I've commented a number of times here about also being in the farming and ranching business in addition to surveying. Well, this morning was the time to round up 20 head of 750 lb. steers at one place and then catch enough on a second farm to fill up the second trailer going to the livestock auction where they will join the trailer load taken in yesterday to hold for today's sale.
Things started out quite well. Filled the first trailer. Put the rest in the front half of the second, smaller, trailer. Then moved to the second farm to add several to fill the back of the trailer. That little catch pen is wet wet wet. I was the only one wearing tall rubber boots, so I had the fun of trying to sort out the correct number and push them into the trailer. Things did not go well. Very tough to have much agility when you sink six to eight inches deep with every step. The steers are designed much better for this activity. They definitely have the advantage.
Finally got the right number plus one moving in the correct direction. All but one jumps into the trailer. That one decided to protest by kicking at me. Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! followed by #@*&%*#@$# and **%^$%%^#%^ and &@&@&@%^%$ in quick succession. That neutered son of a cow nailed me directly on my left knee cap. That would be the same left knee I twisted six weeks ago and have been babying ever since. At least the knee brace I was wearing helped a little bit. Huge red area will start being every color but white for the next few weeks. Nothing is broken but those ADVIL tablets are sure going to become a regular diet for a while.
Now, the problem. You see the one who kicked me is still on the farm to be loaded another day. Probably tomorrow. He may take a detour to our local slaughter facility and fill my freezer. Maybe not. We'll see.
Cattle Prices
Here's last week's prices down here. Wondered how they compare with prices up in your neck of the woods?
BTW - A few months back my partner here had a nasty steer that was misbehaving and turned the best part of his leg purple for about six weeks. The steer made it into the freezer last week...
Feeder Steers Medium and Large 1
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
29 362-397 372 220.00-238.00 225.86
15 354 354 270.00 270.00 Fancy
22 410-431 424 203.00-221.00 214.48
11 417 417 227.00 227.00 Thin Fleshed
52 417-426 424 228.00-234.00 229.59 Value Added
36 462-491 468 197.00-216.00 211.28
69 455-499 483 219.00-226.00 221.49 Value Added
52 518-535 524 193.00-197.00 195.00
136 511-523 520 207.00-213.50 211.91 Value Added
110 551-596 568 180.00-198.00 187.03
37 592 592 204.00 204.00 Value Added
140 600-640 626 176.00-179.50 177.98
67 601-629 614 166.00-170.00 168.04 Calves
6 624 624 161.00 161.00 Fleshy Calves
131 604 604 185.00 185.00 Value Added
167 650-699 671 169.50-175.50 172.51
54 660-676 670 156.00-168.50 159.20 Calves
20 673-675 674 151.00-154.00 152.35 Fleshy Calves
236 700-744 728 163.50-171.00 167.40
33 700-736 713 153.00-155.00 154.66 Calves
51 702 702 174.50 174.50 Fancy
23 743 743 163.00 163.00 Fleshy
8 712 712 148.00 148.00 Fleshy Calves
15 766 766 164.50 164.50
58 757-789 770 150.00-160.00 156.27 Calves
266 808-836 820 159.00-166.25 163.60
86 854-867 858 157.50-159.50 158.16
122 906-936 920 150.00-155.00 153.00
7 952 952 148.00 148.00
18 1096 1096 143.00 143.00
[sarcasm]cannibal[/sarcasm]
Sounds to me like you need a good stock horse and couple good stock dogs.
From the prices posted by Paden, you should be able to afford them. 😉
He must have been put off by your halo and cross. Happens sometimes when cows get possesed by the devil. 😉
I'd have hemmed it up with a rope and left it tied there for a day or two then drag that mother into the trailer (willing or not, WARN makes excellent products) then travel the two miles to the slaughter plant whereby I would shoot the SOB in the head with the 22 mag and let them to have the rest.
Although, you may want to feed it out a bit. 750 is a little light. I liked ours at 900 to 1100.
Cattle Prices
After looking at those prices, two words come to mind.
Holy !.
They're nothing like that in Tennessee and Kentucky. 800 pounds is going a little under $120.00.
If I knew I could get those prices, my 3 cows and 4 calves would be on a trailer headed to some sale barn in the morning.
In the past it was a privilege to put on my Buckaroos and head out to help someone wrangle their herd and BBQ and drink beer for pay when the work was over.
The problem critters got roped and hauled into the trailer first and the others would usually load behind them.
Sometimes took a tractor pull to get a steer into the trailer.
I agree, if one wants to ride by himself, he's probably gonna wind up on the dinner table.
Still have most of my ropes.
😉
Paden--a little bit of explanation on those prices
The market that issued that report has gone really modern. I only know of one anywhere near here that does what they are doing. They are packaging cattle from different owners together into a single group to conform with what the buyers are seeking. The owners must bring their cattle to market a day early. The sale barn cowboys then determine which ones out of a specific group from one seller should be weighed up and then mixed with a similar grouping from another seller and then again from another seller and so forth and so on until they have a very marketable grouping of very uniform animals. Others from the first seller's group are then sorted off and the process repeated to create another uniform grouping. The end result is of each grouping is interesting.
For example, let's say a full cattle trailer will haul 50,000 lbs. of live weight. The big buyers are attempting to buy a certain number of trailer loads of specific types and weights of cattle. A buyer may be looking for three trailer loads of 500-550 lb steers. He has no interest in lighter or heavier animals and he does not want any heifers. Additionally, he may be locked in that they all must be Angus or Charolais or black baldies. Sometimes, he just needs whatever he can get, but within that specific weight range for steers. In the common sale barn, the animals come in based on the order of arrival. This results in different numbers of different sexes of different sizes of different breeds of different body scores coming in one after another. The buyer has to keep track on the fly as to how many he has purchased at what weights to try to hit as close as possible to that 50,000 lb. goal. Say he is about eight animals short and the end of the sale is nearing. A really nice bunch enters the ring with a total of 13. He doesn't bid on those because he can't put that many on his load. Taking even one serious bidder out of the bidding pool can decrease the value of the group being sold.
The numbers in your report are very good. A good deal of the reason for that is the pre-grouping. Your numbers are about $5 per hundredweight better than what I saw today. That's nearly $40 per head in my case. That would have added over a thousand dollars to my paycheck.
These were last Wednesday's prices..
..for stockers and feeders. I think Wednesday is the day for those at OKC West Auction. I don't have a good grasp on how they work out there, but my partner took a dozen head in this morning for tomorrow's auction. What you explained makes sense.
Everything I know about the modern cattle market I pick up through "osmosis" by occupying an office next to a "cow junky". I've accused him of letting his cows in the house when the weather's bad. :snarky:
Although the market is apparently up, he took one on the chin a few years ago. I guess you have to pay attention if you're in the business. Hope you do well with yours!
