Beefbiz - 12/7/2018 17:03
You are absolutely right, it did work better then. But you have to cash flow a cow over 6-8 years, not 1 or 2. You have to plan on the market following the cattle cycle and prices will be lower in a few years, not only calf prices but also cull cow prices.
Just working through a cash flow, assuming an average heifer lasts 7 years and using current feed costs and normal non-feed costs figured in:
- if replacement heifers cost $2500 the calf breakeven is about $840,
- if replacement heifers cost $1500 the calf breakeven is about $730.
This week in Missouri, light 5 wt M&L #1 steer calves averaged 522 pounds and brought $842/hd.
I'm not trying to be a butt, I'm just very cautious when we as an industry focus on either the best case or the worst case scenarios. If we don't take a longer view, we won't be around for the longer view.
Broth of the bankrupt
