Bred Heifers & Cows

[pickarock]

I know that breds are just starting to hit the auctions but wondering what kind of price (if any have moved yet) they are bringing in private deals. What are some predictions for this fall.

[ASRG]

At my local sale (Innisfail/AB) there has been a steady trickle of bred cows and heifers coming in. Usually a couple of dispersals a week.
Decent bred young cows in that 1400 lb range are $1200 to $1300. Bred heifers are generally beef price or slightly below....with the heavier heifers (1200-1300 lbs) generally finding more interest than smaller heifers (under 1000 lbs). The highest I've seen sell worked out to about $1.06/lb (1300 lb.-$1375). Most under 1000 lb. bring less than $1.00/lb. Example: Black Angus heifers 980 lb. brought 95 cents yesterday (Bred Angus to start calving March 15). Pretty good bunch...bet he wished he'd left the bull out!

[15444]

Neighbor sold his purebred Hereford herd at the local mart on Saturday. Top price for young cows and bred heifers was 1400. Bottom end was on an 11 year old cow in good shape at 975. Weights were 1050 to 1650.

The Herefords, cows and heifers on average, topped the pens of black and red bred heifers, which went $1000 to $1150. Weights were 850 to 1050 on the blacks and reds.

I bought 5 of the Hereford cows and 4 of their heifer calves. Avg price for the cows was $1250 and the avg on the calves was $751. Normally I wouldn't buy in the high, but this was an end of an era and I knew this herd as well as my own.

Only thing I hate is they are bred for March. Mid-April/Early May please!

[pickarock]

Interesting. We went to look at some bred hfrs. They were reds and blacks, nothing too fancy but a pretty good size. Also made you wonder if they had had a little barley The fellow wants $1500. Seems like most guys in our area have this 1500 bred hfr price in mind .... maybe a reality check is in order.

[ASRG]

There is a guy offering bred heifers for sale on the Alberta Ag website for $1500 to $1600 (500 head). He was buying heifers like crazy in March and April. Usually in that 750lb. or heavier weight and paying up to $1.25/lb
On an 800 lb. heifer that would have cost him $1000/hfr. He ran them out at Cornation.
It seems to me if he sells them at the prices he's asking he's going to make a killing! He told me (in the spring) he was considering custom grazing steers, but thought he could do better taking a chance breeding heifers.
I would guess he is overpriced....by about $300/hfr......but hey, all the power to him if someone bites!

[pickarock]

Agreed. I think we will sit on our hands until the bred sales get into full swing.

[ALLFARMER]

Well if I can get good younger bred cows for
1200 to $1300 I will take them. With little rain we
only made 60% of the feed we normally do so
it's gunna be the new year before we buy. Calf
prices were too low for too long now the plants,
feedlots, and ring auctions have some tough
sledding. 800$ for spring born calves had better
be the new average or this industry model is
broken.

[kato]

When we consider the price of bred cows right now, remember that the buyer is factoring in the cost of how much she will eat from now to calving.

No one wants to pay big bucks for a bred cow, feed her until next April, and then lose a calf. You have to consider that potential loss, and allow for it. We've bought a few bred cows over the years, and never buy them more than two months away from calving.

[ALLFARMER]

Good points Kato, it is usually not all that hard to
find good bred cows.