Beef cattle production costs

[sros990]

I would like to raise 2-3 beef cows. My plan is to purchase calves in the Spring that are weaned weighing 400-500 pounds, graze them for about 6 months till they weigh about 700-800 pounds and are ready to butcher or sell to a feedlot in late Fall. What would be my estimated costs for the following?

1. Calves
2. Supplemental feed
3. Medicine
4. Transportation to butcher/feedlot
5. Butchering

Thanks,

Steve

[momanto]

Someone Else Will Surely Answer This Well For You. But In The Meantime There Is An Excellent Forum By Cattle Today. It Is Also Powered By Vbulletin As Is This One.

[Pat]

Most of your questions are relative to where you live. We've also got sheep and fowl, and I read both forums, and the feed prices vary as much as half again as much. I know cow prices average vary more than 20 cents for the 3 auctions close to here.

I bought 3 weanling calves (average 325) at $1.26 a pound (and that's what I would have paid in 2 of the 3 auction houses). Other than medicated feed (for the first month only - and I really don't agree with medicated but the guy I bought them from had them on it ((he bought them at a auction more than 100 miles away)) and said I should keep them on it for that month) I won't give them any other medicine unless they appear to need it.

In late spring square bales of hay were 2.25, but our area only got one cutting of hay. I was told the feed store has square bales now for 5.00.

Butchering and transportation are again relative to where you live. I paid $50 to take the last calf about 35 miles to the butcher, and $127 for the butchering (he weighed about 750 and we got back 463 pounds of beef). With the current price of diesel I'm sure the price would be more for transportation.

We are located in the Arkansas Ozarks south of Yellvile.

I'd suggest you go to your local feed store and ask them about the price of calves, feed (and how long you will have to supplement feed hay if they last into the fall... or if y'all had the drought we did this summer). They can probably give you ballpark figures for butchering and transportation in your area too.

I enjoyed the last one, and I'm enjoying these (and the rest of the livestock)

Pat

[uncle Will in In.]

The biggest fly in the ointment with doing what you suggest is calves to go on pasture early in the spring sell like hotcakes. The size you want aren't very plentiful at that time of year and everybody wants some to put on their pasture. That makes them higher priced than the same calf will be per pound in the fall. It could be as much as 30 or 40 cents a pound. If you pay $1.30
for a 500 pound calf in the spring and he sells for $1.00 in the fall, the first 150 pounds of gain is lost due to the lower price. You should make money if you don't give it boughten feed. He should gain between 2 and 3 pounds a day on grass alone.