cow economics

[cowman]

I suspect we will see dollar calves this fall. Many feedlots are saying that is about all they can pay. The American market will put a floor under our prices so it could be higher for the right kind of calves but the little ones and the heifers are going to drag the average down. So say $600.
Now if you can avoid feeding until Nov.1 and you can stop feeding May 20(which is looking at it from a pretty optomistic view) then what are your costs? Say hay at $200/ton or 10 cents/lb.? Straw? Who knows but I suspect 5 cents a lb. won't be unreasonable. 200 days at say$3.25/day= $650! Now if you have to start feeding on Oct.1 and go till June 1 then the price rises to $789! You throw in the tractor, salt, utilities for free of course and you get the joy of being out in the great outdoors living the good life!
The cow/calf price is not very pretty right now but maybe better to take your lumps now than later. Because I suspect the price they are now looks pretty good to what it is going to be.
If you have your own hay and straw you can cash in on the feed bonanza! There are a lot of guys who will spend every last cent they have on their cows!

[Ron]

I think the feed values might be high cowman. The only salvage for most cereal crops is forage, I see a lot of silage being cut but straight grain operators might lean more towards greenfeed as it is more mobile and less costly to harvest. I think there are going to be some rotaries traded on coventionals just for the straw (straw sale will more than pay for custom combining). Just my thoughts. by the way I saw one of the nicer stands of canola this spring being swathed for silage as the flowers had all heat blasted off 10 miles north of Red Deer

[cowman]

You could be right. I was talking to a farmer out by Spruceview yesterday and he is buying round bales delivered to his yard for $65/bale. Really nice hay from central Sask. Found it on the internet on the Alberta Ag "Ropin the Net" site.