Prices not that good?

[ASRG]

Stopped at the local auction yesterday. Butcher cows seemed to be off quite a bit. Best cow I saw sell was $63.50. A few yearling heifers (865 lb.) sold for $1.14. Some 700 lb heifers- $1.22.

[kato]

We don't even watch the market in July. Around here, half the auction marts are closed, and those that are don't move many cattle. Any prices that get paid are not what we'd consider representative of the market.

I think there are a lot of extra animals on the market in the U.S. due to the drought. And expectations of poor corn crop with higher prices.

Best to just wait until the fall run starts, and avoid the stress for now. It could change ten times by then.

[grassfarmer]

That sounds like quite a drop on the week. I sold a
couple of cows last week, decent cows but not fat
exotics by any means and they were 75.5 cents.
Sold a single August born steer 805lbs - $1.375 so
just topped $1100.
I'm starting to think these fall calvers might be the
way to go. No weaned calves to deal with going into
winter. Wintered the cows on average quality hay and
never fed the calves at all.

[ALLFARMER]

The futures chart has been on a free fall for days.

[kato]

We had a discussion here about all this, and Hubby had an interesting point.

This price drop is supposed to be driven by the drought and poor corn crop. A lot of time those poor corn crops are salvaged by making sileage out of them. We wondered whether this could affect cattle prices down the road? I'm not sure about the U.S., but I would think sileage would be an option in Ontario.

What do you think, burnt? Is anyone there pulling into the fields with sileage equipment? And will they be looking for cattle to feed it to? It wouldn't affect Alberta much, but Manitoba has sent a lot of calves down east in the past.

[ASRG]

I wonder if corn prices (or barley) are so high that no money can be made feeding cattle, why not slaughter them for veal? Why do we see 850 lb carcasses if there is no money in it?
If grain prices continue to rise, how long until our "NAFTA" governments decide to put a cap on prices? It looks like the USA is heading back into recession......and remember it is an election year in the US? Rising food prices (and ethanol prices) get people mad! Never mind if the price of a new boat or RV go up a few thousand...that's just the cost of doing business!
Of course the government could always say it is for the "public good"? That always seems to justify theft?

[ASRG]

grassfarmer: I haven't weaned any calves for years. Just leave them out with the cows. Most of the cows kick them off by about January. Some of the young ones don't. Will pull the big calf a few days before the new baby is born in that case.
Pretty crude I know but I don't have many opens...no more than I ever did.....and no sick bawling weaned calves!
Being lazy has it's benifits!

[grassfarmer]

I always made that mistake of thinking "why do the
feedlots bid high when they might lose money?" too.
Then I remember the nature of the feedlot sector -
with empty pens they have no income potential. Most
are custom feeding cattle for people with tax
problems so the feedlot operator can externalize the
risk of owning the cattle, it's the only way an industry
with an average profitability per animal over several
decades of a negative $ figure can continue.

On the self weaning calf thing I don't see it working in
my situation. Once we get to a certain point in late
fall - usually mid November we run out of feed
sources suitable to sustain a milking cow without
losing too much condition. To provide an appropriate
diet to the calves to keep them growing at the rate I
need they need to be on way better feed. The cows on
the other hand, relieved of their calves now have
grazing options available again that will maintain or
increase their body condition. This is usually on
banked bush pasture that has been rested all summer
It's one way we shorten the winter and reduce cow
maintenance costs.
I always notice the pairs start to get restless in
September when the first frosts hit - always bawling
in the mornings when they see you, thinking you
might move them to a new pasture and always
moving as a herd. That behaviour stops when you
wean - the cows will then settle down and split off in
groups of 4-5 or even singly and they get right into
the outlying corners you are grazing. I've noticed as
much as a third more forage harvested with dry cows
off the same area compared to grazing with pairs.
So weaning appears to be a necessary evil in my
situation as long as I have spring calving cows.

[kato]

I'm wondering how long is the career of a cow who's calves are never weaned? That's got to be hard on the cows.

[burnt]

kato, I don't know how it will play out here yet. I don't think that there are many guys who are going to cut silage unless they are already in the feeding business.

The others will just take their crop insurance check if they are covered. Not many want to be bothered with cattle anymore - facilities are gone or in disrepair and once they quit they are not going back in.

I don't have crop insurance and will wait a bit longer to see how much grain potential it has.

There is going to be some grain, just don't know how much. The high ground is starting to really hurt wit some dried out dead.

And then there are a few spots that got rain and their yield potential looks fantastic! Weird year for sure so it's hard to predict anything.