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I'd recommend you buy from an individual, and I assume since you are buying heifers you are looking to start a herd. A good plan is to buy good solid weaned heifers from someone recommended to you by a friend in the business since you probably aren't an expert at judging cattle. Cattle are a little like hay. I have customers calling me after a rain storm asking if I have hay for sale in the field. I ask if they'd want it since it would be wet. Look around and don't get in a hurry to buy. If you find some nice four month old heifers you want, wait two or three months till the owner weans them. I started out with bred heifers and did OK but the guy tried to sell me some 15 year olds which he said would give me two or three calves. It would have been a better deal, but 15 years old is pretty old for some breeds. His were Maine-Anjou Angus cross and have made a good base for my herd. I've always run registered Angus bulls. But I did best with black Salers bred heifers which I have crossed with the Angus bulls. I still have some 14 year olds still producing and the calves are great. Registered cattle are fine but crossbred are cheaper and make as good as or better calves. If you plan on raising registered stock by all means buy registered heifers. Unless you are wealthy, you don't need the best quality show calves, just good solid heifers out of nice looking cows with clean udders. Always look at the cow to judge the heifer, it's really funny how the girls grow up to look like their moms. What do you plan to do for a bull? If you can rent a neighbor's, that's great, but he should be registered and a good performer. You can't do much good with two to five cows and one bull, AI is fine but you have to learn how to do it and do it yourself to come out money wise. If you aren't going to get actively involved in marketing registered cattle, I'd suggest paying half the heifer registered price for good old bred cows and start with no calving problems. Breed always to Angus bulls and your herd will look Angus and sell like Angus and taste great. When you keep your own heifers you learn a lot about good cattle in a few years. Weaned heifers at about 6 months should sell for around market price off the farm. Look in the paper for the price per pound at a recent sale and go off the calves actual weight. I would not pay more than $25 to $50 premium to the owner. I sell real nice heifers at the farm for market price. I make the sales commission by not going to the sale and the buyer gets to see mom. Don't breed them before 15 months and watch for six month old heifers which may have been bred in the pasture with year-round bulls. I've had calves bred before they were weaned and have one now that calved at 13 months. (She was in the weaning pen, next to the heifer calving pen and I see this newborn one morning in with the weanlings. I went to chase it back to the calving pen to get with it's mother and it was nursing this little calf before I could get out there) She was bred at 4 months if the calf was full term but at a minimum she was bred at 5 months. She raised a small calf and took her an extra year to grow out but she has never missed a calf and has had her fifth or sixth now. Still, she and I were lucky, so look for a farmer who pulls his bulls after breeding season and get an unbred young one or a heavy springer pushing two years old. Just like in tractor repair, everybody has different experiences and different opinions but listen to experienced cattlemen, make your own judgements and you'll be OK.
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