Feeder Cattle Sale Today. - 24hourcampfire

We went to a green tag feeder sale at Dunlap, Iowa today. [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

We bought 64 heifers at about 600 pounds. The truck should be along with them any time.

I steak for sinner last night, and a steak sammich for lunch today in honor

. It was good !!!!!!!

Avg on the heifers.Price getting soft here in Texas need a lot of rain.GW

You got some good potential there, Richard.

Hope cattle prices rise some.. (for me and you)

I'm sure you were pretty happy with what you ended up paying though.

Jake has the printout, I forget the exact prices. They all preged open.

Originally Posted by Bullhead

Avg on the heifers.Price getting soft here in Texas need a lot of rain.GW

Entering our second year of drought here.

Hope it doesn't last as long as the last one.

Wabi,,was the sale barn full of buyers?

Those cattle are not what we bought. By the time the cattle were sold to us, they were out of the sale ring.

3000 head at the sale today

The auctioneers are working charity auction at a Cathodic church tonight. Want to bid on a T time at Pebble Beach?

Last year it went for, I think, $27,000.

The seats were about half full, many sellers were at the sale.

Originally Posted by Bullhead

Avg on the heifers.Price getting soft here in Texas need a lot of rain.GW

Wish we could loan you some

Its crazy; hamburger is 4 bucks a pound and steak 10. A damn cow is not that hard to sneak up on.

Good American beef.

Cow beef, and fed choice, or prime beef are not the same thing. It takes a fat cow to bring over 600$

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Cow beef, and fed choice, or prime beef are not the same thing. It takes a fat cow to bring over 600$

I didn't get near that for the last one I sold... I think about $375. And she was fat. Weighed over 1400. She had a bad bag, and I wasn't gonna let her lose another calf, so I waited intil she dried up, and she was in good shape to sell.

I should have taken her to the packing company for my own use.

Originally Posted by alwaysoutdoors

Originally Posted by Bullhead

Avg on the heifers.Price getting soft here in Texas need a lot of rain.GW

Wish we could loan you some

Same here....we could afford to give someone else our precipitation at this point. It’s been raining pretty steady for over a week and the rivers are flooding, especially when the tide comes is high.

The farms in the lowlands are under water and a lot of the lower roads are un passable due to the flooding. The sun just came out and the wind has picked up a bit. Hopefully we’ll get a few days of sun and the rivers recede.

Hopefully those heifers do good and you get a decent return for your investment. 👍

Good looking cattle, I need some open heifers like you got to put with my bulls, just takes money Ha, I have aways heard Northern cows are the best, just don't know how they do in our 110 heat here, you guys are big operators.

All these wabigoon cattle threads Im gonna need to take a trip to Harris Ranch soon.

Nope, as I said, those were cattle we looked at before the sale. I'll try to take some pictures in daylight tomorrow.

Wabi,

Damn, those are some good looking heifers! What you gonna breed them to?

The softer bad Market is the time to build the herd. People that try to build herds in the heid high-end markets usually lose their ass..

I recognize that family sitting across the way 😃.

The Fuller family?

Originally Posted by wabigoon

We bought 64 heifers at about 600 pounds. The truck should be along with them any time.

Good luck with them Richard.

I am also curious as to what you paid, ask Jake when you see him.

We sold our feeder calves yesterday and according to the note a neighbor left on my pickup window we did okay.

We kept the top half of our heifers for replacements and sold the rest.

The heifers that went to town averaged 581 and went for $1.48.

Big end of the steers weighed 739 and sold for $1.53.

As far as canner cows go we bit the bullet last spring and ran about 40 head of old cows without a bull. They are still on feed with our opens.

It's surprising to see Barry mention them so cheap down south. I just checked a recent sale in Miles City and they go for $60-65 for decent 1300-1400lb cows. That's in the $800 range.

We raised twice as many steer calves as heifers, near for of those are Freemartins.

We will likely sort for replacements from all the heifers, bought, and home raised.

Just in from watching the calves unload.

We use straight Angus bulls.

These averaged near 600 pounds. my half of the check was 28,000.

Richard—is that a lot of freemartins for your size operation? I’m no cow man but that seemed like a lot.

Yes it was Karl, the Freemartins, it was odd.

Back to the heifers. this morning they were mixed with the home raised heifers, somehow, they got the chain loose on a

Sioux gate. Two of the new heifers have a watery eye. Sort the two groups, then sort off the bad eyes. So we are down to

three in the corral, I'm in the sorting gate, she goes airborn straight at me. I do the best I can to get out of the way. I must

have, I'm typing about it, not ridding to a hospital.

My knee got twisted a bit, but I think I'll live. If I'm not too old for this sort of thing, I'm pushing it.

I have some pictures if you like to see them. Some of our ramshackle facilities show, sorry. [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Cow beef, and fed choice, or prime beef are not the same thing. It takes a fat cow to bring over 600$

A good middle age cow, 6 months or so bred, here is selling for up to a $1000. Of course, it depends a lot on the cow, and how badly someone wants her. I've been shopping around for a few more, and have a couple of guys that I buy from, but so far haven't found what I want.........or maybe it would be better to say, what I can afford.

Ermegehereeerrred!

You dont have those cattle in a heated barn???? Not even sweaters and fuzzy hats for them?????

Asking for Slumlord.

They make blankets for horses, sweaters for hens, why not?

😀

Wabi after nearly getting gate ridden in the pen maybe somethings trying to tell you you should be up in "goon" country fishing hard water lakers instead of what your doing?

Osky

Lol

If you see someone (around here) with a blanket or jacket on a horse..,.it means “I’m only putting this on my horse because you don’t care about yours”

Like one of those AIDS ribbons people wear at awards shows.

Then they leave it on them for the next 3 flooding rains. lol

It keeps me young! [Linked Image from i.pinimg.com]

Originally Posted by Jim_Conrad

That is great Jim!

Are you knitting and selling those during your winter "off time"?

Muleshoe,.....not me.

There are people around here that do however.

Silly buggers who calve in jan-feb. Pure bred bull breeders and such.

Gawd....what a terrible way to make a living!

I believe it's a woman from Saskatchewan that makes and sells those ear muffs for the calves. Mixed farmers here start calving in mid March. They want to be done by mid April. The guys that are mostly cattle with very little grain land start in April.

Interesting stuff and I learned a new word

Freemartin.

Good luck with them cows Richard............wishing you a prosperous cattle season.

Geno

Around these parts, every calf born or less than four months old, during Dec-Jan of '72-'73 had cropped ears. Most of them being half gone.

We were milking 35 head that winter by hand in a three walled shed with stanchions, and feeding about 100 with baled hay and corn silage. There was not an engine on the place which would start for almost two weeks straight.

No, I do not miss those days.

Wabi, them's some good lookin' beeves. Is your herd purebred black critters?

Not purebred, we buy papered bulls. I've had registered stock, never made ad dime on papered.

Originally Posted by Valsdad

Interesting stuff and I learned a new word

Freemartin.

Good luck with them cows Richard............wishing you a prosperous cattle season.

Geno

I call em Purplemartins.

Pisses everyone off.

Not sure if they know I do it on purpose........dont tell them.

Richard, I am glad to hear you didn't get drilled by the wild heifer!

Preaching to the choir here but disposition rates above conformation IMHO.

All winter I keep an eye on the calves and take note of any 'odd balls'. That and how they handle when you put a little pressure on them sorting.

Anyone the least bit goofy goes to the cull pen.

What do you think caused the watery eyes?

How did the calves unload?

Years ago we had a guy trucking for us and he had a BAD habit of poking into the trailer with his prod. Usually at night when the calves or in some cases cows didn't want to unload.....

I took a couple cow pics for you this morning.

Bred heifers.

Main bunch of 'old' cows.

And some of the replacement heifers.
(see if you can spot the 2 steers, they both could have used Jim's ear warmers...)

Had to climb all the way to the top of Mount Slumlord for this one!

Mt slumlord!

someone's gonna have fun with that one.

Geno

Originally Posted by Jim_Conrad

Originally Posted by Valsdad

Interesting stuff and I learned a new word

Freemartin.

Good luck with them cows Richard............wishing you a prosperous cattle season.

Geno

I call em Purplemartins.

Pisses everyone off.

Not sure if they know I do it on purpose........dont tell them.

purplemartins. no big deal.

as long as they ain't pinkmartinis.

Geno

Originally Posted by Valsdad

Mt slumlord!

someone's gonna have fun with that one.

Geno

Geno, all in good fun of course.

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Originally Posted by Valsdad

Mt slumlord!

someone's gonna have fun with that one.

Geno

Geno, all in good fun of course.

Hey Sam,

chain's gotta be pulled, right?

Geno

Thanks Sam, cattle wise you always trump my little posts, but I like yours, and I hope the folks like mine.

Those cows live the life of Reilly, they all look sung as a bug in a rug.

I'm reading some of the lingo on here,

and it seems I can actually interpert 'sticks verbage better than some of the sentences on here,

WTF you guys talking about?

Green tag feeder?
They all pregged open?
bad bag?
Open heifers?
Feeder calves?
Canner cows?
"As far as canner cows go we bit the bullet last spring and ran about 40 head of old cows without a bull. They are still on feed with our opens."
Freemartins?
bred heifers?
Old cows?
replacement heifers?

huh?

Oh, sorry! A Freemartin heifer is a heifer that was a twin with a bull calf. They are said to not be able to become pregnant.

You fellow that type faster help out.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

A Freemartin heifer is a heifer that was a twin with a bull calf.

You just described me and my twin sister,

I think...........

Originally Posted by Kenneth

I'm reading some of the lingo on here,

and it seems I can actually interpert 'sticks verbage better than some of the sentences on here,

WTF you guys talking about?

Green tag feeder? not sure, I assume a green ear tag to indicate a cull being fattened for sale
They all pregged open? tested for pregnancy......negative result
bad bag? The udder has been infected, frozen, or otherwise compromised. Not enough milk to feed a calf
Open heifers? Heifer: young female cow which has never given birth....Open: not pregnant
Feeder calves? young cattle weened off of milk, being fed to fatten for sale
Canner cows? beef not fit to make steaks and roasts, refers to use in canned foods. stews, chile
"As far as canner cows go we bit the bullet last spring and ran about 40 head of old cows without a bull. They are still on feed with our opens."
Freemartins?
bred heifers? young cows which have never had a calf, but are pregnant
Old cows? self explanatory
replacement heifers? heifers which have been selected for superior traits and intended to be placed into the production herd

huh?

Pregged open is a pregnancy test, with a negative result. Help me guys!

"Long haired, and green."

Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter

Originally Posted by Kenneth

I'm reading some of the lingo on here,

and it seems I can actually interpert 'sticks verbage better than some of the sentences on here,

WTF you guys talking about?

Green tag feeder? not sure, I assume a green ear tag to indicate a cull being fattened for sale
They all pregged open? tested for pregnancy......negative result
bad bag? The udder has been infected, frozen, or otherwise compromised. Not enough milk to feed a calf
Open heifers? Heifer: young female cow which has never given birth....Open: not pregnant
Feeder calves? young cattle weened off of milk, being fed to fatten for sale
Canner cows? beef not fit to make steaks and roasts, refers to use in canned foods. stews, chile
"As far as canner cows go we bit the bullet last spring and ran about 40 head of old cows without a bull. They are still on feed with our opens."
Freemartins?
bred heifers? young cows which have never had a calf, but are pregnant
Old cows? self explanatory
replacement heifers? heifers which have been selected for superior traits and intended to be placed into the production herd

huh?

Thanks, much clearer now............

kinda.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

"Long haired, and green."

Wabi, you lost me on that one.

Long hair, nice fluffy hair coat. Green, calves that are long weaned, but have not been from sale to sale.

Every business has it's jargon.

I am a 2 finger typist- so I'll only answer what might be peculiar to Iowa or adjacent states-

green tag feeder- a "feeder" calf is one that is not destined for the breeding herd (making more baby cows) but rather a feedlot to be fattened for slaughter.. Green tag refers to a green colored metal ear clip that is placed on the ear of calves that have met minimum requirements of the Iowa Pre-Conditioning program.

Iowa green tagged calves must be castrated, polled or dehorned, treated for internal and external parasites, and have age appropriate immunizations for common diseases by or under the supervision of a veterinarian. A weaning period of at least 30 days is often done to allow the calves to get used to life without mom and adjusting to eating a ration they will be on in the feedlot.

Green tagged and especially weaned calves don't get sick as much as calves that have no vaccines and are weaned on the truck headed to the salebarn. Most of the time the cared for calves sell for more money than the ones that haven't had anything.

Thanks Doctor Dan, there is also gold tagged cattle, a second round of shots. None of the calves we bought are gold tagged.

Richard, nothing fancy here, just a little roadside cow farm!

I cherry pic the scenery, lord knows the corral repair never ends....

Idaho, you pretty much nailed the explanation.

In the spring if a cow(with calf) looks too old to go out to the big deeded/BLM/CMR pastures we keep them here at home in much smaller pastures. They go unbred and we fatten them up as canners.

Might not be the smartest way to do it financially but at least they get to stick around here and some 'tard at the ring can't buy them and possibly neglect them. Straight to slaughter.

We sell a few young pairs and or young bred cows in the spring and are very particular as to who the buyer is.
(private sale)

Cowdoc, thanks for the explanation on the green tags. That was a new one for me.

"Green" can also refer to calves that healthy but haven't been fed a lot of high energy or starchy feed- so they haven't laid on a lot of fat yet. They have a decent size frame, grow quickly and are very efficient in converting feed to beef.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Long hair, nice fluffy hair coat. Green, calves that are long weaned, but have not been from sale to sale.

Every business has it's jargon.

Thanks, Yes, that one was new to me.

I read a story, there was a valley in the west. It happened that the ranchers there raised very good calves.

For the calves to go to market the had to ride cattle cars pulled with a coal fired steam engine through a mountain tunnel.

The calves would arrive at the yards smelling like coal smoke. Since they were high quality calves they brought a higher price.

Other ranchers thought their calves were just as good, and took to building a coal fire on the ranch to smoke up the calves before they loaded them Those calves also brought the better prices.

Cowdoc has the straight of it.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

I read a story, there was a valley in the west. It happened that the ranchers there raised very good calves.

For the calves to go to market the had to ride cattle cars pulled with a coal fired steam engine through a mountain tunnel.

The calves would arrive at the yards smelling like coal smoke. Since they were high quality calves they brought a higher price.

Other ranchers thought their calves were just as good, and took to building a coal fire on the ranch to smoke up the calves before they loaded them Those calves also brought the better prices.

That's funny! Smoked beef!

Nothing like a little coal smoke induced BRD to get the buyers going...lol

I love the tales about cattle, and ranchers. I wish I could spell better, and type faster.

Family lore ahs it that My older brother Jim rode along on a wester cattle buying trip with our grandfather, and Fred Stanzel

Fred bought a rancher's calves, but had left his checkbook back in Iowa. Fred just made out a check on a brown piece of paper. The rancher looked at the check, smiled, and shook Fred's hand.

Beef, enjoy it. [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Beef, enjoy it. [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

My favorite steak, Richard!

Had a big porterhouse for lunch today!

Yours look better though...

Hard to find a good porterhouse here but they rule!

Wife and I split one.

She takes the tenderloin and I get the NY side of the bone.

Easy now Slum......

Yesterday.

You have a way with a camera Sam, Take good care of your father. Good men are hard to replace. Fathers never can be replaced.

"So God Made a Farmer"

I have a lot of respect for the guys that make a living 'tending to critters

Richard, I think about it all the time.

Then come the day when you Are the father. Nobody behind you. For me it was August 19 1964. 'Back to upbeat topics.

Oh yeah, I think about it.

I wish that dog was a 20 something year old kid who knew WTF was going on....

Keep your dad working Sam as best he can.

The old farmers/ranchers that go idle don't seem to live that long.

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Yesterday.

you know you're a real redneck when you dont bother to fasten your 5 buckle high overshoes at the top....LOL

I looked for a picture of my father. I need to dig into the old picture prints.

However time marches on, we are the old folks now. Gotta keep the young kids in line.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Oh, sorry! A Freemartin heifer is a heifer that was a twin with a bull calf. They are said to not be able to become pregnant.

I was once told that a bull/heifer twin combo that shares the same placenta will produce the freemartin. Or purplemartin if you please.

But the same combo that each gestate in their own placenta will produce a viable heifer.

I have no idea if that's correct or not as I was gone that day from vet school.

Perhaps the cowdoc can help me out on this.

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Yesterday.

Sam, you haven't put up a metal swing gate their yet?

BLM in some areas around here are finding it beneficial to them and the ranchers to update the gates. Apparently some yayhoos still can't figure out a "barb wire" gate.

Our local BLM office came around late this past summer and put nice bright yellow "Please Close the Gate" signs on our wire gates. In preparation for hunting season no doubt.

Geno

PS, I don't lace up my snow boots most days either.

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Hard to find a good porterhouse here but they rule!

Wife and I split one.

She takes the tenderloin and I get the NY side of the bone.

Easy now Slum......

Same here. I like the strip side and she likes the filet.

Good night folks, I need my sleep.

Originally Posted by kingston

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Hard to find a good porterhouse here but they rule!

Wife and I split one.

She takes the tenderloin and I get the NY side of the bone.

Easy now Slum......

Same here. I like the strip side and she likes the filet.

If I am feeling generous, I will let her fix a hamburger for herself while I eat the T-bone.

Well, actually, my wife is not much of a steak eater, or any meat for that matter. Perhaps a burger once every couple weeks, and then only from a couple of select local joints.

She always has been a cheap date.

Hey Muleshoe,

IIRC, about 95% of bull/heifer twins result in a freemartin heifer. Their placentas fuse at some point to allow exchange of blood, hormones, etc. The male twins testosterone retards the development of the female tract in the heifer.

External evidence can show as an enlarged clitoris with a small vulva, often a big tuft of hair hanging from it. And when palpating the tract it will be tiny if you can even find it.

If the placentas stay completely separate, the heifer should develop normally. In 39 years of practice I have seen 2 heifers that were twin to a bull (that owner was sure of) that became pregnant. Both Holsteins for Amish guys.

Standard advice is to send bull twin heifers to the feedlot and not fool around trying to breed them.

Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter

Originally Posted by kingston

Originally Posted by SamOlson

Hard to find a good porterhouse here but they rule!

Wife and I split one.

She takes the tenderloin and I get the NY side of the bone.

Easy now Slum......

Same here. I like the strip side and she likes the filet.

If I am feeling generous, I will let her fix a hamburger for herself while I eat the T-bone.

Well, actually, my wife is not much of a steak eater, or any meat for that matter. Perhaps a burger once every couple weeks, and then only from a couple of select local joints.

She always has been a cheap date.

I_S,

Mine likes a good filet at times, but would eat chicken 90-95% of the time and fish the rest I think.

I remember a conversation when we had only been together a few months. I asked if we could have meat for dinner. She replied 'we just had chicken" last night. I had to explain to her that, for me at least, meat comes from something that had hair at one time and it's not found in the poultry section.

Geno

Originally Posted by cowdoc

Hey Muleshoe,

IIRC, about 95% of bull/heifer twins result in a freemartin heifer. Their placentas fuse at some point to allow exchange of blood, hormones, etc. The male twins testosterone retards the development of the female tract in the heifer.

>>--->

Standard advice is to send bull twin heifers to the feedlot and not fool around trying to breed them.

Thanks cowdoc, a guy can learn something new everyday.

We always run both the bull/heifers twins into the feedlot.

I did keep a pair of heifer twins one time, they both made very nice cows for many years.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Family lore ahs it that My older brother Jim rode along on a wester cattle buying trip with our grandfather, and Fred Stanzel

Fred bought a rancher's calves, but had left his checkbook back in Iowa. Fred just made out a check on a brown piece of paper. The rancher looked at the check, smiled, and shook Fred's hand.

There is a little town called Stanzel between Winterset and Greenfield. Supposedly started by some rich farmer from southwest Iowa. It's just some empty buildings now. Any connection ?

kwg

Originally Posted by cowdoc

Hey Muleshoe,

IIRC, about 95% of bull/heifer twins result in a freemartin heifer. Their placentas fuse at some point to allow exchange of blood, hormones, etc. The male twins testosterone retards the development of the female tract in the heifer.

External evidence can show as an enlarged clitoris with a small vulva, often a big tuft of hair hanging from it. And when palpating the tract it will be tiny if you can even find it.

If the placentas stay completely separate, the heifer should develop normally. In 39 years of practice I have seen 2 heifers that were twin to a bull (that owner was sure of) that became pregnant. Both Holsteins for Amish guys.

Standard advice is to send bull twin heifers to the feedlot and not fool around trying to breed them.

We have one in the herd now.

Black baldy.

Originally Posted by muleshoe

Originally Posted by cowdoc

Hey Muleshoe,

IIRC, about 95% of bull/heifer twins result in a freemartin heifer. Their placentas fuse at some point to allow exchange of blood, hormones, etc. The male twins testosterone retards the development of the female tract in the heifer.

>>--->

Standard advice is to send bull twin heifers to the feedlot and not fool around trying to breed them.

Thanks cowdoc, a guy can learn something new everyday.

We always run both the bull/heifers twins into the feedlot.

I did keep a pair of heifer twins one time, they both made very nice cows for many years.

Every set of twins that my cows have had have been heifers. Still waiting on the first set of bulls.

Yes, I remember Ned Stanzel talking about that.

Ned was Fred's son, Scott Stanzel, press sectary for George Bush is Ned's son.

None of the family on the farm today.

By the way, my knee, and leg hurt this morning.

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Y
By the way, my knee, and leg hurt this morning.

maybe just a weather forecast, but I will pray for you, RIchard

Originally Posted by wabigoon

Yes, I remember Ned Stanzel talking about that.

Ned was Fred's son, Scott Stanzel, press sectary for George Bush is Ned's son.

None of the family on the farm today.

By the way, my knee, and leg hurt this morning.

Ice, baby Ice. It might be too late but it's the best thing to do.

Thank you Kid, it could have been worse. I'm not sure how long I can keep puttering about near those frisky bovines.

Gettin' my pants on this morning was more of a challenge than usual.