# 8 Weights



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

What will a $2 bill buy per....how about 8 weight steers.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agweb.com/article/usda_eight-weight_steers_hit_2_NAA_Jo_Windmann/


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

You have to look very hard here to find 9 weights under $2. Sure glad I sell and not buy lol.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Ontario you must've been busy for awhile. On another thread some were wondering if you disappeared. What u been up to?


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Ya I got busy between seeding and helping out a local seed dealer running the cleaner lol. Plus my phone broke so that didnt help.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I am trying to decide whether to sell lighter calves or keep them a while.

Here the best price seems to be for light 4 weight calves. Stockers want to put the weight on the calves themselves. Until recently I always kept them until 700+. My buyer for those has passed away and I am selling at the auction now.

I watch a few minutes of DVAuctions each day when I can. Cattle prices are unbelievable from shore to shore.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Welcome back Ontario .....


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Thanks dawg. Tim what are 4 weight worth there?


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

We sell sides and quarters direct to customers, trying to brace them for increase and getting some holdback on orders. With these feeder calf prices pretty hard to fill pen up for winter grass silage feeding. Anyone else worried about buying fall calves and loosing your ass on them come spring?


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## Supa Dexta (May 28, 2014)

We also sell direct to customers and its a tough place right now, to either raise the rates and deal with the backlash.. Or lose out on selling live animals when they are worth so much, but be free and clear of them. In the transition period you can't help but think you are losing money to supply beef direct, but you can't scare off customers with a giant jump in prices either.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

Enos when I look at futures things appear on the upside through next spring. I think grocery chains are out of locked in prices and will be raising their prices. They don't like changing prices and neither pork or beef is their in a supply they can leverage down. With exports growing, I think any consumer consumption decrease will be offset. My .02. Mel


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

ontario hay man said:


> Thanks dawg. Tim what are 4 weight worth there?


$1,000 to $1,050&#8230;.1.40 + per lb. The very good calves bring more than that.

We once sold fats to the public in halves and quarters. We priced at what ever the market quote from USDA was that week. For some reason the general public thinks we should be able to price lower since we are not a store with the same overhead. I always said we were producing a specialty produce and selling to the going rate was a great deal for them. Finally got tired of explaining that I could not sell for less than I could get for one at the auction.

I told one guy, he had bought several before, that he could buy a steer and I would let him keep it here for free, he just buys the feed. He looked into the costs involved and passed. I have wondered if there was money to be made by allowing people to graze their growing beef for a price? People want "farm raised" beef. I supply the grass, they supply the beef and pay me to graze it here. Not really a good idea for me as I have a closed herd.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Tim-did you mean to say $2.40? If not I will take the chance on bringing your southern calves up north. I will take all the 4 wts you have for $1.50.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Yes, 2.40. My mind just can't grasp putting a 2 in front of the cents.

Our prices are still not what they are farther west. Trucking cost is claimed to blame.

Saw where 750 lb. steers sold for $2.03 in OKC this morning.

Unreal.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

A dollar is not worth a whole lot anymore.


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

With these prices I wonder how long till the next "Mad Cow" or exploding Cow or whatever shows up to tank the market. It is not like the large packers, feedlots and stores will let the primary producer (cow calf) take the largest slice of the pie very long.


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

With these prices I wonder how long till the next "Mad Cow" or exploding Cow or whatever shows up to tank the market. It is not like the large packers, feedlots and stores will let the primary producer (cow calf) take the largest slice of the pie very long.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Importing second rate rate beef and calling it USDA could also be the route taken to bring prices down.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I sell some halves of beef too.one thing that is hard to tell them when they complain about the prices. The meat in the store is pumped full of water. I cant remember what percent they can do. But you buy from me its not. Fry one of my bugers it makes might shrink 20% fry a store bought one it shrinks at least 50%.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

hog987 said:


> I sell some halves of beef too.one thing that is hard to tell them when they complain about the prices. The meat in the store is pumped full of water. I cant remember what percent they can do. But you buy from me its not. Fry one of my bugers it makes might shrink 20% fry a store bought one it shrinks at least 50%.


We also do not dye the near red to make it look fresh.

We have had some people wonder if the butcher swapped their meat because it did not look red as the store bought meat.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Tim/South said:


> We also do not dye the near red to make it look fresh.
> We have had some people wonder if the butcher swapped their meat because it did not look red as the store bought meat.


here I think the meat does not look right in the stores


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

Tim/South said:


> Yes, 2.40. My mind just can't grasp putting a 2 in front of the cents.
> 
> Our prices are still not what they are farther west. Trucking cost is claimed to blame.
> 
> ...


I used to haul 18k to 22k head of calves out of south florida every year for many years and freight out of the south to texas panhandle and oklahoma panhandle cost alot , they always blame it on the trucker.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

On the subject of watered down beef- I have not scientifically tested this but soon will:

I would say a "normal" 1/2# burger I get in a few different places (decent pub burgers) compare to maybe a third pound of my burger. Grasss fed fairly lean and dry aged.

I am not sure how much has to do with overstated weights of said patty vs extra water and fat loss in final product.


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

@$2.40 lb live wieght for feeders, we need to be at $6.50 lb cut and wrapped by the side weight to make any money grass feeding. Going to be fun trying to get that. May have to make a bit more square bales to sell because I don't think the cattle barn is going to be full this winter.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

The precent of water that can be added to meat by packers is regulated by USDA but I can not remember the precent. The reasoning is to replace moisture lost during processing


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