Prices not that great?

[ASRG]

Managed to stop in at my local auction barn this week.
700 lb heifers were $1.20 or $840. I sold 625 lb. heifers last fall for $885. I kept most of my heifers thinking I might make a few bucks keeping them over for the grass market...so now I'm going to have to grass them.

[gaucho]

Are you guys not watching how much money feedlots are loosing.... thats why the cattle are not giving you more... Packers cannot pass on the price of beef to the end users... so it gets pushed down the line... gotta love that commodity system

[ASRG]

Oh I understand the feeder isn't making any money. I also take a look in the supermarket and ask myself "why in the hell would anyone buy beef?"
The big question is "Why in the hell do I still have these cows?"
I suspect many are asking those same questions?

[InAHurry]

$17.97 for ONE t-bone steak maybe a 1/2"
thickness or little better (in our local
Co-op) ... seen that one last and it
made me forget the $ on a couple of
other cuts! Then I forgot to ask the
final price on 75# of inside round I'm
picking up next week.

Sure hope the replacement females are a
bit better than the price quoted - we've
got a bunch headed to town this
Thursday.

To those in the storm warning areas -
hope it isn't to hard on the calving!

[ASRG]

I think with a reasonable corn crop in the USA we might see lower feeding costs next winter, which should support higher calf prices. Also if the cattle states get some rain this year we might see a rebuilding of the American cow herd?
I believe there is a future for Canadian beef producers, but it is a different model than what it was? The grassfarmers, gauchos and Kaisers are the future.....raising and marketing a premium product from pasture to plate.
Canada doesn't seem to really want a cattle business anymore. Our government basically left us out to dry on the BSE gong show and COOL.....which makes you wonder if they really wish we would just dissappear?
Anyway.....hope you have a good sale on your replacements!

[ASRG]

I forgot to add: The average age of cattlemen (and farmers) keep creeping up? Generally they aren't being replaced?
When the numbers of cattle start to fall below a certain number, the infrastructure starts to break down. Some auction marts are approaching numbers where the owners are really questioning if it is profitable to keep operating. In addition quite often the location of the mart (due to urban growth) has made the property very valuable.....and often the owners are just like the farmers.....getting old and ready to retire and enjoy the fruits of their labour!

[smcgrath76]

I would add that right now the price of
LMB (lean manufacturing beef) or cull
cows is nearing the price of fat cattle,
and depending on size of the animal
approaching the same amount of cash.
There is actually a global shortage of
LMB. A lot of hopes for the grass and
fall feeder market are looking overly
optimistic at this point and I suspect
there will be more cows disappearing.
I am not sure at what point the
infrastructure takes a further hit in
this country, but we must be getting
reasonably close in the commodity
business at this point.
I think the long term model going
forward will involve producers at the
C/C level taking a larger share of the
existing retail pie, but that is not
going to come easily, as there are a lot
of folks in the middle who won't want to
give up anything.

[Horse]

ASRG As usual I must disagre to a point. Goucho with free grass and oil encentive to keep cattle can go on producing to infinity as the gov sure dont want to level the field for beef producers. Most of us are land owners and have seen the price increase to the piont it dosent make sence economicaly to keep cows. As I asked GF how many acres per cow, I expect your acerage per cow is a lot lower at RD than in the peace block but your land is probably a lot higher in value. But thier marketing costs are higher.
I dont think it will ever go back to a butcher in every town, as much as I would like to see that again. With wages what they are large scale makes sense but if we guit producing a steady stream for them they are screwed to. We will be eating dairy culls for beef pretty soon as no one can afford the real beef business anymore.

[ASRG]

Horse a lot of what you say is true (I'll reserve that on the gaucho grazing lease thing!). It's a different world than what you and I grew up with?
I guess my main comment would be I'm glad I was able to be a part of the times I grew up in. It was an exciting time to be in the cattle business.....at least for me! I loved it.

[Horse]

ASRG Im with you but its a little like the old dog we know he is dying but we still hate to see the day!!