Bred heifers

[cowman]

I just got thinking about how the customer views bred heifers?
It would seem if they are over 1100 lbs the price starts to improve...1200 lbs is better! No one seems to want those small under 900 lb. heifers...or at least sure don't want to pay much for them?...or maybe it's just the sales I attend?
Now I suspect an 18 month old heifer that weighs in at 1200 lbs(assuming it is growth not fat) will mature into a cow in that 1600 lb. range and an 1100 lb. heifer close to 1500? I suspect that is probably about the best size for this area with decent grass and fairly lush conditions?
I find it very difficult to keep my cows in that 1400-1500 lb. range but I do know if you throw away the old grain pail when they are weaned you can grow them up to mature at a lesser weight.
I know many of you have different views on cow size and that is okay. I do believe there is always a trade off? Maxxing out profit usually involves keeping costs low while pushing production? You can go wrong either way real fast?

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, "I find it very difficult to keep my cows in that 1400-1500 lb. range but I do know if you throw away the old grain pail when they are weaned you can grow them up to mature at a lesser weight."
I thought from previous posts that you had thrown away the grain pail a long time ago?

[PureCountry]

Cowman, sometimes the things you write baffle me...'''the best size for this area..." ???

The best size cow for an area is the one that generates the most revenue with the least expense.

REVENUE - EXPENSE = PROFIT

If someone in your area can make money with 1800lb. cows, good on 'em.

If someone else in your area can make money with 1000lb. cows, good on them, too.

I've never made great money off of 1800lb. cows in our area, and I've done much better with a 12-1300lb. - PROVIDING THEY ARE CHOSEN FROM STRUCTURALLY SOUND STOCK FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, FOR THE RIGHT APLLICATION.

The size of your cows is not the correlation to a profit margin, so much as the manner in which you manage them.

[15444]

Our straightbred and purebred Hereford bred heifers are running in the 15-23 month range and weigh between 800 and 1000 lbs, currently pricing them at $800. Generally in our area, people who are interested in buying British heifers are not scared to buy them at that size, as they are aiming for moderate-sized cows with grass-gained flesh. Producers who are breeding Continental cross commercial cattle are typically the ones looking for the 1100-1200 lb bred heifers with a little bit of shine to them. Our heifers never see grain and typically mature out to 1200-1400 lbs. We only have a handful of cows over the 1600 lb mark and most of those will be hitching a ride to Winnipeg this fall.

[PureCountry]

Amen to that.

[cswilson]

I've sold hundreds of heifers -blacks and baldies-at under 1,000 at a pretty good premium-most 'real' cattleman can see through the barley. You take away that feed bucket from weaning to yearling and you'll get alot more productive cow in a quite a bit smaller package. I sell breeding stock that are totally garanteed-I've had to replace 3 head in last ten years. Greener heifers are a bit of a hard sell but once they buy them they are hooked. We were averaging $1500 a heifer in the yard pre BSE-got $1200 a pair this spring and considered myself lucky.

[cowman]

grassfarmer: Yep, threw it away quite awhile ago! If I didn't I'd be raising 1400 lb./18 month heifers!
About 1997 I started introducing Red Angus genetics through American AI bulls. Before that we used Sim and Charlais on a purebred horned herford herd. I still think some of those Char cross cows were the best we ever raised!
I suspect in central Alberta the big crossbred heifers are popular because the fact is this is basically a grain growing area and cows are usually a sideline? We can raise some extremely good crops and I would venture that crop land is more profitable?...maybe I should say...before the CROW rate was killed? Seemed like every man and his dog got into cattle then!
If I lived in the "desert" I guess I would try to stick with a really tough cow...like the old time hereford or Angus!

[grassfarmer]

Those sound like cheap heifers 15444 either for purebreds or commercials. I wouldn't be interested in running a quality breeding program selling bred heifers for that kind of money. Do folks in Ontario not have money to buy replacements? Surely they should be worth $800 as weaned heifer calves if they look like making a good cow?

[cswilson]

grassfarmer some guys out east will pay_I've sent heifers out there myself.

[almoy]

We just sold 875 lb OPEN heifers for $990 at the auction mart.