# Buy in spring, sell in fall



## WC44 (Apr 6, 2016)

Ok I have another question. My job has shifted and for the next few years I will not be available November through end of February to care for animals. But March thru October I am able to. What is the best option for buy in spring sell in fall? Steers? Or heifers and breed them and sell as bred in the fall? I am not looking to break the bank, just really wanting some experience and maybe a little $. I have read that steers are high in spring and low in fall, which could limit profit. Opinions please! Thanks!


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## CIW (Oct 2, 2007)

If you have grass, buy some green calves born last fall. It doesn't matter whether they are steers or heifers. The numbers ($) will be based on gain. You want them on the skinny side. March is a good time to find this type.
You can watch the cattle futures to help get an estimate of what your calves will sell for.
If cattle are up in July and grain is low, feed them grain or hay as the case may be. If cattle aren't moving you may not want to feed any more than you have to. It will be harder to recover your inputs.


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## WC44 (Apr 6, 2016)

Thanks for that. We have very lush pasture, roughly 10-12 acres. I feel that it could support a couple of head. I'm looking at doing this next year


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## FarmerJoe (Nov 14, 2009)

If you can't figure in a profit, see if you can take care of someone else's cattle. Figure out a cost per head per day. Probably less profit but also gets rid of the chance of a loss.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Or see if someone else could take care of your cattle perhaps?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

A neighbor wanted to get into cattle. Bought 50 calves at $1.00 a pound in the spring. Paid a fortune to ship them to his place. He had 60 acres of lush pasture. He repaired old fences, put in a water tank, bought a tank for his truck to deliver water.

Those cattle swept through that pasture in a couple weeks. So, he began buying hay and hauling it to his pasture. In the early fall, he bought a few tons of oats to fatten them up.

He had a trucker take them to a sale. Fall prices had dropped to .72 cents a pound. Despite the cattle's gain, he lost quite a bit.

Shipping is a big expense.
Cattle eat a lot more than you might think.
A pasture might not re-grow as fast as you might want.
Cattle drink a lot of water and it gets costly if you must haul it.
While you might not know the fine points of cattle conformation, you'll learn a lot when it comes time to sell.
In farming, the easier it is, the less your chances you'll recoup your losses.


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## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

The moral of the story is, get a drug addiction. It is cheaper.


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## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

Knew guy, happened to be in the family, who was friends with the auction house. He had all the slaughter cows palpated and bought any that were bred. While everyone else was bidding on a slaughter cow, he was bidding on a bred cow. 

With small acreage, unless you find a sweetheart deal, cows are notyour best choice. Look into pigs. 6 months and out.


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## Wild_Bill (Aug 4, 2014)

You and everyone else. That is why the prices change so much. Everyone has grass in the spring. Like someone said before. Just weaned calves about 6mo old will cost the most, but gain good on grass. You can resell in the fall but again that's what everyone dose. Last year 500lb feeders were $1.70-2.25 around here. They drop every couple hundred lbs the gain. Slaughter animals around here were $1.35-$1.65 if you finish them yourself you can do ok. Otherwise your just trading dollars.


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## Wild_Bill (Aug 4, 2014)

Just took a quick look at the auction reports. Everything is cheaper by a good bit this year. Avg. for Holstein feeders 300-600# .65-.85 so cheap compared to last year. I might go buy a few next week. Not Holsteins. Beef as low as $1.00 for heifers, and 1.20 for the boys...with boys or without!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I attended a marketing training a couple decades ago. Marketing strategy for cattle. There was a lot to it, but the raw basic lesson was to check the beef futures contract prices. Check the corn futures contract prices. Add in your costs and you come up with the highest amount you can pay for calves. You buy the calves, buy the corn futures contract, sell your beef futures contract. All your prices are locked in. All you need is your pasture and enough luck they don't die. 

But the point I'm making is that the experts, the ones that make a living have this all locked up. But as soon as calves drop to a low enough price, they'll be buying them all. When there isn't any money in the game, they sit on their hands. If you aren't careful, you'll end up with a pasture full of liability, losing money every day they are out there.

But, if you are a good salesman with deep pocketed friends, you can create your own business and don't worry about what the Ag Report says they are or aren't worth.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

You could always hay your fields and sell your hay - I don't do this so have no idea if haying is profitable but it seems I am always buying a little hay each year and a lot of cattle men buy a LOT of hay each year.

Just something else to consider.


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