Need help with pricing

[dosthouhavemilk]

Well, we are looking at selling these three bull calves we still have on milk. When the does start kidding we will have somewhere else to put the milk and their purpose will have been served. Plus there are bills to pay and the price of milk is plummeting daily.
3 polled Beef X Dairy bull calves. All sired by a stray Angus cross bull. The oldest out of a Jersey was born 8/2/08 and tapes on a Jersey weight tape at 277 pounds. The second oldest out of a 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 Norwegian Red cow, was a twin born on 8/12/08 and tapes on the Jersey scale at 246 pounds. The youngest out of a Jersey was born 9/10/08 and tapes on a Jersey scale at 233 pounds. The Guernsey and Holstein scales do not add more than 5 pounds to any of those weights.
Raised on milk (lots of it!), hay, mineral and water thus far. Still on milk and would be on milk until departure.
Obviously, the middle of January is not a good time to be selling, but things are what they are. I thought I would try posting them for sale on some of the groups and see if there was someone looking for beef next Fall that didn't require bottle feeding.
We don't sell calves that are older than a month or two generally, so we are looking for what we might be able to ask without seeming overpriced. We also are used to selling Jersey and Jersey/Norwegian Red bull calves and these have beef in them. We are in SE Ohio.
They are still bulls and we didn't know if we should go ahead and band them now, or if it will make any difference in the price.
Here are two pictures taken yesterday.


Clearly in their winter woolies. They are hunkered because we were up on our windy hilltop. Notice how much the panel behind them is bending because of the wind.
Thanks for any and all input.

[Wanda]

Those calves are perfect for milk fed veal. If there is a mkt. for veal nearby they are worth a lot more money than they are as feeder calves. It would be a win -win for all parties involved.

[DaleK]

They're worth what you can get for them. Here, with the Jersey blood (even with the Angus sire), you'd be REALLY pushing to get $100 each for them. If you can find someone who's willing to pay more for cute good for you, go get 'em.

[Anderson farms]

Well, I'm not much help on pricing, but around my area most people like the flavor of jersey beef and will pay for it. We have always raised our own beef so I don't know what people are paying for it. You are going to be targeting the individuals not the commercial market, so I would say you would get alot more than 100. Hopefully someone knows more of what home grown beef is going for, but I would start them at what you feel they are worth. You have taken the time to raise them so you should know what your time is worth. Then be sure to advertise that they are milk fed beef. Good luck selling them and I feel you on the money crunch thing.....I'm sure everybody does!

[topside1]

Roseanna, at auction .35-.40 cents per pound, so sadly $100 is the amount you'd receive. That price hardly pays you for your time. Selling direct to the un-educated public I could get $200-$250 each. Yes you are right Jersey meat is incrediably great tasting and $200-$250 plus dollars is an honest price for your time and calf raising costs. "Uneducated" simple means a person not following the markets, that does not mean that the above price tag is unfair, you have done all the work, and the buyer has little risk in the matter....Bottom line it's sad to wait 9 months for a $10 Jersey Bull calf unless it's going to fill your own freezer....Then the wait is worth it.....Topside

[evermoor]

I got 175 to 200 selling them privately, the buyer, a hispanic just took one to sale barn, and it weighed 450 and got 67 cents, so $300, the other two he butchered and resold the meat for $3 # and made $600, any minorities around there ????

[dosthouhavemilk]

I was looking at local auction prices last night. I am planning on marketing on local Yahoo! Groups and the local craigslist, in hopes of finding someone who wants a well started healthy animal with aftercare. Or baby beef, either is fine.
I know they wouldn't bring a whole lot at an auction which why we are going the private route first.
We sold two freshly weaned half brothers of these calves for $100 for the older and $85 for the younger. That was about four months ago. The older two were still on milk and the third had not been born. These guys have about two more months worth of mik into. It was high count milk, so it wasn't as though we were pulling costly milk from our tank. They were merely an outlet for some milk that we didn't want to ship.
Not many minorities aound here. lol Except for some Indian doctors, but beef isn't really the way they go.
I was looking for a starting price and it appears people are suggesting close to what we were thinking as a starting price. We can always lower it if there is no interest.
If we were not pressed for money and if they weren't harrassing the heavy bred does they are in with, we may have kept one or two to sell as packaged meat next winter to people in Columbus. There is a ready market there for farm grown beef.

Thanks for all the input!

[lasergrl]

Well, I just resold a jersey and a holstein today, both 3 weeks old, for $150 for the pair. If you were closer I would buy one from you for $150 or so for my own personal use. They look meaty for the breeding, and there is ALOT to be said for a farm raised calf. MUCH healthier and worth the investment.