions. I'm kinda careful with my cattle and where I send them.
 
Even though Hay Springs is only about seventy miles away, I haven't heard of the Rafter 4. Sorry I can't help.

Another good source of information is the Sandhills Cattle Association from Valentine. They keep a list of members who have feed available, those wanting to buy feed, different classes of cattle for sale, etc. Their phone number is: 800-658-0551.
 
Weve got lots of pen space available to background calves up here... be happy to help anyone out who wants to feed some. :)
 
Just wondering if you had a name to go with the Rafter 4? We live about 25 miles east of there? But can't say we have heard that name. So you might say we are a little curious?
 
jingo said:
I'm kinda new to this forum thing....but I see some good information here. Does anyone know of the outfit out in HaySprings, NE called Rafter4?

Seems they are a kinda new bunch and pretty good @ backgrounding calves. I've got about 150 or so and thought about sending them their way. Was wondering if anyone out there had any info.

This is a good and interesting place. I've been reading a bit off and on and decided to join up.

Never heard of the Rafter4 so can't help you there.

I do have some feed and do have room to take some in.

I have years experience backgrounding calves. Still have about 275 of my own calves I am feeding till the price goes down!
location south east of ELI Ne on the Niobrara river bottom. (few miles SE of Soapweed)
 
sandhiller said:
I am feeding till the price goes down!
Me too . I did get rid of most of them early but the Feb. market has always been so sweet when I didn't have any cattle , I decided to get in on it. Sorry guys , I am the reason it's went down. :D
 
Red Robin said:
sandhiller said:
I am feeding till the price goes down!
Me too . I did get rid of most of them early but the Feb. market has always been so sweet when I didn't have any cattle , I decided to get in on it. Sorry guys , I am the reason it's went down. :D

We go to an auction that is the best within a 200 mile radius in Emory TX and we dropped off some calves. The guys there said we are out of room cause the usual for a Saturday auction is 1,000 head and they had already had 1,700 + to sell. We drove about 1 hour to get there and we have to head back home with the calves? He was so nice he squeezed ours in. The point being its so dry here in Texas that people are selling off their herds by the hundreds a day too expensive right now in our area to feed. They are all gonna replace them of coarse but imagine what the prices will be coming summer?
 
If you have to sell cows- now is definitely the time...I was looking at this weeks Billings Live Bred Sale results--Young bred cows $1500-1600--Aged Broken mouths were $1125-1250-- and unreadable shields were $1075-1150....Thin 900-1100lb aged broken mouths $1075-1150...

Somebody still has some moldy money in their pockets.......
 
Went to a sale yesterday, not much went over $600, alot of old crocks were selling for less than $350. Was looking to buy but came home emptyhanded.
 
Shelly,

some ppl in this area are asking more than $300 for a newborn calf. Sometimes I buy older cows and get a calf out of them for a spare in case we loose one. Then turn around and sell the cow. Usually they would have enough milk to raise a fly little own a calf.
 
PoweredbyRedAngus, if you do not mind me asking where do you take your calves. I usually take mind to Emory, TX and the cows to Pilot Point, TX. Just curious where you take yours and your thoughts on the Emory sale.
 
I have never heard of Rafter 4, however south of Chadron is Bollecks feedlot. We had some bulls there, a few years back, being feed by them before the sale and were repeat customers. Is it a fairly new feedlot?
 
Baby calves here are going for 400. Near Alliance Nebraska a private seller is selling heifers for 300 and bulls for 350. They say baby calf price is indicative of fall prices, hoping this means we can all be looking forward to another good market come fall. :wink:
 
CattleRMe.... I know the guy that's one of the 2 partners w/ Rafter 4 and they're in Hay Springs not Chadron.

From what I hear.....not from them but other outside sources....., they are small --about 1500 capacity--right now but growing and everyone who has dealt with them really brags on how they handle the cattle all the way thru.

I can give you the phone # and contact info if you want to PM me.
 
They changed their name to Rafter 4? These were two brothers doing the feeding and the sign said Bollecks and we would go south of Chadron to look at the bulls. It wasn't to far from Heminford Nebraska or didn't seem to far.
 
We must be talking about 2 different outfits as these guys aren't brothers
 
CattleRMe said:
They say baby calf price is indicative of fall prices, hoping this means we can all be looking forward to another good market come fall. :wink:

A friend of mine put his calves on Superor Video a week ago-- they're not even born yet, so he used last years video... Calves sold for 1 cent more than last year for November delivery at 575 lbs.... He took it......
 

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