Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Fat Cattle Again.

If I can learn to master the knack, I'll post my pictures.

Those are great!

Making me hungry for a nice steak now!

Political correct diversity in the herd. Good on you.

Oak, we bought a string of feeders last January, we raise blacks, we buy, when we buy, what we think at the time might work.

Thanks Barry, you can buy them this morning, Dunlop Auction Sales. Fat cattle sell starting at 9 Am. If you just run them up, that's alright, (smile).

Knowin' my luck, I'd get stuck with the bid, then have to truck them...

Hope they do well. Calves of all weights are up a bit down here this past week.

Steers, 1523 @ $119.50 Heifers, 1318 @ $118.75.

I wouldn't complain too bad about those prices. If that was what I could pay for them at the butcher shop...

Where does the real payday come in for beef? Processor? Wholesaler? Distributor? Retailer?

Ed

Ed, I'm not sure what you mean by payday.

Those prices are live weight, they should dress around %64, 64% hanging weight. Intreals , hide, organs, blood, off the live weight. So for a caucus price, take .62x 1523= 975 lbs hanging weight. $1,820, deviated by 975= $1.87. Beef shrinks ageing, on. and on. A locker will charge about $600 to process a beef. How many do you want?

Nice looking group, bet they'll grade well.

Sent our steers to the brush sale last friday. I think they did OK.

Huntsman, care to tell us about the calves?

Market did make a pretty nice little run the last few weeks.


We hauled a little 5 head oddball bunch to town this afternoon. All fatties. Couple open cows, couple 1-2 year old steers.


Weaned calves are lighter this year for sure but when we preg tested cows last week they were only 5-6% open. Which is better than average for those particular pastures.

But they were all in pretty good shape going out to grass. Feed 'em up good in the Winter!

Not much to tell. Sent 86 black yearlings to the salebarn. 53 head (1012lb avg)brought 137.50, 30 head(906 avg ) brought 155.50 and 3 head (at 728) brought 112.50 (one bad foot, one lumpjaw and a bad knee).

Big calves, are they going back to be fed longer?

Yeah. A feedlot buyer bought them for 2 different feeders

Those are good looking yearlings, they should do well for the buyer.

You did good with those!

What I was getting at was; who, in the food chain, is making the largest percentage of the retail cost of that beef?

Since I'm just feeding one mouth now, it would take me a while to go through a 975 lbs carcass.

Ed

That is a good question Ed. I don't know the answer, but, I'm sure it varies greatly from time, to time. The packers often have only the offal credits for a margin. Offal being the hide, bones, and everything but the beef. I suppose when feeder calves are high, (when Sam Olson is smokin' big black cigars, and lightin' them with hundred dollar bills,) the ranchers do well.

It is a big industry, I wish I could give you a better answer.