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Central Texas | Not yet. LOL
Certainly have lost on some individual cows but as a group have always been profitable. Knew a guy that did it for probably 40 years and claimed he never lost, even in 1974 when everything went to he!!. Think the key is to take advantage of the seasonal cull cow price cycle by buying in fall and selling in spring-summer and to primarily use economical feedstuffs that are a byproduct of another enterprise such as grazing cornstalks, cover crops, wheat, rye, oats, etc or in my case, waste silage. Think another key is buying them right and only buying at a price that will allow a profit. Most of the time, the old bred cows have worked best for my situation but thin culls can work if bought right. The breds also give me a broader marketing window than the feeder cows. Due to the reduced cow numbers in my area, following a few years of drought and now plentiful grass/hay, it has been quite difficult for the past year to buy them priced right as there is a new set of "mad money" buyers every day. If she's bred, only has to have 1 good eye, 2 good teats, and 3 good legs and someone will go nuts over her. I have a budget for both various stage bred cows and the cull feeder cows and stick to it. Been several days in the last year have come home empty. Got lucky last week and got 11 at a reasonable price. Taxes my patience to the max and seems being able to buy them right comes in spurts. | |
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anyone ever lost money on cull cows?
