Price of calves need to double!

[The Don]

Somebody can afford beer on these prices? When we get paid in the fall we'll see how much money is left after I pay off the losses that have been accumulating.

[DaneG]

Actually I have been sipping premium brews! I hear there may be a sale on Bud Light.

[WiltonRanch]

Wonder how many heifers go out to breed this year? Usually high prices encourage higher heifer retention but hear rumblings the same if not more headed to feedlots. Lots of young guys with cows in my circle are cutting down or liquidating their herds and the high prices make it an easy decision. The spring is starting out quite dry and I have enough old critters I should have culled earlier but thought I’d get another calf. Anything that’s dry before turnout is going to town. Keeping back more heifers as I know I need to cull hard on older ones. My herd size will stay unchanged hopefully. We used to run 3 times as many cows as I do now. Were spread over at times 100 miles grazing northern bush pastures and weren’t making bugger all at it. It was my fathers dream and I finally had to say enough is enough with the madness. For most guys 50 to 100 head is an ideal number for a mixed operation with some land better suited for cattle. At least that was the way here for years but nobody wants the headache or sunk costs in fencing that you really wonder if you see benefit before it depreciates to zero. Even brush or weed control on pasture doesn’t pencil if you don’t factor the value of appreciation of your land. Yes you have to run it like a beer budget venture.

[DaneG]

I have 30 some heifers that could be replacement, undecided what I will do with them breed, grass or sell now?

[DaneG]

Well the heifers spent the summer on grass without a bull, sold them today prices are satisfactory.

[bucket]

Funny that the Saskatchewan government thinks they can double the cattle herd by 2030 when there is more money selling good heifers to the feedlots to be slaughtered.

Went to one of those SCA local meetings and they should have just told ranchers to sell off the herd instead of thinking the ranchers opinion had any bearing on governments.

Its been a month since the government announced funding, no program yet, the federal government hasn't come to the table.

But 650 million left yesterday , and 3 billion a couple days earlier to foreign countries.

[15444]

Funny that the Saskatchewan government thinks they can double the cattle herd by 2030 when there is more money selling good heifers to the feedlots to be slaughtered.

Went to one of those SCA local meetings and they should have just told ranchers to sell off the herd instead of thinking the ranchers opinion had any bearing on governments.

Its been a month since the government announced funding, no program yet, the federal government hasn't come to the table.

But 650 million left yesterday , and 3 billion a couple days earlier to foreign countries.

It takes a big set of balls to ask for assistance when the sector is seeing record breaking prices almost every week.

Big difference from 2021.

Anyone over 60, sell the herd and put the money into a GIC. Earn 5.5% over the next year or two while you rent out the land.

2003-2006 is still fresh in my mind if you want to compare a period of time when governments really didn't give a **** about cattlemen. So it could be a hell of a lot worse than it is now.

[The Don]

Nice to see better pricing on the heifers Dane G. Congratulations.
There has been a lot of heifers in the feedlots according to the statics on the internet. About 41% of cattle in the feedlot are female according to what I read.
Corbet Wall (Feeder Flash) is wondering if there is going to be a rebuilding of the herd. Many more of the cow-calf sector are selling off the cows and exiting the business. When they start to lower the prices because of the "fall rush" take note. They are short of cattle and short of producers. When you piss off someone with low calf prices, that will annoy those producers who are trying to make up their mind about continuing in the business. Any idea that you are going to turn around the cow calf sector and continue the beef industry is contingent on continued improvement in the calf prices. Without stable pricing that provides a real profit to the calf producer, the herd will continue to shrink. That reality should be coming clear to the for profit sectors of the industry.
My opinion.

[The Don]

The fall rush is on now and predictably prices dropped hard this last week. Looking at prices paid in the last week some weight groups fell as much as 25%.
It's hard to attract new producers to the cow calf business especially when they keep cutting the financial incentive off.
Are we going to relive 2015 -16?