# Pricing my longhorn steer



## Hogleg (Oct 6, 2007)

Time to sell my 100% grass fed longhorn steer. He is 26 months old and developing a nice set of horns. Plan to sell for beef or to someone who wants to keep him as a pasture ornament or let the horns grow. Problem is that all of the pricing I see locally is for standard breed steers here in southern illinois. What do you think a fair price would be per lb of live weight for this animal? What class would he fit into at a sale barn?

John


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

He would probably bring cow price at the sale barn, he older then normal for the feedlot plus the horns. In good condition he would sell at the upper end of the killing cow price range.


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

yep. I hate to be discouraging but not much demand for a 2 yr old longhorn steer grassfed. Your best bet might be on Craigslist. Maybe $0.60/lb ?


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Now see I don`t understand you guys, everybody totes grass fed, well long horn is the traditional grass fed beef. I think you should charge so much an inch on the horns. And I don`t know what being two years old would bother all your fat cattle that are fed out are two when they go to market. >Thanks Marc


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

If you sell him as beef, usually the price is per pound based on the hanging weight. And the buyer pays processing. If you sell him as a trophy steer or pasture ornament the pound price goes out the window. How nice are the horns, how desirable is the hide color and pattern, how tame is he all would affect value.


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

springvalley said:


> Now see I don`t understand you guys, everybody totes grass fed, well long horn is the traditional grass fed beef. I think you should charge so much an inch on the horns. And I don`t know what being two years old would bother all your fat cattle that are fed out are two when they go to market. >Thanks Marc


I admit I sure don't know what grass fed beef is worth in Illinois, but, around here you would have a hard time finding anyone who would want him. A 2 yr old fed out in a feed lot is a whole different critter.
Now if you are selling him as a pet or for trophy horns, that might be a different ball game and I don't know anything about it.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Around here those horns arent worth anything, run through the sale barn.
People are trained up that black-hided cows are the ones for eating, and 
mostly corn-finished too. 

Not everybody "totes grass-fed", not in the mid-west anyhow. 
I know it is different in other places though. 

A lot of studies show that most folks cannot even taste a difference.
(I dont think they had any actual beef growers in those comparisons though). 

Sorry that is no help to the OP.
I would be looking to sell him to some foodie types,(no offense, I consider myself one too).
Or maybe he is pretty and unique enough someone will want him for a pet? 

Pictures are always nice.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

springvalley said:


> Now see I don`t understand you guys, everybody totes grass fed, well long horn is the traditional grass fed beef. I think you should charge so much an inch on the horns. And I don`t know what being two years old would bother all your fat cattle that are fed out are two when they go to market. >Thanks Marc


I just answered part of the question about how the animal would be classified at the livestock market. Grass fed beef is a niche market, a trophy animal is a novelty market. I don't know the value of the animal in question in either market. I do know that it wouldn't have a lot of value at the livestock auction.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I guess I`m going to put hah hah, and he he where I think I`m trying to be humorous. You guys take me to serious on here, sometimes I`m trying to get your goat , so to speak, He He, lol. A long horn around here run through the sale barn would not bring much either, and I`m not big on all grass fed myself. >Thanks, and have a chuckle on me, Marc


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh, were you joking about the price per inch on horns too? 
I can never tell.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

yes, kinda, but I do know in the right place it would bring good money. Not many longhorns up my way, was a guy at the rodeo a few years ago that had one broke to ride, that was kinda cool. >Thanks Marc


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I think they are kinda perdy, those long horns.

Farmer Boss buys some LH calves each spring, to practice roping on.
He sells them about the time they figure out they dont need to respect the hotwire.
Actually, more like once he sees that they dont respect it.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

If most of the HT people ever met me, you would think it was a differant person. My goal most days is to make people smile and laugh, makes me feel good to see you smile. Sorry to derail, >Thanks Marc


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## Hogleg (Oct 6, 2007)

Thanks folks, I kind of knew the price would be lower. I am selling an GF angus for 95 cents/lb. 60 sounds about right. If things go right, I will sell the whole angus and butcher the longhorn for myself. His horns are looking good but his hide is all white so no value there. 

Thanks again, good responses...liked the humor too.

John


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

If the calf is of comparable quality, finish and muscling, he is worth just as much as the Angus. They all look the same when you pull the hide off. If your going to sell grass fed you have to sell the hype, and as spingvalley noted longhorn is the original grass fed beef.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Good beef cows do look about the same with the hide off. But if you want to sell with the hide on, black brings more money. To put it another way, non-black sells for less, doesn't matter that it looks the same under the skin. If the horns are small enough to get a Keystone de-horner on, the sale barn can lop the horns off and you'll gain some bidders that way. Many buyers around here don't want the risk to other cows that a horned cow presents.

In Michigan there is a growing interest in roping cattle. IMHO, that steer would be more valuable to a roper than a freezer beef buyer. 

I doubt you could get the buyers for cull cattle, those worn out old holsteins, to bid on a steer with a lot of horn. Some modern slaughter plants are not set up to handle a wide set of horns. 

If you have made the investment to grow this novelty, perhaps you would do best by filling your own frezer with grass fed beef.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

In SE Oklahoma, the price of any longhorn steer would be less than whatever the lowest selling, broken-mouthed critter at the sale brought. There's absolutely no interest in them at all. That's my reason for never, ever, ever again taking any MS steers to the sale barn. The buyers see them as longhorns and don't bid. The MS steers are actually some of the best meat producers on grass with a little grain.


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## anvoj (Feb 1, 2010)

All this shorthand drives me crazy- what's an MS steer?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

MS = milking shorthorn


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

Here in Va/Nc longhorn would not sell well. I see them on craigslist all the time from people with a small backyard herd and they can't hardly get rid of them. You'd get more $$ by cutting the horns off, mounting them on a plaque, then selling that! Most sale barns won't hardly take them here, as there's sufficient blacks and herefords to fill their barns that they don't need to mess with longhorn or holstein or other horned and 'non-standardized' animals. You'd be lucky to get .40lb. You might find someone who wants to butcher it but in most cases anyone who wants to buy a live animal and butcher it will also most likely have the ability to raise a calf themselves. Craigslist is definitely the way to go, offer to take to the butcher and charge by the lb live weight.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Couple people have suggested a roping career for this steer. But at 26 months old, that ship has sailed. You gotta train them for roping and he's likley too old and too big to do it safely or successfully. 

I agree that the salebarn would be a losing proposition, you'd give him away there. Best bet is eat him yourself or advertise as grass fed beef and sell by the pound. See if you can find any other ads for grass fed beef in your area and price yours similarly. Craigslist, bulletin board at the feed store, local paper, etc. to advertise.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

In the meantime, price him as pasture ornament or such on craiglist, kijiji, hoobly, oodle - lol - and you never know. . .might sell him before you need to butcher.


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## SpaceCadet12364 (Apr 27, 2003)

Either find a buyer or two for sides of beef, or put him in your own freezer.

If you end up having him processed (either for a beef buyer or two, or for yourself), ask the processor to cut off the horns for you. Clean out the inner core (usually just leave them set outside but protected from the weather for a little while, maybe a month or so?) and then you can either make something of them yourself if you are artistically inclined....or list them on eBay, Craigslist, or the like. Loads of people out there that do those historical reenactment groups or make things out of various cattle horns.

We get $3.75/lb hanging weight, we pay processor fees, on our grass-fed Highlands. Sometimes you have to do some advertising around, health food stores & such, but there are people that are out there looking for something better than the grocery store meats.


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