It all depends on the market cycle. It's all relative. If you can buy third stage aged cows for $100 over kill price, get a live calf, and the market holds then you will make more money than you can imagine. However, if any of those three things doesn't happen you will lose your a$$.
That is a great question. For me It would be 40 cows that calved, run the pairs and sell the calves when there big enough. Keep a steer every year and raise to 900 ish for our meat. And figure out this hay thing so I dont have to pay my neighbor 40% in hay. We made 160-1250lb round bales last year. I think we could have done a second cutting but my neighbor didnt want to. I have alphalfa/ broam grass on my hay ground. the second cutting would have been mostly alphalfa and probably onlu 30-40% of the first crop. I hit a artesian well at my place and I want to check into irrigation.
40% isn't bad. But if the guy doesn't want to cut again and you need the hay you might want to start asking around to see if someone else will do it. You could even bump it to 50% and get more hay. I'd tell the guy already doing the hay what the deal is before looking around. A lot of guys hold grudges for no good reason but anyone that has fair warning and still gets upset would be that way anyway.
Target slaughter weight should be 1200 lbs rather than 900 ish.
I prefer lighter weights for slaughter. There are several reasons to put a smaller animal in the freezer. The traditional finish weights are just easier on the industrial slaughter houses.
Our last 3 bunches have been 17-18 months old and hang at 850# on grass/alfalfa . Seems to work.
I prefer 1300 lbs because animal frames (skeletons) grow first and the same animal will have more meat on the bone than when slaughtered at lower weights.
Yeah, and mine are a year old and fill the freezer just fine too.
Well it takes some amount of discrimination and an eye for the right animal to have something appropriate ready for slaughter at a year old. It doesn't work with Holsteins. (Not that your animals are Holsteins)I prefer 1300 lbs because animal frames (skeletons) grow first and the same animal will have more meat on the bone than when slaughtered at lower weights.
When Mom would send me to the store to get a whole chicken to make chicken soup. She would remind me to get the heaviest bird
they had because the bones were the same size and I want meat in my soup.
Not to get off topic, but size = pounds, finish = quality
I took him to mean butcher 1 steer each year. The first steer 15-17 months and yearly thereafter, not with goal to butcher at 1 year.
He said at 900 pounds. That would be about a year old or maybe a little less for the kind of animal I would be putting in the freezer.
Yes, he said 900 ish and being a newbie I suggested 1200 lbs should be his target. A first timer expectations often vary from reality and
Because of the drought?
I don't know. No bred cow/ pair buyers.
It's going to get worse next month I'm told. Slaughter cows will be even higher.
Just keep killing them.
Exactly right,
Slaughter prices rising is a bad thing? What next cattlemen making a profit? for shame
lol
