Chubby went to auction yesterday

[Azriel]

I have been out of cattle for many, many years, and just got started back into them a little over a year ago. We had one steer born last June, and he went to auction yesterday. I am very bad at guessing weight and thought he was about 650 or so. He had been totally grass/hay fed with a little cake after weaning. Man was I wrong on weight, he was 850# and we got $1.86 a pound. I was very happy with what we got, but sad to see him go. I have to remember Do Not Name The Steers!

 

[greybeard]

You did good especially for that weight. Minus commission and transport costs-nearly $1600.

Next one you raise, get a weight tape if you don't have access to a scale. They're pretty accurate once you get the hang of reading them. About $5-$6 at any good feed store or supply store..
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/coburnreg;-beef-stock-weight-tape


If you can't find one, you can use a flexible measuring tape like the ones in a good sewing kit and then go to this chart:
http://www.piedmontese.org/GettingYourCattleWeightsWithoutaScale.htm


Price per lb on good steers and heifers has been very good for the last month here, with buyers looking for lighter weights and paying higher per 100wt prices for 300-400 lb steers. (you got $186/100lbs or 186/cwt)
Since yours was all grass/hay fed you had little cost involved, probably made a good profit but, you may have been better off going to sale at a true 650# weight IF it were going to cost you very much to put on that extra 200#.

SALE Tuesday, Jan.14, 2014

Steers #1------------price/100lbs
300-400 lbs ......... 200-245
400-500 lbs ......... 190-235
500-600 lbs ......... 175-210
600-700 lbs ......... 160-185
700-800 lbs ......... 155-170

 

[AshleyFishy]

UNDER 300lbs.160-332.5
300-400 lbs140-275
400-500 lbs.140-222.5
OVER 500 lbs.130-212.5

Feb. 17 2014 for my area.

I think you did great! Congrats.

 

[Azriel]

We had planned on him going about a month ago, but with bad weather, icey roads and getting called into work this was the 1st chance we had. I do think closer to the 650# range would have given us a higher per pound price, but I'm happy with what we got. The lighter weight calves up to 550 were going for right around $215 cwt.

 

[greybeard]

We had planned on him going about a month ago, but with bad weather, icey roads and getting called into work this was the 1st chance we had. I do think closer to the 650# range would have given us a higher per pound price, but I'm happy with what we got. The lighter weight calves up to 550 were going for right around $215 cwt.

It could have given you a higher price per lb, but you have to balance that against the scale weight. Your steer pushed the scale down good, so even if did get a lower price/lb than a lighter wt would have brought, you still made out better. (assuming your costs to put the extra weight on wasn't so much it erased that extra total in the check.)
That's the advantage of being able to grow one on grass and hay. Lower input costs always rules the day.

The buyers figure what that on-the-hoof carcass is going to cost them total. Just pulling imaginary #s out of the air:
They may pay 2.00/lb for a 650 lb steer, which seems high, but it only cost them $1300 total.
They paid you a lower price per lb, but that animal cost them $1600, which went in your pocket because he pushed that scale down. (if something happens to your steer between the 650lb and 850lb timeline, of course all bets are off. Hurt or lame animals will be discounted heavily)

For lower the wts the buyers need to get out of there as cheap as possible, because for most of those light steers, the feedlot still has to put some $$ (feed) into them to get them up and finished. But, they know, if they stop bidding at (say)$1.40/lb, farmers/ranchers will stop bringing lighter weights in. So they have to offer some enticement for the producer (us) to continue to bring in a variety of weight animals. That's why you generally see the lighter ones bringing more/lb.

When you get a couple of months away from your planned sale window, watch the weekly averages at the salebarn you want to use, and pay attention to each week. Buyers sometimes do NOT go to the same sale every week. One week there may be a buyer from XXX and next week he is gone and a buyer from YYY is there. Watch week one, week2, week3, and week 4 and see if there is a trend of one particular week having a little better prices and try to plan on selling that week.

UNDER 300lbs.160-332.5
300-400 lbs140-275
400-500 lbs.140-222.5
OVER 500 lbs.130-212.5

Ashley--you sure that's right? The first set of numbers seem way out of whack--that's a pretty big spread.

 

[AshleyFishy]

Yup straight from our auction house market report.