What is a good price for a holstein calf?

[Delinda]

we are considering buying a 8 week old holstein steer, he is eating feed already. The Amish people down the road have this calf for sale and they want $300 for him. My husband says he thinks he is going to buy him, just because he is weaned and already past the danger stage(scours). Does this seem like a reasonable price? I though it seemed a little high, but we won't have to buy milk replacer for him at this age though. What do you cattle people think?

[dieselfreak]

I think that $300 is a pretty good price. Last year I bought three 4 month old steers for 300 apiece and i figured it was a reasonable price, but the feeder prices went up quite a bit since I bought mine. I just paid 190 apiece for 3 day old bull calves at an auction, a bit much but I really wanted them.

[Delinda]

Thanks dieselfreak, we heard that cattle prices are rising now, so we are going to buy him. They have a little jersey female that is 3 days old and they want $400. for her. I have wanted another cow to milk(later on of course) but I just can't see paying that much for a 3 day old! We sold our jersey milk cow last year and have regetted it ever since.

[pygmywombat]

$300 sounds reasonable for a weaned calf. We paid $125 for a day old Holstein bull calf in late August.

[Ronney]

Even allowing for the exchange rate, that sounds a pretty good price for a weaned calf if it is a good weight and in good condition.

However, I would have to say that somebody is being somewhat greedy in asking $400.00 for a 3 day old calf of any breed let alone a Jersey. I don't think I would be wrong in saying that in most places they are give-away material. I can pick up 4 day old Jersey calves for $15.00, Jersey/Friesian for $20.00. The exchange rate at the moment is around 71c to your dollar which gives you an idea of how little value they are - at least here - and from what I've gleaned from other posts on this forum, the same would apply over there. Hunt around until you find a nice, reasonably priced calf that you can rear yourself. She doesn't have to have stud breeding to turn into a good producer and a cow that your going to be happy to be around.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Jennifer L.]

Ronnie, heifer calf prices have been out of sight here for the last couple of years. My neighbor sold one for just over $700 not that long ago. Unbred heifers have brought $1000. People getting larger herds going (the 500+ cow people) can't raise enough and have to buy from auctions to get their numbers up. I'm in the Northeastern US and the majority of these calves are going west somewhere, not even staying close to home.

I hear the Canadian border will be opening to everything soon, and when that happens I expect to see heifer prices get more normal again.

Funny thing is, the springers were bringing no more than $1800-2200, so why were the calves going that high I don't know. I made a little money on it a few years ago when milk prices were so low, though. I sold almost every heifer I had and it helped me stay in business that year.

I'm talking Holstein calves for the most part. Jersey crosses go in and out of popularity here, but never bring as much as the straight Holsteins, at least here in this area.

Jennifer

[tyusclan]

Four hundred for a 3 day old heifer would not be out of line around here at all. Three-day old holstein bulls are going for about $140, so $300 for an 8-wk old doesn't sound bad to me.

[JulieLou42]

I sold my half Jersey-3/8 Guernsey-1/8 Angus last Aug. for $100 to kids in the nieghborhood, at 8 hours old...didn't want to fight his mother for her milk again this year!!! If I'd looked around for another buyer, I maybe coulda got $125+.

[Goat Freak]

Here in Florida 1 day- 1 week old male holesteins sell for $50 at the dairy, and females of the same age sell for $300 apeace, still at the dairy but the reason it is so high is because the girls will make them money in milk eventually. Good Luck, bye.

[Ronney]

From your replies I understand there is a large swing away from smaller dairy units to larger. Some time ago now that happened here and it saw the price of dairy animals go through the roof. First it was with cows and in-calf heifers, closely followed by empty heifers and finally calves. It did level out eventually as the demand for cows was met but it took a few years. The demand was Friesian and the Jersey never commanded that sort of money unless it had come from good stock and a proven herd.

About 8 years ago there was another huge upsurge in calf prices but this time it was for beef. There was a shortage on the world market and suddenly everybody was into calf rearing. Bobby calves that wouldn't have made $50 on the truck were suddenly worth $200 and got as high as $400.
Again the demand was for Friesian or Friesian/beef crosses and the Jersey didn't get a look in. That market too has levelled out but oddly the prices being asked for 4 day old Friesian or Friesian/beef bull calves is still very high and it's beyond me how anybody makes any money at it as there is still the cost of the CMP to go on top of it.

So I guess, in a general way, your going down the same track as this country did and for similar reasons.

I don't have the time to do it and nor would I know where to start, but I would like to the much maligned Jersey promoted as a beef animal. Somehow the public's perception that all beef fat should be white and not yellow has to be got around. I am surprised at how many farmers or smallholders who are in a position to rear and kill their own beef actually choose to eat Jersey meat once they have tried it so it's really only a matter of education. And now I'm getting completely off topic.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[daytrader]

You think cattle prices have raised. You should check the market for horses for slaghter. I mean they have sky rocketed.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Ronney

However, I would have to say that somebody is being somewhat greedy in asking $400.00 for a 3 day old calf of any breed let alone a Jersey. I don't think I would be wrong in saying that in most places they are give-away material.
Cheers,
Ronnie

A three day old most calves are a long way from having any value. It is truly greed that makes them so spendy. Once a calf is weaned and making it on its own it is an investment, at three days old it is a long shot gamble.

[dosthouhavemilk]

One thing to keep in mind is the individual case. Amish- quite possibly this is a heifer calf out of one or two family milk cows (two calves a year). They would be willing to let the heifer calf go for $400 but aren't necesarrilly out to sell it.
We priced Juness at $1,800. We would have sold her if someone had been willing to pay $1,800 (no less) but we weren't actively looking to sell her. We still have her and are quite pleased to still have her. She is a fine milking cow.
Circumstances can have a huge affect on pricing.
Now, if it were an Amish dairy, $400 is quite steep. Dad wouldn't figure we would ask more than $125 if we ever actually sold a heifer calf (not gonna happen though).

[Delinda]

Thank you all for the replys-we bought the holstein calf, and he is a very healthy, eating well and doing great. We passed on the jersey heifer though.

[dieselfreak]

Are you bottle or bucket feeding the calf? I know a lot of people who bucket feed but a very smart old man who has been farming all his life told me that they get more nutrients when they are bottle feeding compared to bucket. He said that the sucking reflex created when nursing from the bottle creates a direct path to the true stomach, which is where the milk does the most good. If he is drinking it out of a bucket then there is no sucking reflex, which means the milk goes into the rumen and not as many of the nutrients are absorbed. Well, good luck on your venture. See ya

[TexCountryWoman]

Cattle prices are high for beef cattle, but that sounds too high to me for a Holstein steer. I would not but him but that is just me. If you get him, forget any negatives and enjoy!....Diane