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Alberta | I don't finish animals, but if I was, and you believe in your genetic potential, I would keep the heifers as I truly believe when we sell our females in the fall, we are taking a hit on heifer sales vs steers. If your country is anything like mine, you will have a hard time finding a buyer to come to your yard, even if it is the same buyer who buys at an auction. I cannot figure this out as why would they not want to buy farm direct where they know what these animals background is and they can go from farm to feedlot vs sitting at an market for 24 to 48 before hitting a feedlot. I know feedlots like to buy in penlots, and a farm purchase will most likely not fill a pen. there is likely a 200 plus lb weight range on the farm vs a 50 to 100Lb range in penlots at the auction and lastly a buyer will be biting the hand that feed it. Unless that buyer is the feedlot owner. Personally i like the auction as then I know I am not leaving money on the table when I sell. A packer in our country will take any size of load from a few head to a full load of cattle, so there is no problem getting rid of small lots. You phone, you book delivery time, deliver and wait for payment in the mail. One other thing to think of when you keep heifers, is if they would make good replacements, you have an option of breeding if you think you can make money in the replacement market. I keep extra heifers, and run a 23 day breeding season for ourselves. You could do the same thing with your heifers and market them that way. a 23 day breeding gets you finished calving heifers in a month. after doing this for 30 years, I would not change this in my operation. Anything that does not catch in 23 days goes to the feedlot. You should have a 70 percent catch in 23 days. You are probably not fattening them until they reach breeding age as you would still be on a growing ration. The last number of years, the bred heifer market in my area has been worth 2/3 more than the fat or feeder market. Good luck in whatever you choose. | |
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Heifers or Steers?
