R Kaiser?

[cswilson]

Randy can you e-mailme the particulars of how your retained ownership deal works-sounds interesting. braevallivestock@msn.com

[rkaiser]

Thanks for the interest wilson. Our program is pretty damn simple.

You own the cattle til slaughter with a predetermined price established when they enter the feedlot. Our calves this fall were quaranteed $1.60 on the rail. some 600 head on feed. The feedlot is fixed at .70 cents per pound of gain. Fairly high, however this price includes delivery to the plant, and the extra management involved in limit feeding etc. to maintain a weekly harvest. (almost said slaughter but the word harvest is one positive I've learned from the Americans on ranchers.net.) Also, how could we call our market a Complimentary Vertically Integrated Market if we didn't share the profits with every player in the game.

I guess the one hitch that I have to throw in is the obvious - you must purchase your bulls from CrossVenture Livestock and the calves must be sired by these bulls. Once the program grows, which is ineveitable, alternatives to our bull purchase agreement will have to be considered, but for now, we have a bunch of bulls to sell.

http://www.teamauctionsales.com/web/home.jsp

Any other particular question wilson, I would be happy to reply.. Randy

[cswilson]

Whats the minimum or maximum calves you can enroll and can they be fed at home to a certain weight. These would be au natural-no implants or antibiotics.

[rkaiser]

Depends on how many bulls you buy cs, and how many cows you breed to each. 200 head per bull would be frowned upon.
Right now we are looking at about 700 Welsh Black calves on feed, and even more Galloways at different stages. Cambells up there at Meadow Lake will be breeding at least 600 cows Galloway this coming spring.

We have some very lucrative deals cooking at the marketing end which could conceivably leave us short of cattle with one phone call. These deals could be discussed on the phone if you would like to give me a call.

One thing we have learned is thet we will never match supply and demand. We have sold some of the base players cattle on the rail to the conventional market when we have been top heavy but it has only been two loads to date. None of our consignors will ever experience this once a contract is signed, but we accept the fact that we control the program and need to be responsible for those times when fats are plenty.

Yes we limit antibiotics to one round of treatment (if they need it) when they enter the feedlot, but nothing after they are on feed and rolling. If a calf needs treatment later he is yanked from the program and sold conventional.

No implants of any kind, but we have been feeding rumensin.

Carry a "Natural" label, not organic.

[grassfarmer]

That sounds like a good program Randy. What weight do you kill at on average? I'm guessing 1300lbs - that would yield what, 750lb carcase at $1200 guaranteed. Comes back to $650 for a 600lb calf if you take the custom feed out. An acceptable price?
How does that compare to the Highland natural program cswilson? I spoke to them this morning and they say they haven't sold a calf into the "natural" market since October. Has their program collapsed or are there other reasons?

I'm considering the future today and am getting very worried for some of the new plants proposing to get into niche marketing natural or organic cattle with no market experience behind them.
Randy I'll maybe wait until you allow Luing cattle into your program - would you like a few feeders to try?

[rkaiser]

Canadian Celtic includes Highland cattle.

We are selling three branded products. Galloway, Welsh Black, and Highland.

Even played with some Piedmontese for a while to help out a good friend. I won't comment on that one.

You know darn well how your Luing cattle would work grassfarmer. These breeds all have a few things in common that make for a moderate sized well marbled carcass with a bit less backfat due to the hair and hide. You Luings would fit to a tee. The only problem being, you would need some numbers to have a constant supply available. Restaurants put it on the menu, and then they demand product every week, etc. etc.

Your numbers are bang on grassfarmer, but we do finish cattle up over 1400 at times with no discount. Not something we want to much of, but that supply demand thing gets us some heavyweights once in a while.

Always looking for investors up the line too. We are expanding the meat shops in a kind of franchise concept, and just plain old investment in the Marketing end as well.

[grassfarmer]

Do you actually differentiate between the three different breeds at point of sale? Is there a marked difference between the beef that would make you do that or is it more for the promotional side? I would have thought it easier in terms of management and supply just to sell one product. I would be interested to know how highlands fatten in a feedlot. They certainly make great beef off native grass at 3-4 years old but I always thought they were the one breed that couldn't be pushed.

[rkaiser]

Yes the different branded products are a marketing ploy. Our meat cutters can not tell the difference, but it seems to sell some product. The highland beef is not in any restaurants, just the meat counter because of limited supply.

The restaurants love to promote a name along with the product. That name on the menu is very important to them.

I tell other breeders of other breeds of cattle that there is lots of room in this branded market, and I realy beleive there is.

We are so bloody spoiled as a society, and food in North America is such a very small part of day to day expense, that buying and eating something unique is not really a big thing to a lot of people.

[cswilson]

Grassfarmer Highland markets the finished beef into whatever market is paying the most at that time-sometimes the grid is paying more than their natural deal is. I'll be closing a pen here in a month or so-I'll be able to compare things a bit closer then. Randy are you retaininfg any intew-rests in your bulls that you are selling. I tend to buy a bull a semen interest is retained in and use him A.I. then clean up same cows with him.I'm thinking of using one back on our South Devon/Angus F1's. Will you have any cows calving by your sale date-like to see his momma in production too.

[rkaiser]

cswilson - I have a tank full of semen, and usually use our top yearling bulls in our own herd - then sell them as two's. Have not played that share interest game yet, and don't expect to this year. Last year we drew on a bull prior to the sale for home use, but don't plan to do that this year. Last year also we hauled a bull over to Independent, across the hiway, for a fellow who bought. He drew and then took him home for a walking herd bull. (Something to consider for yourself as the top ones don't usually bring real high prices anyway. High bull 2003 - $2950.00 High bull 2004 - $2600.00

Sorry our cows start calving after the bull sale. Have a group of syncro heifers calving now, and then we shut things off til March 20th or so.

If you see one or two on the Team Auction site that really turn your crank, I could send you a photo of Momma by email, pre calving.

Thanks Randy

[cswilson]

Wasn't interested in sharing semwen sales more in splitting collection costs-if I make my mind up I can use a bull I use him hard for a long time.

[cswilson]

Randy do u have any pics of the dams of 7,16,21,22,25,31 especially that 16 year old cow if you have one of her milking. My e-mail is braevallivestock@msn.com

[cswilson]

Randy do u have any pics of the dams of 7,16,21,22,25,31 especially that 16 year old cow if you have one of her milking. My e-mail is braevallivestock@msn.com

[cswilson]

Randy I got your e-mails but I can't open them-it says I have to combine them and decode them which is greek to me lol.

[cswilson]

Randy maybe try sending each picture as a separate message-I still can't open them never had that trouble before.