sold some calves
 

Steers 562lbs@$212/lb

Great.:goodjob: But, they've got a long way to go. I'm trying to figure if I can buy some 450 pounders to put on grass this summer. It's real scary from my end.:eek: Sure would have liked these prices back when I ran a cow herd.

Bruce,
Where did you sell at?

I seen a hand full of high dressing killer cows cross the dollar mark today. Buyer said orders were to buy to keep the line running.

sold at loup city Nebraska. Comparible prices in most of the local auctions. BLack cattle and not too fleshy.
KS yes buying at those prices would be scary. These cattle prices can go down much more than they can go up.

Haypoint Are those prices reflective of high feed costs, poor cattle or lack of demand? I know many feed lots buy in cattle from southern states, seems they could ship from Michigan just as easily.

You have to have enough volume to put uniform loads together,Freight and mixed groups would
kill you otherwise.

HayPoint, what is a colored steer? Those prices are pretty close to $100/100 less than what we are getting down here. I wonder what the downside to loading up in the UP and selling down here would be?

That's right, you do your trading over to Loup City.
I was looking at the market reports from several around there. All were similar to even higher once in a while. Believe it or not, a group of 39 - 570 lb. hereford steers topped out the Atkinson sale. They went for $241 a cwt. I believe. +-
I think that they are seeing the end of winter and are starting to look for grass calves. The pastures south of I-80 will start greening up in 5 or 6 weeks. Over by Valentine there is a bunch of last years hay because they haven't had to feed much this winter due to lack of snow. Between that and the herd #'s being so low, it's probably driving the market locally.

Herefords topping the market is unusual and so is that price. I would expect those steers were growthy and green. Word is corn farmers who haven't bought calves in years are in the market due to large drop in corn price.

Do you think that they are going to turn corn into beef?

Exactly feeding the corn and marketing it as extrra pounds of beef. Old practice sometimes referred to as walking the crop to market.

My aunt and uncle over north of Orchard was good at that. He had dairy cows bred to a beef bull. several sows and a boar. A brooder house large enough for 300 head of chickens and laying hens.
They raised dry land corn, vetch and alfalfa.
He was really good at mixing and matching all this together for the most financial gain.
Depending on what was high at the time is how he would market his crop.
Started out with a walk behind tractor. ended up with a jubilee and an 8N. He had a stationary feed mill and one that would mount on the 3 point.
When they moved to town there was no debt on that half section. And never was after the original mortgage on the first quarter. It still supports my aunt in her twilight years. I think that she is 96 or 7.
Its a pretty smart way,"Walking your crop to market".

Would have liked to have been standing by the mailbox when they opened that check up! :)

Colored steers would be beef breeds. The downside is $4.00 diesel fuel that makes trucking around $2.00 a mile.

Maybe we can hijack the extra Mother's day route and make a killing. Getting a bunch of steers on a mail truck would be a sticky wicket, though.

U.S. Cattle Herd Shrinks to Smallest Since 1951 Amid Drought
By Elizabeth Campbell
Bloomberg.com
January 31, 2014


The U.S. cattle herd shrank to the smallest in 63 years as of Jan. 1, as ranchers struggled to recover from years of drought.

Beef and dairy farmers held 87.7 million head of cattle as this year began, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in an annual report. That's the lowest since 1951, the USDA said. Six analysts in a Bloomberg News survey projected a 1.5 percent drop, on average.

The report also showed the 2013 calf crop was estimated at 33.9 million, down 1 percent from a year earlier and the smallest since 1949. The number of cows and heifers that calved fell to 38.3 million, the lowest since 1941, the USDA said.

The fact of smaller herd size is indeed an indicator, but there are more factors involved. I would guess that the pounds of beef slaughtered would actually be higher than 1952. 900ib steers in 1952 compared to 1200lbs in 2014. Drastically higher exports and increased population have driven demand.

That check would just almost be enough to pay for a new 4wd pickup, would have to sell some more to buy tags & insurance & fill it up with fuel.

Just saw this today, by Baxter Black: "In the '70s it took 12 1000lb steers to buy a new 1/2 ton pickup..... In 2013 it took 26 steers to buy that same new pickup..."

Kinda puts things in perspective, don't it.

I sent a group of light weight (young steers) to the sale the first of this week. Check arrived yesterday with the best calves averaging $2.28/ hundred. The sale barn had a huge number of calves to auction including lots of heifers. It appears that the going price is attracting anyone with calves to send them to market. I retained my best heifers however and culled some aged cows. IMO the market will remain good for some time, maybe a couple of years or longer.