# Sold a few calves



## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Ran 18 head of calves to market Saturday (special feeder sale). Got the top price for colored steers of $1.31 a pound (not a home run by far). Heifers got the top also a $1.25. They weighted around 325-375# each. The past Monday's auction the best price on 3's was $1.05 a pound. I'm glad I didn't keep them longer, the best 4's and 5's where under a dollar a pound ($0.60 to $0.98) Saturday, ugh, (up from Monday though). Holsteins were naturally even worse ($0.05 to $0.65). Hope, the person with the 5 center, didn't have to pay for trucking. 

Larry


----------



## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

There should have been enough corn silage to fed steers but I don't think some people got that chopped this year. I don't know if its the feed situation or the weather or what but it doesn't pay to raise feeders. Maybe the guys buying some of the cheap feeders will make a little money.


----------



## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

I sold most of my calves at the end of October, and my 400 weight steers brought $1.94


----------



## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

I'm assuming the guy with the 5 cent was not there to call no sale.

This is exactly why I market my animals myself, I only use a sale barn as a last resort. I have not taken a single animal this year, last year I only took 2 and I was mad about that price. I don't even take my cull cows to the sale barn, I find somebody to buy them for the table so I don't take it in the shorts and can recoup almost enough to replace them. So far it's worked well.

Unless the local yards improve, I refuse to sell top feeder steers for 120 or heifers for 80-100. These are not Holsteins. Locally these prices have been like this a long time, I'm very surprised I haven't been able to pick up more land to lease. If I was able to grab land I would be buying these cheap calves.


----------



## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

CowboyRam said:


> I sold most of my calves at the end of October, and my 400 weight steers brought $1.94


You're very fortunate.


----------



## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

BWfarms said:


> You're very fortunate.


That's what I thought too.

Larry


----------



## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

r82230 said:


> That's what I thought too.
> 
> Larry


My weights were all over the place so my average for 24 steers was $1.57, 26 heifers average was $1.38, and I had one bull calf that somehow slipped by sold for $1.45. My calves sold around 5pm that day, and the prices had come down some from what they were first thing in the morning.

My weights should be a little more inconstant next year, as almost 2/3 thirds of my herd was bought last January, and in order to keep my cost down I had to buy them one or two at at time; I think the biggest group of cows I bought was about six.


----------

