# Year of the Heifer



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Retention....is the word for 2014 according to this editor.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agriculture.com/markets/analysis/beef/year-of-heifer_12-ar41436


----------



## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I sold my best heifers to a neighbor friend at then market price. It is a hard choice in deciding whether to retain heifers or sell them while there is high demand. I always figured to sell heifers when the price is high and retain them when the market is down.

I am going to begin keeping a few heifers out of this years crop. I have a few cows that will need to be culled during the next three years. I need producing heifers ready to replace them.

The prices that were predicted in the article have already been met and surpassed. Fed/Fat steers have already hit $1.45 this year. Feeder steers have been around $1.70. Those are highs, not the average, but still record prices for live cattle.

Right now the light 4 weight seem to be the best option when selling. Stockers want to put the weight on them. Two weeks ago I saw where some fancy light 4's brought $2.50. I can not even wrap my head around that number.

I wonder how many heifers are being bought as replacement that normally would have been put on feed? It usually takes a very nice heifer before I am willing to invest 3 years in her. She is going to be a momma for 10 years or so and you can feed a good one at the same cost as a #2 cow. But I have been asking my son if "this or that" might make a good cow? Usually the good ones stand out and you do not have to ask.

It feels very good to know you will most likely make money with cattle right now. So many years past you crossed your fingers that the market would be good when you needed to sell. Takes a lot of stress out of it.


----------



## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

Ok, this is good timing for me. I've got some heifer questions. This might seem odd to you guys, but like I've said before this whole cow calf beef operation is a new concept for me. Coming from a dairy background, its easy heifers are good, bulls bad. Now I've flipped 180 on that.

What should I do with the heifers? Is it more profitable to sell them at weaning? Breed and ready to spring? I'm running the bull with the cows full time for 2 reasons, the big one is I don't have anywhere else to put him, and I've got year round demand for beef. So any heifer that's cycling is going to be bred. I've been butchering the steers around 18 months.


----------



## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Dill,

Right now 4 weight calves are the best money for me. The larger calves are still very good money.

If there is a risk of the heifers getting bred then I would probably sell them soon off the momma.

I do not like to wean a calf on the trailer going to the sale. Weaned calves are bringing a premium. With a buyer paying $800 for a calf they do not need the added mortality risk and medicine associated with unweaned calves.

Having said that, I am getting ready to sell some unweaned calves. Some are still bull calves. I was planning to cut and wean as soon as this arctic blast passed through. My conflict is that I know what calves are bringing now. I do not know what they will bring in 6 weeks. Even a small price drop would be compounded when I have feed invested in those calves during weaning.

I will keep them up for 10 days just to get them past the whining stage. They will not shrink as much over night at the sale barn if they have been off of momma a few days. They will have their shots.

We all have to work with what we have and what works best for our situation. If you do not have a place to separate the heifers and worry they will be bred too young then selling them when the market wants them sounds good. You could keep them to 5 or 6 hundred pounds if you have the grazing. I am a believer in vaccinating calves. Our sale is good about pointing out which calves have had shots.

My local market is this:

A #1 438 lb heifer would bring $789.36

The same heifer kept to 579 lbs would bring $918.46 (More if bought as replacements)

I am getting the calves off the momma cows sooner and selling as light 4 weight.

Normally my light 4 weight calves were weaned heavier. During weaning they transform from "soft" calves to "hard" calves. Hard calves bring more. They step off the trailer and begin eating, making money for the buyer.

Funny story:

I sold a 14 weaned/vaccinated calves back in December. They sold as individuals, back to back and brought really good money.

I saw one of my neighbors a week later and he asked me how much it cost to ear tag calves and how hard it was?

He asked me to ear tag his 3 calves before he sold them. He said my calves were ear tagged and brought top dollar.

Yes, I will tag his calves. He is a nice guy and I enjoy knowing him.


----------



## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Keeping the top third (IMO) heifer calves, selling the rest as replacements. I'd like to keep more, but with the price heifers have been bringing, I cant afford not to. Have to replenish the coffers after the drought of '12.

We have a very good market for feeder heifers, still not up to steers, but good nonetheless. Only stipulation most of them have is heifers MUST be on MGA prior to selling. I keep mine steers/heifers separate, but still like the MGA just to keep the riding to a minimum.

Only thing that article doesn't mention is the fact that of all the heifers retained yearly, ~20% of those will preg check open or not calve at the 2 year mark, and will enter the slaughter market.


----------

