Cattle Prices

trickham · #21 01/03/05, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wr

Jeff, I'm assuming that that price is for dairy steers, not feeder steers. Unless things are very different there than anyplace else, that is about the only time that fats and canners run the same price. If that is the case, the reason the steers run through so cheap is because of the long finish time the feedlots don't want them and will only take them if they are unable to get an adequate supply of beef breeds. I don't feel you can use dairy cattle as a reasonable marker for cattle prices. The cattle they sell are not their primary source of income, it's a lot like the PMU farms complaining cause they only get $50 for a weanling foal.

Ahh....see, that clears up my confusion. I have been watching y'all talk about cattle prices, and they all seemed so low. We recently sold a batch of calves weighing in the 450-550lb range, and the LOWEST one brought $0.92/lb. I really think she probably got injured in the pens somewhere and was probably limping or something. The others all brought well over $1.00/lb. Of course, these were high quality black baldie beef calves.

At the same time we sold 6 cull cows that I'm sure all went to slaughter, and they averaged $0.50/lb.

wr · #22 01/03/05, 11:41 AM

Our cattle prices are low, very low but that's because of the border restrictions, right now it would cost more to haul a dairy animal to town that you'd get at auction, cows are selling for $15/head unless bred and that will bring her up to $300 (as long as she shows no signs of frost damage), nobody takes bulls right now so they end up at the rendering plant or maybe for pet food if the buyers are shopping and they'll fetch a princely sum of about $75. Calves are holding not bad, if you consider $300 decent for a nice red angus calf. Folks here have found it far cheaper to just shoot cull dairy cattle and dairy breed steers than bother hauling them to town and hauling them back home again. We are very fortunate in the sense that Alberta itself has a fairly good economy and we sell neither beef nor dairy cattle, we're supplying the rodeo industry with bucking bulls and roping/steer wrestling cattle.

Someone asked why bother sending live young stock across when we can process here. I can only answer as far as the situation in Alberta. We have 3 plants and if we ship boxed meat, over 30 months animals have to be processed separately so it's almost easier to ship out and have it handled there, until other facilities are built. I'm not sure about testing because I don't know if the US tests animals under 30 months or not but we do and it really doesn't take that long unless something shows up posative because of the subsequent testing.

JeffNY · #23 01/03/05, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wr

Jeff, I'm assuming that that price is for dairy steers, not feeder steers. Unless things are very different there than anyplace else, that is about the only time that fats and canners run the same price. If that is the case, the reason the steers run through so cheap is because of the long finish time the feedlots don't want them and will only take them if they are unable to get an adequate supply of beef breeds. I don't feel you can use dairy cattle as a reasonable marker for cattle prices. The cattle they sell are not their primary source of income, it's a lot like the PMU farms complaining cause they only get $50 for a weanling foal.

Those prices were for both from my understanding. For dairy and feeder steers. A lot of the animals sold at the local market here, come from local farms. The dairy farms that sell their cows, the pedigrees, sell out in Syracuse. They sell there because they get a higher price. Here, the price they would get would be lower because people want it as cheap as they can get it, and as many as they can get. See the average price is 450-650, and that is good to most. The other reason is, some farms are burning them out a 3 years old. They aren't getting enough. But the beef part of things here are unique. A lot of the animals that were sold at these auction barns were from Canada. Once that border closed, The price went up, because the majority was from Canada. Trucker said the same thing, and I beleive him (honest fella, and has a lot of experience). Keep in mind, the animals sold here, are mostly from this area, VT, Mass, CT, NH, NY and some are from PA. Nothing comes from out west here from what I see.

Jeff

BJ · #24 01/04/05, 10:17 PM

We took 2 bull, Angus/cross calves, 498lbs each to a cattle auction today. Ours sold for $1.17lb. We were extremely happy with that price....wish we had more to sell but we are keeping the heifers to build our herd.

tinknal · #25 01/07/05, 11:36 PM

Jeff, last I seen there wasn't a moat around NY. While a podunk salebarn may show some strange prices due to low numbers of cattle, the price of beef marketed in traditional methods will mirror the rest of the country. I have worked in almost all phases of the beef industry in several different states and have a little more than anacedotatal evedence to back up my claims.

JeffNY · #26 01/08/05, 12:02 AM

If you live in a place long enough, and you talk to enough people in the area that do deal with animals at an auction constantly, you do know whats going on. Any farmer ive talked to has been in the buisness far longer than I have, and they see a difference..

Aside from beef, this one farm that ill be getting some holsteins from, sold three bulls at $1200.00 each.

Jeff

tinknal · #27 01/08/05, 12:15 AM

Jeff, that really is a meaningless statistic.
3 dayold bulls for $1200 a piece?
3 dayolds for $1200 total?
3 feeders for $1200 total?
3 feeders for $1200 a piece?
3 fats for $1200 a piece?
3 fats for $1200 total?
3 grade breeders for $1200 total?
3 grade breeders for $1200 each?
3 registered breeders for $1200 total?
3 registered breeders for $1200 each?
Ad nauseum......

JeffNY · #28 01/08/05, 01:00 AM

Actually after posting, I decided why bother? Sometimes some people like to be closed minded, or perhaps they like to live day to day trying to proove others wrong. So with that said, I know what my area is like, I know it us unique. But I dont think Tinknal considers the possibility because he has worked everywhere. Ah well, ignorance is bliss.

Jeff

tinknal · #29 01/08/05, 01:20 AM

That said , Jeff is one happy little dude.rolf!

angus_guy · #30 01/08/05, 05:56 AM

I thought this thread was dead but........since it is not I will post the prices at the local market where my son got his black angus bull calf 175#

1.31# probably off by $0.04 - $0.09/lb from before Xmas according to staff

Holsteins 2-7days 2 went through the sale one cord wet one a little older

older brought $150.00 sold by the head
younger brought $115.00 bth

kill cows average $.28/lb we refer to kill cows as anything heading to the "glue factory"

Highest I saw was $1.42/lb