hot cow market

[ag-boy]

out there in s alberta [balog auction]have a sale going bred hfr and young cows 1700 up to 1900
half sale done and not dropping !
same owner here in sask [swift currant] high sale week ago .
there is a lot of optimism in the cattle cow calf outlook he !
yes fat market for april locking in at 140 !!!!!!! looks like never been better.
this is what happend sell out and pannic ,happy cowman

[kato]

There was a bred cow sale near here last week where the top cow in the whole sale brought $1100. Lots of $800.00 cows to be had.

mm.....

[jensend]

Considering the average cow raises 4
calves does someone want to use the bud
williams method of cow valuation to tell
me what calves have to be worth for a
$1,900 cow to be profitable?

[grassfarmer]

The Westwood cows were always going to be the
peak of the trade this fall - Kevin did his
homework. I bought a similar set of "well sold"
cows in spring 2001 on a previous cattle cycle
peak at $1600 a month before calving. Never
regretted it because they were long lasting, hard
working cows that paid their way through BSE.
Sometimes high priced cows are worth the
money - but more often than not the wastage is
too high in my experience.

[SCS]

As a retired Genex rep I know what Kevin has done. AI'd 1500 plus heifers each spring. I know that some are auction mart cheap buyers, not helping the future, hats off to Kevin for helping!

SCS

[WiltonRanch]

Those high price mommas if they`re piss cutters
may work but are still expensive cows. I think you
want quality, but dont get stupid.
Just wondering what is the Bud Williams method
for pricing cows?

[15444]

Everybody is trying to hide the cash before the end of the year. Lets compare prices first week of January.

[DogPatch]

If an average cow only has 4 calves, then either the rancher is keeping crap for replacements, buying someones crap for his replacements, not feeding them right, using average bulls, not semen checking, etc etc. Something is wrong............

[SADIE]

15444

What is to compare the first week of January when you are comparing bred heifers or bred cows?

Some astute cow person that is wanting to get out would make better placement of his sale than the first of Jan. Good market reps also would encourage the sale till later on in Jan.

Then the price of bred cows and bred heifers start to have a different value and that is 2-3 months of feed could be already in them. This year feeding in this area started 1 month earlier even when we feel we have or had stockpiled grass.

Butcher cows one can compare Dec price to new year price (some what) and if they are in good condition new years price starts to see the climb IMHO

[jensend]

to put it simply bud williams said the value of a cow is the present value of her salvage plus the present value of revenues her progeny generate minus the present value of the costs of carrying her and her progeny to where they generate those revenues.

[jensend]

note i said the average cow raises four calves not has four calves. lots of guys keep a cow whose calf was taken by predators or drowned in the slough or whatever. her revenue for that year is zero and the costs keep on rolling. some cows will give you ten calves and some won't catch after their first calf so you're at 5.5 there and she still has to raise them.

[ASRG]

I guess I would say there are so many variables, it is a bit like gazing into a crystal ball and seeing pretty well what ever you want to see?
How do you put a salvage value on a cow? A lot of $1200 cows bought in 2001.....turned into $600 cows in 2002......and $300(or less)cows in 2003!
How do you put a value on future calf prices? Again take a look at the past?

How can you accurately predict your costs? In 2009 feed costs at least doubled!
Is $1700 too much for a cow? It is for me, but obviously it wasn't for someone else!

[forage]

The answer that has worked well for me was to start with buying reputation cows 3 to 4th calvers from producers who have been in the business for more years than you can count.We have many local ranches that have been arround for 3 or 4 generations. Don't go trying to buy your entire herd at once, pick out half a dozen good scoring cows from each one of these producers for a fair and reasonable price. Keep all the best heifers and build from there, that way you know the temperment and the gentics that well be bred into your herd. I never preg test first calvers to many problems associated with it unless you can afford ultrasound. Let a bull determine whats open. Buying all these high priced heifers at auction sales is like buying a pig in a poke and you don't know the first thing about them unless you know the producer and they weren't package from 10 or 20 different herds as last years calf sales.

[grassfarmer]

How many multi-generational operations sell choice
of their 3rd/4th calvers out of their home raised
multi-year programs? Only place I've seen this type
of cow sold is at a dispersal.

[SADIE]

GF---Correct. I preg-checked for many years at Veteran, Cereal, Provost auction markets.