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Post by luckyp on Aug 4, 2019 14:22:27 GMT -6
Well, the time has come. We've decided it's time to liquidate the herd. Got too many irons in the fire right now, and while the cows were my first love, they're not making enough $$ these days for the amount of effort and constant confinement required.
Been breeding this group of cows since ~ 1989... closed herd with exception of bulls purchased in 2006 & 2016.
Mostly black/BWF SimmentalXAngus cows of varying percentages, with a few ShorthornXAngus cows and BraunviehXAngus cows/heifers in the mix; 52 head of breeding age cows/heifers bred for Spring 2020 calving and a half-dozen yearlings; 10 Spring 2019 heifers.
Over half the cowherd is AI sired, some with 2-3 generations of AI breeding behind them. Mostly solid 3-7 yr old cows, but a few up around 10 yrs. Avg. wts probably 1200-1400; a few bigger, a few smaller.
Bred about 15 cows to AI sires this spring, the rest PEed to our homo black/polled pb Simmental bull(also for sale).
Sold the bottom end (23 cows) of the Fall calving group this spring and rolled the rest of the Fall group to Spring breeding. At this point, there are not many 'cull' cows left... we'd initially planned to cut back to 40 head, and it was gonna be hard deciding what 8-10 cows needed to go to get down to that number.
Been sending out a listing of what I've got to a few folks whom I thought might be interested or know someone else who would be, but truthfully, I don't know what they're really worth... or how best to market them. Listed the herd on TheCattleRange back during the drought of 2007, and sold a few that way, but we've not been a 'seedstock' operation, and have almost always been in a herd-building mode until the last 2-3 years, just marketing culls and excess heifers through the local salebarns.
I'd welcome any thoughts on how best to market them - and what y'all think would be reasonable pricing.
If anyone is interested, I've got a list of cows by age, breed makeup, sire and service sire in a Word document that I can email if you PM me.
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Post by jehosofat on Aug 4, 2019 14:26:08 GMT -6
Where ya located?
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Post by luckyp on Aug 4, 2019 14:31:50 GMT -6
Hopkinsville KY ... in Bigfoot's backyard.
PM not an option here?
Email me at: Lucky(OneTwoThree)Pitt(at)gmail(dot)com
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Post by 3LT Farms on Aug 4, 2019 14:37:07 GMT -6
LuckyP, you have to click on a username to see the PM option.
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Post by okie on Aug 4, 2019 14:46:35 GMT -6
I hate to say it but I'd haul anything over seven to the sale before anyone ever saw the set. In this market they're most likely going to get killed and it makes people doubt the quality of the rest. I've seen a few people have really good results advertising as a complete sellout at the sale barn but give them time to talk about the cows a little and get buyers excited, and again, get rid of the older cows first. You don't want them anywhere near the same sale as the young cows.
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Post by M-5 on Aug 4, 2019 14:52:45 GMT -6
Around here the barn would do a special sale for them. Them kind would do good here. Call your barn see if they are interested in doing it.
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Post by tcranch on Aug 4, 2019 15:08:00 GMT -6
Around here the barn would do a special sale for them. Them kind would do good here. Call your barn see if they are interested in doing it. Agree. Word gets around here when there's a dispersal sale. Depends on the size but my local sale barn will do a special sale. If it's a smaller herd (and "smaller" is probably contingent on location), they still market them prior to the weekly sale. |
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Post by sleepy on Aug 4, 2019 15:37:33 GMT -6
I agree as well. Aged and preg checked with all that history would bring buyers out of the wood work. Advertising is crucial though and I'd put out flyers the month prior at the sale barn. Doing it on a Sat. or in the evening when people are off work is a good idea too. I'd want a stand alone sale, just selling those cows that day. They could bring more than you would have even asked for them.
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Post by luckyp on Aug 5, 2019 7:12:58 GMT -6
One considered strategy had been to visit with the owner of the KY/TN Livestock Market at Guthrie about a dispersal sale. Next door neighbor had a herd reduction sale through them a couple of years back... went from 120 head to less than 40... think he did all right on that deal. Guess that may be the way to go...
The older cows are damned good, and proven producers; we haven't bought a cow since 1987... all these were born & bred here and have made the grade year after year. Yeah, I understand they've got limited miles left on 'em - quite a few were slated to leave, based solely on age, in the next 2-3 years if we'd stayed in, but I don't see 'em as 'killer' quality cattle - but I might be barn blind.
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Post by M-5 on Aug 5, 2019 7:21:27 GMT -6
One considered strategy had been to visit with the owner of the KY/TN Livestock Market at Guthrie about a dispersal sale. Next door neighbor had a herd reduction sale through them a couple of years back... went from 120 head to less than 40... think he did all right on that deal. Guess that may be the way to go... The older cows are damned good, and proven producers; we haven't bought a cow since 1987... all these were born & bred here and have made the grade year after year. Yeah, I understand they've got limited miles left on 'em - quite a few were slated to leave, based solely on age, in the next 2-3 years if we'd stayed in, but I don't see 'em as 'killer' quality cattle - but I might be barn blind. Those won't bring premium but would be well above kill price . For a guy looking to add proven herd builders he would pay more for them. I find special sales don't bring out as many kill buyers and most folks are taking them back to the farm. Win win |
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Post by birddog on Aug 5, 2019 11:48:52 GMT -6
I'm in agreement with the others about selling at the barn. Don't worry about the old ones. As long as you have full disclosure they will do fine. The sale barns around here will usually group them together in small groups of like kind age wise and preg status. I have been to a few of these sales just to buy the old girls hoping for heifers for replacements.
Use your free advertising options like Facebook and Craigslist. They bring in a lot of eyeballs that you won't get anywhere else.
I hope you keep watching the boards even if you don't have cows. I have learned bunches from your posts over the years.
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Post by okie on Aug 5, 2019 12:49:19 GMT -6
I'm assuming that you're calling them older cows because you have records on them. If their teeth are in good shape you might be able to slide them right in with the rest of the bunch. I didn't think about that in my reply above as I go by mouth unless they were born with me or I have papers. I know I've sold a lot of cows at 9-10 years old over the years that mouthed as seven or under and got bought as bred cows and went home with someone. That was with tags in their ears that didn't take a whole lot to figure out if anyone was paying attention.
I had one set here in Oklahoma that I bought as six year old bred cows and kept for three years and sold as six year old bred cows for more than what I paid for them. They had some ear but still...
Best of luck with it whatever you decide to do.
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Post by 3LT Farms on Aug 6, 2019 8:25:19 GMT -6
Our barn does the herd dispersal sales and other specialty sales. Depending on size, they will do it on the regular sale day or A Saturday. They advertise them pretty good for about a month on their Facebook page. Our barn has a 10 acre pasture lot next to the load/unload area. They will keep the special sale cows out there before the sale, sometimes you will see them show up a week or two in advance.
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Post by luckyp on Aug 7, 2019 10:36:17 GMT -6
Yep, every one of them was born here. Have exact d.o.b. on virtually every one of 'em, but for sure know if they were a spring or fall 20XX-born calf. Oldest is a 2007 model... but she's 'royal family'... she and her 3 sisters raise the top calves every season.
I know exactly what's behind every one of them, all the way back to 1987.
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Post by randy on Aug 8, 2019 5:17:00 GMT -6
Sure wish you good luck Lucky. Tough decision.
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