steer questions

[strawroanlova]

okireasently sold a hog at are county fair and got a nuce size profit,before i sold him i bought a steer out of double stuff,i think you all saw hi hes my blue roan,not a great showcow but hes ok,some one affored me 900 dollars for my steer,i think i might sell him and take my hog money to buy a 1200 dollars to by a steer from my 4h leaders dad bill chattin,should a do it or am i becoming to much of a steer jockey,the steers he is bringing down are out of sun seeker,heatwave and about time,sorry i dont have pics yet ??? ???

 

[Colorado2009]

I haven't saw this little calf you are talking about but before I would sell him, make sure the other calves that the guy is bringing down are better than your roan calf.

It's all up to you though. It's your money and you will be the one showing the calf so you need to decide.

Just be sure you are getting good quality for what you pay for.

 

[strawroanlova]

well theres apic of him right above you,im sure they will be better than the roan,the chapter steer i showed in november came from the man thats bringin down the steers and it got graand champion,the individualy owned steers grand champion also came from bill chattin,im not sure what ill do,iwnat to talk to my brother totten club calves

 

[farmboy]

sell the blue roan, and see whats out there, look for hair, muscle, good temperment and thickness, make sure his legs are good so hell be able to make it to 1250-1300 pounds

 

[SKF]

Things to consider before selling your blue roan. What is your blue roans ADG? That is very important if your fair has a rate of gain requirment. Your blue roan is florida born so he is use to the heat. We have had some calves from upnorth who had a hard time adjusting to the heat down here. Is your calve halter broke? Are the new ones halter broke? What is the price difference between your blue roan and the new ones. How much profit do you need to make at the fair? What ever you do don't sell your steer till you see the other calves. We have bought lots of out state calves over the years and most adjust well to the climate here and others we have had a hard time getting them to eat and gain during our long, hot , humid summers. My son this year bought a really nice Carnac steer for his sr. year  and he has never adjusted to the climate and he has not been able to show him. We are really pushing to get him to gain and it looks like he will be in our freezer instead of going to the fair. We have never had this problem with our Florida born calves. Just someting to consider.

 

[dutch pride]

In my mind, a few things to consider,

1. Will you be able to sell a $1200 steer for a profit?
2. Do you need $'s to purchace swine for next year?
3. How well does your roan show? Does he respond well to you and lead and set up well? A steer that is well behaved can be a lot more fun than one who might place better but you leave the ring in tears because he did not behave.
Good luck in whatever you decide.  ;D

 

[DL]

okireasently sold a hog at are county fair and got a nuce size profit,before i sold him i bought a steer out of double stuff,i think you all saw hi hes my blue roan,not a great showcow but hes ok,some one affored me 900 dollars for my steer,i think i might sell him and take my hog money to buy a 1200 dollars to by a steer from my 4h leaders dad bill chattin,should a do it or am i becoming to much of a steer jockey,the steers he is bringing down are out of sun seeker,heatwave and about time,sorry i dont have pics yet ??? ???

strawroanlova - Not to be an old fart or whatever, and I think AAOK mentioned this before - but when I can't understand the first sentence of a post without having to work real hard to decifer your strawroanlova language I don't bother to read the rest of the post - I am sure I am not alone in that. If you want rational and intelligent responses it would be helpful if you spent a little time trying to make your posts intellegent to the more mature (AKA older) members of the board - if you don't care - that is your choice

 

[strawroanlova]

im really sorry DL,i type fast and dont see my mistakes but im working on my typing skills

 

[Doc]

im really sorry DL,i type fast and dont see my mistakes but im working on my typing skills

Strawroanlova, Slow down & check your spelling & your placement of commas & periods.(Your not in that boat alone though) It gets tough to figure out where one sentence stops & another starts. I don't have to worry about slowing down because I would be typing with one finger then. They brought up some good points as far as heat & humidity tolerance. Also like they said look at the new ones before you sell your current one. 

 

[strawroanlova]

okireasently sold a hog at are county fair and got a nuce size profit,before i sold him i bought a steer out of double stuff,i think you all saw hi hes my blue roan,not a great showcow but hes ok,some one affored me 900 dollars for my steer,i think i might sell him and take my hog money to buy a 1200 dollars to by a steer from my 4h leaders dad bill chattin,should a do it or am i becoming to much of a steer jockey,the steers he is bringing down are out of sun seeker,heatwave and about time,sorry i dont have pics yet ??? ???

sorry about the errors in typing,im gonna retype it            ok i reasently sold a hog at are county fair and got a nice size profit,before i sold him i bought a steer out of double stuff,i think you all saw hmi hes my blue roan,not a great showcow but hes ok,some one offored me 900 dollars for my steer,i think i might sell him and take my hog money to buy a 1200 dollars steer from my 4h leaders dad bill chattin,should a do it or am i becoming to much of a steer jockey,the steers he is bringing down are out of sun seeker,heatwave and about time,sorry i dont have pics yet ??? ???

 

[DL]

im really sorry DL,i type fast and dont see my mistakes but im working on my typing skills

strawroanlova - apology accepted - we are all working on our typing skills - brain working faster than fingers etc - don't forget the beauty of the spell check 

 

[AAOK]

After reading this post, my eyes hurt, my brain is tired, and I'm still not sure I understand what is being asked.  Upon further investigation through the thread, I've reached a conclusion; DL is always right!

Strawroanlova - Buy the best calf you can afford.  If you aren't up to speed with selection characteristics, get help from a Ag Instructor, Extension Agent, or an area show family which consistently wins.  

Keep working on those rewrites, always run spellcheck, and take an online grammer course.  We all make mistakes, but we should always strive for perfection.

 

[Show Dad]

Well said AAOK!   And DL you're never an old fart it's just manure on your shoe.

 

[Richburg]

ok basically strawroanlova bought a steer from a local breeder before fair, which someone helped him with the 900 dollars(basically a loan) he just sold his hog at the fair and made a good profit

the blue roan he has is just a steer, nothing special but a decent steer,

i have bought steer from the man he is wanting to buy from and i have had two grand champions froms the calves he has brought down......they are good calves and all of them will be contenders for next years grand champion steer at our county fair.

so he wants to sell his blue roan steer for what he has got in him and use some of his hog money to buy a better steer to possibly be able to compete at next years fair and maybe even at jackpot shows.

is it a good idea or not.

i would say sell him and get the better steer

 

[itk]

I would say don't spend any more money then you have to. If you can still be competitive and make more money stay with the $900 steer, if you can still make money and win with the $1,200 steer I say upgrade. The smartest thing I ever did was not buy my son a steer for the county fair this past year. Instead he showed a heifer and I got to see what the competition was like there. It ended up that there were only 20 steers that showed but but one of them was the Champion Steer at Maine Jr Nationals(he was home raised by the way). Needless to say I could have spent a ton of money on a steer and still not won the our county fair. This year I decided to get my son a steer but I have decided that we will never go out and spend the big money to try to win instead we will try to find more economical "sleeper" animals and try to pull the occasional upset. Weigh out your options as far as potential profit and how competitive you want to be then make the choice that suits your goal.

 

[TottenClubCalves]

The 900 dollar steer he has will not contend for grand next year plain and simple.

The steer is almost ten months old and only weighs maybe 600 pounds. The man who has them doesn't push his steers, he gives them what they need to survive. The calve is a bottle calf that was a twin. he's frail boned, light muscled, and no quarter.

The man that he want's to buy a calf from has very good cattle, he attends the sales up north and brings down the calves for kids down here. His daughter is a local 4-h leader in our county so he typical gets calves for her kids and whoever else wants them. All of them are guaranteed structurally sound and to finish as long as you feed them.

we can't show two market animals a year so he does not need money to buy hogs for next year. I would tell him to keep the steer he has and show it because it is easy tempered and its his first steer but, he wants to attend all the local jackpot shows and this steer would have no contention at the middle or top half of the classes at are jackpot shows. for 3000 dollars more and the right managment he will have a better shot with purchasing a steer from Mr. Chattin.

I am his older brother and I plan on helping him pick out his steer when they get down here.

 

[Rocky Hill Simmental]

If your steer is already halter broke and has a friendly temperment then I'd go ahead and show him even if he's not the best looking. A friendly calf will make showing cattle much easier and enjoyable than a crazy one good looking one that the judge won't even look at.

Around here, usually pigs make more of a profit than the steers do. Pigs will sell at least 0.70-1.15 above floor price where most steers only sell 0.05-0.25 above floor price. And you can sell 2 pigs and only one steer here. I like steers better anyway.

 

[Jill]

I would say don't spend any more money then you have to. If you can still be competitive and make more money stay with the $900 steer, if you can still make money and win with the $1,200 steer I say upgrade. The smartest thing I ever did was not buy my son a steer for the county fair this past year. Instead he showed a heifer and I got to see what the competition was like there. It ended up that there were only 20 steers that showed but but one of them was the Champion Steer at Maine Jr Nationals(he was home raised by the way). Needless to say I could have spent a ton of money on a steer and still not won the our county fair. This year I decided to get my son a steer but I have decided that we will never go out and spend the big money to try to win instead we will try to find more economical "sleeper" animals and try to pull the occasional upset. Weigh out your options as far as potential profit and how competitive you want to be then make the choice that suits your goal.

I agree with itk, we have a very small fair, but all of the animals are also competive on the National level, what we have always done was spent our money on the nicest heifer we could find and we either raised a steer that we kept back or purchased a pig to sell.  We (and most work this way) can only sell 1 animal and a steer is a loosing venture, by the time you figure your initial cost, feed and the rest we usually eat the steer and since the pig will bring just as much and your profit is much higher that is what we sell.

If you are set on showing a steer, I would keep the one you have.  There isn't going to be a lot of quality difference in 900 and 1200, a 1200 dollar steer will not contend for grand unless you have one heck of an eye or are REALLY lucky.  Be realistic about your goals, your most likely not going to win grand your 1st year, your steer isn't competitive, but you probably aren't either.  Spend your time this year learning how to show, how to get the daily care stuff done and how to fit, save your money and next year or the year after when you are ready to compete you will have the money set back to afford a higher quality steer.

 

[Show Dad]

It is sad when you have to buy a steer at above market price and then still can't compete!  I would like to know at what price it takes to compete then?!?!?  $1200 for a red ribbon, $2500 for blue, $4000 for reserve and $7500 for Grand!

My advice SRL (FWIW); buy a steer at market price maybe plus $.05/lbs. to help the breeder with the hassle. Pick one based on sound criteria. Don't worry about the ribbon color. Shoot for getting a better carcass (CAB or Prime) and more money when they go to packerland. I would listen to the judges comments but would pay much more attention to what the packer was telling me about the carcass.

Of course if it is a ribbon you're chasing then the answer to the above question should point you in the right direction.

 

[Jill]

My reply wasn't based on what price it takes to compete-carcass or otherwise.  The price it takes to compete is knowledge and judging by the avatar of the calf we are talking about, he has a ways to go as far as knowledge is concerned.  At my house the calf in question is a sale barn calf that would probably even get docked at the sale barn, he paid someone 900 dollars for this calf.  There isn't anything wrong with buying one at market price and if you know what you are looking for, those can be just as competitive as the high price deal, if you have a good eye and are really lucky, this boy from what I get in his and his brothers answers wants to compete in jackpot shows and most people can't do that at market price.