During the hotter months, natural forage availability decreases, reducing the fertility rates of females and males. I love to go to auctions and see what is going through the ring and how much the stock is selling for. With the average price per pound of choice beef at $5.57 per pound, and U.S. consumers eating 24.1 billion pounds of beef each year, it's no wonder that so many people are interesting in purchasing cattle at auction. Table 1. 3 grade. Its fascinating to see the variety of breeds, shapes and sizes of animals selling for the week. They must be thrifty and tend to be slightly thick throughout. Thus, when developing a marketing strategy, look for the gap in supply a time of year when supply is down and markets are up, says Bart Lardner, Western Beef Development Center, and a professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science of the University of Saskatchewan. Before you. If we market those sooner, we have less feed cost in them. Other than that point, many of the considerations for tele-auctions also apply to video auctions. Correlation between frame size and finished slaughter weight. Heavier feeder cattle have more subtle seasonal variations and may require special sales. Several market studies have been conducted in the mid-South and Plains regions since 2000. This allows them to be part of the market and make buying decisions on livestock. Congressional ag leaders decry SNAP errors, Interstate movement of animals and livestock checkpoints, Optimism improves in June Ag Economy Barometer, Reported fatalities, injuries from agricultural confined spaces up 40%, Nebraska Grazing Conference to be held in August, Sheep and cattle-killing disease carriers never take a break, Ranching 101: Rotational grazing offers many benefits, cull cows are sold in the fall at weaning tim. Example summary budget for a cow-calf enterprise in Georgia. These cattle get off to a better start, with fewer health problems, Gray says. But, since "it depends" is not a helpful answer in the slightest, let's dig into the things that 6 Reasons Why People (Just Like You!) The four thickness or muscling grades are No. Monthly prices can be indexed to show how much they are above or below the annual price average. No. The store doesnt keep that tax money, it goes to the state, which is the same for the check off program money. Beef cattle production has biological delays between initial production decisions and final output, for example, gestation periods. Thriftiness refers to the apparent health of an animal and its ability to grow and fatten normally. The legs are set close together, both front and rear. There are many ways to market calves, yearlings and cull cows or bulls, but we dont always market them strategically or with the least cost. Another example would be a special fiber breed sheep or goats. The regular weekly livestock auction is not the place to sell your alpacas! We may earn a commission after clicking links on the site before making a purchase. 3. One would expect a trend of this kind since about 75% of calves are born between January and June. This information is available by calling 229-226-1641. Frame size refers to the animal's skeletal size - its height and body length - in relation to its age. The final demand for stock that will affect prices is when a holiday is coming up that typically involves a family getting a lamb, or steer to celebrate. People tend to want the animals you dont want to sell, this happened a lot with the dairy cattle. "2012 Beef Cow-calf Budgets." |, An Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, Veteran, Disability Institution, County and Club Meetings, Environmental Education, Livestock Programs, Project Achievement, Summer Camp, Aquaculture, Beef, Bees, Dairy, Equine, Small Ruminants, Poultry & Eggs, Swine, Invasive Species, Pollution Prevention, Forestry, Water & Drought, Weather & Climate, Wildlife, Adult & Family Development, Infant, Child and Teen Development, Money, Housing & Home Environment, Corn, Cotton, Forages, Hemp, Peanuts, Small Grains, Soybeans, Tobacco, Turfgrass, Food Preservation, Commercial & Home Food Safety, Food Science & Manufacturing, Nutrition and Health, Blueberries, Grapes, Ornamental Horticulture, Onions, Peaches, Pecans, Small Fruits, Vegetables, Home Gardens, Lawn Care, Ornamentals, Landscaping, Animal Diseases and Parasites, Ants, Termites, Lice, and Other Pests, Nuisance Animals, Plant Pest and Disease Management, Weeds. Producers with large herds often use this method. Some of Georgia's cattle market alternatives, along with their advantages and disadvantages, are described in this section. It's best to start with having a trusted butcher prepare the first one or two animals you slaughter before you take over. In Georgia, as in the Southeast, feeder calves are produced and sold as feeder calves after weaning. Pricing variations over 10 years for Texas direct fed steers in standard years, i.e., a year without drought or substantial grain pricing fluctuations, are reasonably stable. Prices for cattle are influenced by supply and demand, which fluctuate throughout the year. An index value of 110 in September means that costs average 10 percent higher than the yearly average. Feedlots work specifically to meet these requirements and contract or buy feeder cattle at the end of summer or beginning of fall to guarantee supply meets demand. With so many small producers, it is natural that most Georgia feeder calves are sold through local auction markets. Britt Hicks, area extension livestock specialist in the Oklahoma panhandle reviewed several recent market studies and says a variety of things such as calf body condition, castration, horns, fill, health, group selling, genetic selection and modification of breeding objectives can have significant effect on sale price at auction. Herds with 200 to 500 cows are seeing profits of just $84 per cow. Since transportation is so efficient and common what other areas of the country are doing will affect your operation, at least partially. Plus selling at the auction is pay you can count on since the check from the auction barn will for sure be good when you take it to the bank. It is important to remember that the additional revenue can come from reduced shrink and/or a higher price. On the demand side, per capita disposable income, total population and competing meats (poultry and pork) are all important factors. While these articles will focus on the basics, it may be that old-timers can pick up a tip or two as well. Beef Magazine is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC. Prices also decline in the calf market in the fall due to the surplus of calves at this time. 3 and No. 4. Excessive stress and shrinkage of livestock may occur. However, many people dont have the flexibility to market cattle at the best times because of their management program with certain times of year for calving and weaning, and needing to use certain pastures at a certain time. By using the feeder cattle options market, producers also can set a minimum price they will take for their cattle before the actual sell date. Some people also refer to FC as overhead or indirect costs. Requires producer to switch from "selling" to "marketing" cattle. Even when marketing through auctions, prices for cattle are not uniform. This makes it tough to get the lambs sold in the warmer parts of the year. Demand is always the highest at times when it is most unusual to have that size animal at the auction. Producers keeping cattle through stockering, and especially those feeding cattle, are encouraged to consider forward pricing alternatives as they are most susceptible to short-term price changes. In states that require licenses, the. Regardless of the size of the marketing agency, video or tele-auctions allow buyers to select from hundreds or thousands of cattle coming from a wide geographic area in a short period of time, which reduces transportation costs and health risks. This gives me an idea of what the buyers want and what they dont want. This can be done informally by people "pooling" their animals before selling or through more formal arrangements. Prices were near the annual average throughout the entire year. It is also critical to cover variable costs because any returns above variable costs (ROVC) go toward paying overhead or fixed costs. Webster's Dictionary defines "marketing" as the process or technique of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service. Some grocery store chains are now branding their own beef products. If you take cattle to a sale yard a day or so before the sale, there will also be feed and yardage costs on top of the regular commission. The auction is legally required to collect check off money on all qualifying animals that sell, but they do not keep the money. "This is a great definition. Some producers cut out the middleman entirely by raising calves to slaughter age, finishing on grass or grain, and marketing the meat themselves. In this video Cattle Auctions 101 | Learning To Make Money At Auctions I go over how to make more money at cattle auctions.Want to raise cattle and make money doing it? Maybe youll have a truckload of cows with good body condition that can be marketed smartly, but keeping them longer comes down to whether they will gain weight profitably. There are increasing numbers of organizations and niche markets that producers can use. Regardless of the size of the herd, for cow-calf producers this means knowing the cost per pound of calf sold. Marketing means making choices about how or what product to produce, where to market it and when to price. Vet Here at Cattlemen's Livestock Auction in Harrison, AR we have a vet on site during sale days. This may spread out marketing, so theres not such a glut of calves being sold all at once, Stookey says. We do well selling our animals at the weekly auctions, we feel we get a fair price and the animals are treated well. While a full discussion of direct marketing is beyond the scope ofthis publication, producers interested in this possibility shouldconsider not only the current value of the animals, but alsothe additional production costs and chances for death loss. How are the cattle looking this time of year, whats the new cross people are trying out to get better prices? Receive a return for value-added management and use of superior genetics. Many reports can be accessed through the Southeast Cattle Advisor website at www.secattleadvisor.com. Price adjustments for various breeds. But not all animals will do well at an auction, especially if you have something more unique or not used commercially. The pricing pattern for 700 to 800lb Texas feeder steers is more unpredictable, so it is difficult to predict cost variations. This article will cover prime seasonality, market trends, impacts from feedlots and nature variations, plus challenges in predicting cost variations. A producer must weigh all costs and benefits to see if the premiums involved in a program more than offset the costs and extra effort. Number 8860726. Our goal is to keep it simple and make life easier for you. Common preconditioning programs cost cow-calf owners about $60/head, depending on the cost of the ration, health of calves and length of the preconditioning program. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. As consumers change eating habits throughout the year, demand varies accordingly. Specific health practices may also bring premium prices when the market allows for the recognition of such practices. Each factor should be evaluated by each producer for each situation. Other factors, such as the value of by-products and the cost of slaughter, processing and marketing (farm-to-retail margin), will also affect farm prices. With the livestock action being a weekly event, sometimes occasional sellers seem to all consign animals on one day. Auctioneers charge their seller a single, fixed rate for their auctioneering services. Prices on sale day for a feeder steer closely follow annual average sale barn price levels. If you are selling lambs or calves when most others are selling, like before they need to be put on purchased feed for the winter, then prices will probably be lower. Smith Thomas is a rancher and freelance writer based in Salmon, Idaho. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. However, the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Livestock Market News office in Thomasville, Ga., still delivers the daily and weekly auction reports via a recorded message. Some operations are locked into a certain system, and that may just be part of the cost of marketing. Table 4 describes the expected minimum live weights at which these calves would produce U.S. The average Auctioneer salary in the United States is $57,926 as of June 26, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $51,791 and $64,550.Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. It can be challenging to market cattle at optimum times. The auction market can provide competitive bidding. While these perceptions may or may not be correct, they do exist. Some producers keep all their heifers, expose them to a bull for a short breeding season and then preg-test selling any that didnt breed as open heifers on a good yearling market. It is supervised by the federal government. However, if we pay close enough attention, we can recognize them. Preconditioning programs involve a series of management practices on the farm to improve the health and nutrition of calves. It may also hinge on how and when you wean calves, and how you minimize stress and shrink. Wednesday, June 14, 2023. They must be thrifty and moderately thick throughout. link to Beef Cuts On A Cow: A Guide For Home Butchering. There are cooperative marketing systems in which you must be a member to sell your cattle that way, and follow guidelines to meet their standards, but they have a dedicated market, says Gray. 1078, The University of Georgia 2022 | All rights reserved. If your animals are in good shape you will get more money. Marketing is often one of the most difficult parts of running a beef operation. A big plus, for me at least, is seeing the livestock in person and spending some time watching groups sell. This means that everyone wants to get feeders at the same time. Price seasonality, for example, comes about due to seasonal variations in supply and demand. If you are new to livestock auctions, Im glad you decided to attend! Updated July 20, 2018 Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images Are you a personality-plus, can-do kind of leader with a strong desire to control your career? It depends on the size of the farm, and also on where the farmer lives. Find out before you deliver your cattle what the operator expects in buyers and cattle numbers to be sold during various marketing times. Those decisions must be penciled out. Seeing the livestock sell also helps you put together in your mind a picture of what each category means when you want to interpret the market reports. Farms with less than 200 cows have profits of about $160 per cow. As a result, they are price-takers. Attend two or three auctions beforehand, preferably with someone with experience buying or selling cattle. Here, cattle auctioneers sell nearly every Some producers sell calves at weaning or after a few weeks of preconditioning after weaning. Stockers are calves that have finished weaning and are grazing on pasture before finishing and slaughtering. The cost per day of keeping them can surprise us. Indeed, the general outlook is weaker post-Labor Day. For instance, even though 500- 600 pound calf prices peak in the spring, it may be more cost effective to actually sell the calves later in the summer. It's hard to get a large number of producers to agree on all terms of sale. CHANGES IN BEEF AND LIVE CATTLE MARKETINGFor years most live cattle (also called slaughter or fat cattle) were marketed on a pen-average basis. Producers with truckload lots of cattle can be sold directly from the farm. Producer assumes risk of payment collection. As auctions became more prevalent, producers shifted to auction selling. These programs often specify a level of management to ensure calf health, but the extra inputs and labor may well generate premiums. This makes the next weeks sale have lower numbers than expected so probably a higher price. They tend to be slightly thick and full in the forearm and gaskin, showing a rounded appearance through the back and loin with slight width between the legs, both front and rear. Consider each of these alternatives separately in light of its advantages and disadvantages. Field Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Production, Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program, http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/homepage.do, Cutting Costs, Not Corners: Managing Cattle in Tough Times, Commodity Options as Price Insurance for Cattlemen, UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, UGA College of Family & Consumer Sciences. 2% of the gross proceeds (minimum of $8.00 per head) plus $2.00 per head consignment fee. At a regular auction, you will get market price for them based on their meat value. The price you get depends upon having healthy animals, demand and seasonal variations. Georgia and national cattle market prices, updated daily, Federal State Market News, Thomasville, Ga. 229-226-1641. Some people have a hard time hearing We are keeping those.. While it's a high-energy occupation, the rewards can be considerable. Frame size is related to the weight at which, under normal feeding and management, an animal will produce a carcass of a given grade. Figure 4 shows the price premiums that larger uniform groups of similar cattle could be expected to bring. In the summer we can get some brutally hot and humid weather here in Ohio. Many sale barns offer special value-added calf sales, and a variety of value-added programs are available. It is important to keep in mind what your product is. At the auction, we just drop off our stock (that we hauled in the racks pictured above), and they take care of everything else. Feeder animals are well started but not full grown livestock that are fed up to full size then used for meat, for instance market lambs or steers. Published on Jun 01, 2001In Review for Major Revisions on May 15, 2009Published on Dec 08, 2010Published with Major Revisions on Jul 30, 2012Published with Full Review on Jan 30, 2017. Delivery schedules are very flexible. to learn how to read a market report to figure out the seasonal variations in your area. Maintaining a record of sales How do auctioneers earn money? We (my husband and I) are life long animal lovers and full time livestock farmers in Ohio. Thanks for stopping by! Nature is the primary influencer in production and supply trends in the livestock industry. Cost savings for buyers are passed along to sellers. Appropriate fat cover, hair coat that looks good for the time of year, shiny eyes and a calm and alert demeanor are all things buyers want. Consider not only the highest (or lowest) prices, but also the cost of production. Next thing to come out of your check is the commission. Troxel, Tom, et al. Friday, June 9, 2023. Auctions are the traditional way of selling livestock. Jensen Show Cattle 06-22-2023. Unfortunately, because of all the messengers in the market, the signals sometimes get mixed or muted. No one system fits every producer?s needs, so there will continue to be many alternatives. They move to a feedyard from yearlings to two years old and are fattened in preparation for slaughter. Horses should be fenced with either post and rail or a combination of electric fence and wire or rail fences. Prices for steer calves were lowest in January and highest in November and December. Choice carcasses. Muddy calves or calves with dead hair typically were discounted 2 percent, stale animals 7 to 9 percent and sick animals more than 25 percent. Special sales play a key role in attracting buyers and sellers. This production and supply cycle usually means livestock prices in the spring are higher than in the fall. Specific market reports can be obtained via e-mail subscription through USDA's Agriculture Market News at http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/homepage.do, Weekly, monthly or annual production information such as cattle inventory numbers, cattle slaughter and beef production can be obtained at the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) website at www.nass.usda.gov. This takes planning, using a federally inspected slaughter facility, and developing a customer base. A mid-career Auctioneer with 5 . Beef Cuts On A Cow: A Guide For Home Butchering. However, over time that has changed. This causes scads more head than normal to hit the auctions and drops the prices for most other cattle as well. This will place a huge demand on the needed stock for a week or two before the holiday, then prices will go back to a more normal level. Ask for Help. They start increasing in the summer and then drop again in the fall. We see a clear seasonal trend for Arkansas steers between 500 and 600lb. With the price of fuel, a person cant afford to haul cattle very far, especially with just one or two animals instead of a trailer load. Seasonal price trends are generally uniform during the 10-year range. It should also possess information on the . Much of whether we sell at a profit or loss is in not incurring additional cost of feed or having a well-thought-out placement in the market when cattle prices are higher, Lardner says. While it is true that almost any type of cattle can be sold at a price, the Georgia cattle producer should be raising the most profitable cattle. In the example budgets shown, there are two numbers highlighted -- the first one being variable cost in $/Cwt. Good record keeping system must be established. Most programs can be further classified into one of three groups: light/lean beef, organic and/or natural beef, and high-palatability beef. Extension Economist-Livestock, For instance, cattle can be sold in July for delivery in October. No need to worry! In addition to providing the right product at the right place, profitable marketers also market at the right time. Will your flock make money? Georgia feeder calf producers have three major marketing decisions: what to produce, where to market their product and when to price their calves. The addition of these management practices to a producer's operation means there is a need for adequate facilities to perform them. The tele-auction could also be used with a pooled arrangement for smaller producers. On the other hand, prices for the same calves in November were 8 percent below the annual average. The first step in becoming an effective cattle marketer is to recognize all your alternatives and evaluate each in light of potential cost and returns, selecting the most profitable rather than the most convenient alternative. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Market Service (AMS). Please report invalid links to tcr@cattlerange.com.
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