So you think you produce feeder calves that should command the top price for their weight every time they go into the sale ring? Some farmers do have that kind of cattle, while others wonder why their calves sell $2 to $5 per hundred below comparable weight calves.
Your Reputation Matters
Reputation is a very powerful influence on buyers as they bid on cattle. Cattle, and their sellers, can of course have both good and bad reputations. It depends on what the buyer has seen from those cattle’s performance in the past – both on pasture, in the feedlot or on-the-rail.
Unfortunately, since the average herd size of beef cows in the Ozarks is between 35 and 40 head, you may not have taken the opportunity to see if you produce “good reputation” cattle. Even larger operators may have felt it was too much trouble or too expensive to retain ownership on their cattle all the way to the packer. Thus, the order buyer just assumes when your cattle sell that they’re average and doesn’t make that extra bid to put extra dollars on your paycheck.
Establish A Reputation
One way to establish some type of reputation for cattle is to consider retaining ownership of some of your cattle as they are fed out at a feedlot. You can often get information from certain feedlots that could include: Feedlot gain, harvest weights, dressing percent, fat cover, ribeye area, yield grade, carcass weight, marbling score, quality grade, health issues, premiums or discounts for the carcass, final carcass price, retail value per day of age, within group rank for retail value, temperament score and more.
Order buyers use factual performance/carcass data such as given in the feedouts more than they did 5 or 10 years ago. They aren’t just looking for gaunt, thin cattle with compensatory gain potential. They like to fill their orders with cattle that gain, stay healthy and produce a Choice quality grade as well as not being overly fat.
You will never find out if you’re raising that kind unless you retain ownership all the way. Getting a few producers together for a trailer-load, and participating in your state’s feedout program can be a great option to try feeding out cattle, and learning more about how your calves really do.
The more cows in your herd, the larger number of steers you should enter to get a representative sampling of your herd’s genetic makeup. This provides you with more accurate information when you make breeding stock, health care and marketing decisions.
Eldon Cole is a Livestock Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension.
