Beef price at auction

We just sold Angus feeders (avg. 450 lbs each) for $1.45 lb. live weight. Anything colored black brings on the average .10 cents more per lb than any other color.

No, lucky he got over 35 cent. Last highland I saw go through the ring went for 35 while regular beefers were bringing premium prices.

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Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

You are correct. 35 cents is the price of a slow worn out dairy cow. That is the group a long coated, pointy horned somewhat boney Highlander will sell to.

In Michigan the only place that takes such culls is Green Bay Dressed Beef. There are basicly two buyers. The buyer from GBDB and another guy. THe GBDB buyer buys the worst cattle at auction that he is sure will survive the trip to Green Bay, Wi. The other guy buys the stuff that walks but is questionable that it will survive the trip. He can buy for less money and make enough on the survivors to covers the very few that don't actually make it.

They can only haul about 40 cattle in a multi-level cattle hauling semi. A horned steer might need a whole section of that trailer. So it costs extra to haul one.

A few years ago, a long horned steer was bought at auction. The trucker took a whole load to a slaughter facility near Detroit and unloaded them. The Slaughter facility was built with narrow alleyways and couldn't get a long horned steer through. So, they refused it. The trucker took it back to the auction barn and dropped it off. The folks at the auction didn't want it. Turned into a mess.

Speaking of mess. I've seen the Sales barn workers lop off pretty big horns in the unloading area because no one will buy horned cattle and it is too dangerous to have them around the other cattle. I guess a steer spirting blood out both horns sells better than one with horns.

Based on my first hand experiences, I stand strongly against horned cattle. But if you can see into the future and your cattle will remain on your farm, and you understand the risk of injury or death to you or your other animals, feel free to enjoy the view.

But when you discover no one else wants them, don't blame your father-in-law.

What haypoint says! Yep, I even asked one of the alley men why they had a chain-saw sitting by the unloading alley!! He said it saved a lot of trouble with long horns.

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* I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder for me to find one. .*-

They know what will work for them and what won't. That highland went to a cow slaughter plant and brought what a 600 lb cow would bring.

I keep a couple of Milking Devon cows around because I am a sucker for history. They are rare and disappearing. They run with my beef cattle. That said, I am prepared for the price hit I take when I send the crossbred steer calves to the sale. That is why I only have a couple..... Crossing these cows with a standard beef breed hides the "off breed" just a little bit. With a Highland, there is no disguising that and it is NOT what commercial cattle buyers want in their feedlots. They are not obligated to buy anything..... and I have seen some of these hobby breeds pass right thru the ring and not get a bid.
Marketing these calves is the hard part of raising them. I know that to sell my Milking Devon stock, I can't send them to the salebarn and expect to get anywhere near market price. That is why I only breed my girls to a purebred bull about every three years. I AI them and market the resulting calves through private sales.

I am sorry that you were disappointed in the price you got for your Highland but that is pretty much the way of the real world cattle market. The bottom line is ALWAYS profit.

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http://doremafarm.com

Thats because it was horned. Horned cattle here bring half the price of everything else, regardless of breed.

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www.infowars.com
www.angorafiber.com
Licensed ARBA Registrar

Not really.
Son and I both shipped bulls the same day in Oct. He got 70 some cent for a horned black one and I got 64 cent for a non horned red and white one.
Both were 1000-1100 pounds
Top bulls were only bringing 90 cent or so

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Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

Ooooooh.... I forgot Highlands have horns.
The shaggy, lanky frame I remember because they always make me think of yaks, but I forgot the horns...
In that case, all bets are off. Yeah, off-breeds will bring less, but not THAT much less. Dexters are a good example.
But something with significant horns can really drop the price. Like someone else mentioned, a cattle pot is pretty crowded and an animal with horns can really tear up the rest of the load.
(They can also make a mess of the pot! We had a buffalo once that hooked a horn in one of the holes of our hauler's brand new pot and ripped it open for about 12 feet. Kurt never hauled another buffalo. )

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

Exotic cattle like Highlands don't bring anything around here either. Angus is the way to go if you want higher prices.

I know several cattle buyers.
If the black color was the only thing they bought cattle for they would not have a job very long.
The color does not make it gain any better than any other color.
It takes a little more than buying for color to keep a cattle buying job.

A Cattle buyer has a specific set of qualifications that he must abide to if he hopes to keep his job.
In this crazy mixed up world we live in, black cattle are most desired. In many cases they are the cattle exclusively desired.

Many retailers advertize that their steaks are Angus. While there are no watchdogs over this (as far as I know) the suppliers figure the Black cattle are Angus. So, that is what they buy.

The meat on many Herefords is at least as good as any Angus, but they sell at a discount because they are not in the high demand that Angus is.

Is it fair? No. Is it reasonable? Nope. Is it a fact of life? Absolutely!

So, when a Cattle Buyer shows up at a Livestock auction with an order for 40 Angus feeders and there are 30 nice Angus Steers and 100 nice Hereford steers and 10 all black Holstein steers, do you know what he'll buy?

Michigan State University just auctioned off their string of National Grand Champion Polled Herefords, Legacy Sale, in part because the demand today is for black cattle. It marked the end of a 150 year program.

The cattle buyers I know don't care what color they buy as the customer does not see the hide and can't tall the difference in tast of the angus or hereford.
They will buy as cheap as they are able to and if people believe a cow by any other color except black will bring less that is esactly what they will pay.
The thing that will cause the cattle buyers to loose their job is when they show up with the 30 nice angus steers and the 10 black holstein sters. The angus will feed out nice. The holsteins not so much. More waste on the holsteins also. When the 40 steers are butchered and the 10 holsteins lower the profit the buyer will be blamed.
Not many buyers keep a job if they just buy for color. No matter what people think color doesn't have a taste.

Look at the next feedlot you happen to go by. Look at the different colors in there. Now look at the number of dairy steers in there.

Go on-line and you can find auction prices both as an average nationwide and for any specific auction in your area.

Price varies by gender, weight, and condition. Price is given in dollars per hundred weight.

If the stock report says cutter caner cows sold for $45, it means that skinny cows in poor condition sold for 45 cents a pound.

For young cattle, they will give weights. Steers of 400-500 pounds will have a price (guessing about $145, meaning $1.45 a pound). There will be a price by the head for cow calf pairs. Dairy prices and beef prices are listed separately.

You need to know the breed and condition and weight of the cow you want to buy, but even without that information, you can get a rough guestimate. I suggest you call the person with the cow and offer to give them live weight whatever the auction is bringing, so they can haul the cow to you and not have to go through the auction or pay a commission. The seller can stop by the truck scales and weigh the cow on the way to your house.

Red and white could be anything. It might be a desirable Hereford. it might be a less desirable Guernsey or Red Holstein. it could be a Simmental (which I don;t care for, but will sell for the regualar beef price.) It cold be a red Angus Hereford cross, in otherwords a black white face only in red because the Angus was red. Most breeds come in red and red and white could be across of anything.

I don't think they know what breed it is. Looked like a decent beef cow last time I saw it but that was a couple months ago. If they don't sell it at auction, they will either walk it over or we'll butcher it together. Not much chance of weighing it.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

Probably a hereford or hereford cross. That is the most common red and white cow. Should be a decent cow.
What do you want it for?

Steaks, hamburger, roasts........

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

The cheaper you can get it the better it will taste.

My opinion is neutral here, but I thought I'd toss in something I find interesting. The USDA definition of Angus, as registered by the American Angus dudes, is 50% Angus genetics (I love recursive definitions) and 51% black. I have some Belties that fit that definition, but would never be able sell on that fact. On the other hand, I have black cows that get bought at "angus" prices that are total mutts that happen to be black.

All I know is that black goes for more at the auction barn and doesn't taste any different on the plate. I dont think genetics matter nearly as much as life. I think the Frenchies have the idea of terrior figured out pretty well. As always and in all cases, if the masses are impressed with a brand name or image, I am more than happy to sell there. As for me and my house, we will enjoy the cheap.

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Honesty and integrity are homesteading virtues.

What you describe is the way it had always been and IMHO the way it should still be. While my example of black Holsteins is a bit extreme, the demand for “certified Angus” borders on crazy. They don’t do DNA testing to insure a steer is Angus, so if it is black and somewhat beefy, it is Angus.
A lot depends on where the cattle are going when they leave the feedlot. Slaughter facilities will pay a premium for black cattle. Anyone that has been around the beef business knows that there is a variety of quality in all beef breeds. Therefore, there are some Angus that will be of poorer quality than some Herefords. But the premium is on the Angus because the consumer believes it to be the best. This has resulted in a scramble for Black cattle.
Green Bay Dressed Beef butchers cattle for processing. Things like canned stew or spaghetti sauces. They don’t care what color the cattle are, as long as they can walk from the truck to the killing floor.
The alert farmer has seen what the public thinks is good and has gotten on board. A Montana farmer has seen the way the public has gotten interested in Angus beef and gone a step farther. They market Red Angus as a superior product. Then to go even further, they promote them as being humanely raised. Now that is what the public wants and they are making a good living off that premium paid. Check out:
http://meyernaturalangus.com/