We will see how the cattle open market will go tomorrow!!

JD Seller · Feb 2, 2014

I usually have the majority of the feeder cattle contracted long before they are ready for market. So I sell few at the local sale barn. We are luck in that the local sale barn is pretty competitive.

We shipped the cattle out of the yards on the neighboring farm. We had 15 that would not fit on the trailers. So we decided to just take them to the local market.

The weather caused the market to be closed last Monday. So they will have a heavy run tomorrow.

I think the open market will beat the contract right at the moment. The contract was for $138 I am thinking that the open market will be above $140. Even if it does I am not going to gamble with any large numbers of cattle off of contract.

So I will let you know how the sale goes tomorrow.

LonM · Feb 2, 2014

Are these backgrounded calves that were born last spring? It seems 500-600# feeder cattle are sky high ($2.00/# and up) around eastern SD right now. Good luck!

LonM · Feb 2, 2014

Sorry, I re-read a little closer and take it these are fed cattle ready for a kill plant. It is an exciting time to have fat cattle to sell- ours are still 6 weeks away from being ready....

JD Seller · Feb 2, 2014

These are the tail end of a group of fall calves from the year before. They are right at 18 months old now. I bought these in ND. I had around $140 per hundred in them delivered here to Iowa as six weights.

I have not boughten any replacements and will not at the stupid prices guys are giving right now. These high prices do not pencil out. The feed cost may have drop $150-200 per head but they are giving up $250-300 a head with the stupid calf prices. The calves are $50 too high for the market right now.

People get stupid at times. They think that lower corn prices and a higher current fat market will allow them to bid up current feeder cattle. Well I am darn sure that the current high fat cattle market will not be here when these feeder cattle are fat. Some of the same guys that ran up cash rents are running up the feeder cattle market. There will many that lose BIG money doing that. I refuse to be one of them.

LonM · Feb 2, 2014

I agree that it is impossible to make any money on these feeder cattle being sold lately. We feed out what we raise from calves out of our cow herd, so I am largely unfamiliar with buying cattle to feed. We raise all our own feed as well, so we look at it as being able to pick wet corn and save on the drying cost by putting that corn through the cattle. And as a way to add value to some pretty rough pasture and hay land. We have passed up some great opportunities to sell high dollar corn the past few years but I view the cattle business as a long term thing that will work well over time.

David G · Feb 2, 2014

Good Luck

ihcowner · Feb 2, 2014

Choice steers in Kalona IA the other week were 154.00 top, yes a very good time to sell fat cattle.

LAA · Feb 2, 2014

So are you saying you have a contract with a packer and you are basically feeding captives or you are actually buying futures contracts and hedging the backside?

We will see how the cattle open market will go tomorrow!!

JD Seller

Well-known Member

LonM

Member

LonM

Member

JD Seller

Well-known Member

LonM

Member

David G

Well-known Member

ihcowner

Member

LAA

Well-known Member

Similar threads