Very happy with sale prices

fols · #1 05/10/14, 10:51 AM

We sold 5 beef cross-bred feeder calves at the sale yard this week. They were between 400-500 lbs each.
Heifers brought $2.04 lb and steers $2.25. What a nice check we received!

idigbeets · #2 05/10/14, 12:25 PM

5% cut to homesteading today right?

tommyanunnaki · #3 05/10/14, 02:25 PM

Dang. Can't complain about that.

kycountry · #4 05/10/14, 08:19 PM

Yea, beef prices are skyrocketing. A month ago I was happy with a $1.92 average on 500-600 lb range.. Now we're at 2.28 average for the same weight steers. Seen one sell for 2.71 a lb in the 300 lb range..

My question is who will or can afford to hold back heifers at this price. The drought a few years back is finally catching up on supply and demand and without heifers being saved, there is no relief in prices for the 5 year outlook in my opinion.

Good luck and happy selling!

FarmerDavid · #5 05/10/14, 10:06 PM

I've got a few heifers I planned to keep. One is too nice not to keep but the other two I'm thinking I need to sell with current prices. Just hard to justify keeping them back.

kycountry · #6 05/11/14, 04:55 AM

We had 5 nice black heifers to hold back but sold them as 600 weights. Took the check and bought 4 six year old bred 5-7 months and had money left over. It's not worth the wait to us if you can find decent framed younger cows in the $1400-$1500 range already bred.

A lot of older farmers are using this price hike to sell out completely and pay their farms off. This is why I don't see a drastic price drop in the short term.

FarmerDavid · #7 05/11/14, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kycountry

We had 5 nice black heifers to hold back but sold them as 600 weights. Took the check and bought 4 six year old bred 5-7 months and had money left over. It's not worth the wait to us if you can find decent framed younger cows in the $1400-$1500 range already bred.

A lot of older farmers are using this price hike to sell out completely and pay their farms off. This is why I don't see a drastic price drop in the short term.

Your probably money ahead then. The one I'm keeping is out of my best mom. We are going to cull our herd pretty hard. We haven't culled hard enough in the past because I wanted to get to 25 momas, now that were there I've realigned that that's probably more then my pasture can support.

kycountry · #8 05/11/14, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmerDavid

Your probably money ahead then. The one I'm keeping is out of my best mom. We are going to cull our herd pretty hard. We haven't culled hard enough in the past because I wanted to get to 25 momas, now that were there I've realigned that that's probably more then my pasture can support.

Yea, with the colder spring, we hit the pastures with 100lb per acre of urea to keep our stocking rate.. at $550 a ton, it works out at about $60 per calf... if the price holds close to where it is, it would be well worth it.. if it drops below $1.50lb for 500+ weight range, we've almost broke even.

WadeFisher · #9 05/11/14, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommyanunnaki

Dang. Can't complain about that.

It's a double edged sword... it always is!

What you sow your reap. AND what you reap you will eventually have to sow.

To read deeper. as prices go up in any industry the suppliers to that industry will want more for the services they supply. Be-it feed, care, supplies, infrastructure or and service. Trust me take profits but be looking for the long-term of your goals.

I've seen market HIGH's NOT follow through with record profits!

I would always rather see 'input' costs down vs 'market highs'

FarmerDavid · #10 05/12/14, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WadeFisher

It's a double edged sword... it always is!

What you sow your reap. AND what you reap you will eventually have to sow.

To read deeper. as prices go up in any industry the suppliers to that industry will want more for the services they supply. Be-it feed, care, supplies, infrastructure or and service. Trust me take profits but be looking for the long-term of your goals.

I've seen market HIGH's NOT follow through with record profits!

I would always rather see 'input' costs down vs 'market highs'

Row crop farming is a prime example. When grain prices went up imput prices soon followed. Maybe seed, fert, chemical, and equipment companies costs really did suddenly increase but I have my doubts. Now that grain prices are coming back down input prices aren't.

Dixie Bee Acres · #11 05/12/14, 07:01 AM

I was at a salebarn Saturday, I couldn't believe the cattle prices. Sheep prices were down a little, goats about average, pigs were low, but beef....wow.
Saw a 4 day old black calf, Angus cross, sold by head not by weight, it brought over $450. White faced blacks at about 275 pounds were going over $2.60 pound.

terri9630 · #12 05/12/14, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dixie Bee Acres

I was at a salebarn Saturday, I couldn't believe the cattle prices. Sheep prices were down a little, goats about average, pigs were low, but beef....wow.
Saw a 4 day old black calf, Angus cross, sold by head not by weight, it brought over $450. White faced blacks at about 275 pounds were going over $2.60 pound.

That's why we don't have a calf right now. 2-10 day old calves are going for $175 (jerseys) to $250( beef breeds). Weaned calves are going for $2.45lb as of a month ago. After seeing those prices I came home and made sure all the rabbits were bred and ordered more meat birds. The steer we put in the freezer in Nov is going to have to last as long as possible. Looked at brisket at the meat market and it was $10lb.

Dixie Bee Acres · #13 05/12/14, 07:34 PM

I hear you Terri, that's also why I don't have a calf right now. And I was offered free use of a 1.5 acre fenced pasture, yet cant afford to take advantage of it.

Allen W · #14 05/12/14, 10:02 PM

My wife told me I couldn't buy any more cattle, But if opportunity knocks I will. Feeding them is the problem right now. I'm going to have to do some sorting soon, have one pair sale bound when I catch every thing. The cow is worth more as a killing cow then I paid for her last winter.

o&itw · #15 05/15/14, 10:03 AM

Expect pork prices to raise rapidly this fall also. Which is good if you are selling, I guess. The of course with Pork and beef prices high, people will be eating a lot more chicken... so expect prices to go up on them too.

At the rate feed is rising, we will need high prices just to break even.

terri9630 · #16 05/15/14, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o&itw

Expect pork prices to raise rapidly this fall also. Which is good if you are selling, I guess. The of course with Pork and beef prices high, people will be eating a lot more chicken... so expect prices to go up on them too.

At the rate feed is rising, we will need high prices just to break even.

We are anticipating that so we've already made sure our beef and pork freezers are full and have chick's outside. We normally just do chick's spring and fall and turkeys in the fall as our fair birds but we got extra ordered this year. We're also buying the feed now before prices get to much higher.

Dixie Bee Acres · #17 05/15/14, 05:33 PM

6 pigs outside now, 2 allotted for my freezer, 2 spoken for once they hit butcher weight, possibly a third. One will be for sale once it hits weight.
First 20 meat chickens outside now, next group (30), will be ordered next week. Then 25-30 every month for next several months. 4 of my 6 turkeys are destined for the freezer and I am seeing several deer almost daily on the property I hunt. Got 3 deer last year..... I hope to have my families meat needs taken care of for the next year.

If all goes well, I might be able to swing getting a bottle calf this fall, but that is still 19-24 months away from butcher.

nosqrls · #18 05/15/14, 07:02 PM

DD sold her heifers for spending money at college. 680lb black open over 1200$ 230 lb black 500$ she liked the money.

kycountry · #19 05/16/14, 04:43 AM

Seen some 225-260 lb weight range steers bring $3 a lb..... they were fancy, long body calves... but $3?? DANG!!

agmantoo · #20 05/18/14, 09:36 PM

We are in a market where nearly any and everyone with cattle are making money. Those of us with grey around the temples know it will not last. Now is the time to plan for when the market makes a turn by getting things prepared. Mend fences, cull proor producing cattle, re-establish marginal pastures, buy future needs for the farm and plan for how to get by with less input expenses and to have soil samples taken and make the corrections for the forage to be produced as sustainably as possible. The low input producers will be the ones that survive and make some profit when the markets shifts.