SHOW STEERS

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Barry Farms

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Jan 21, 2013
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456
Location
North East MO
Strange topic, but I was wondering what I may be doing wrong. I have advertised on steerplanet, local trader magazines, some other advertisements like fliers in local ag businesses, and several facebook pages. They are cheap and good. Well broke. Those veteran sellers give me a shout-out please and tell me what I may be able to do because I think if they aren't gone by January I will be forced to sale barn these steers.

I took the best steers of our calf crop put them in a seperate pen and halter broke them. I keep them on limited feed and they could dominate a lot of rate of gain competitions. The majority of these calves are very stocky and will pack on the muscle once on full feed. Currently they get a small amount of protein and 5 lbs of corn every other day per calf (every other day so big calves don't bully the feed away from smaller ones. I am gonna add pictures asap.
 

Part Timer

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Aug 21, 2009
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189
Location
Mendon,Ohio
If your trying to sell show calves then your calves need to be show ready. Calves will need to be fat, hairy, and clipped. They need to look the part. Try to find a local club calf sale to consign them to. Be hard on your opinion of your calves. Barn blindness is a terrible thing, only work with your best of what you have.
 

Gargan

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Feb 24, 2011
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3,060
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West Virginia
Part Timer said:
If your trying to sell show calves then your calves need to be show ready. Calves will need to be fat, hairy, and clipped. They need to look the part. Try to find a local club calf sale to consign them to. Be hard on your opinion of your calves. Barn blindness is a terrible thing, only work with your best of what you have.
Well said. I sent a really nice fu man chu steer calf to the sale barn , because he had frozen ears. They are almost impossible to sell.
 

CAB

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Mar 5, 2007
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5,607
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Corning,Iowa
I've been noticing a sharply declining market for "club calves". 4-H has become a big business and many, many families can not afford to keep paying the prices that the better calves have been bringing the last decade along with all of the "show" feeds that are being offered and campaigned as having to feed to compete.
  I've been noticing at many of the shows from Louisville to almost all of the state fairs that the stands are almost empty in all of the pictures that The Pulse has been putting up. Pretty soon it looks like there may be just a few of the bigger show outfits showing against each other. There have been a number of super good steers lately that have not received an opening bid. A growing number of PPL trying to raise calves for a sharply declining demand for  those calves and if you end up having to take them to a sale barn be prepared to be docked as hard or more than 50% of said market at that sale. Until we can get back to meat / carcass based judging at the shows, which is probably not going to happen, I think there may be little possibility for any growth in the demand for show calves.  Just some of my opinions and observations over the last few years.
 

Belties R Us

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Jan 26, 2009
Messages
281
Location
Ohio
I would say name and reputation factor in to not being able to sell. My family is in the same boat. But I wholeheartedly agree with the poster above. Absolutely must look like show cattle, have the hair, halterbroke, chubby, ready to walk into a show arena. We are going to most likely consign steers to sales in the area and know that they may sell at market value for a while. It's a process.
 

looking4champions

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Jun 8, 2015
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80
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Southeast
One thing that has tainted the whole steer project is that a lot of people don't want to turn a calf with potential into a champion. They want to buy a champion and just feed him. That's why you see people paying upward of $10K for a steer with ease. Because they want to buy the Grand Champion. Plus in some states the livestock world has more support than in others.  Thus they are more willing to pay for, and can afford to pay so much. I do believe you have to sale good stock. But remember this. A lot of these people buying steers today couldn't pick, nor will even buy a steer if he is unclipped and/or green or not already ready to jackpot when they buy him. My advice to you is to work on your presentation. Hang in there and don't quit. Sale your own steers!  Deal directly with families that are bringing their kids up in the steer world the right way.  The middleman or should I say "steer jockey" is not your friend.  Market, network, advertise, prepare, and I wish you luck.  The people that really know genetics, conformation, and what their feed peogram can do can find a steer without the help of a jockey, and it doesn't matter if he's clipped or not. Green or show ready. If you raise good stuff they will find you. Just make sure you sale to some feeders... Doesn't matter where he comes from nor how he's breed if he's not feed right. 
 

Tallcool1

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Jun 21, 2012
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969
Not to be mean to anyone here, (CAB touched on this already) but the quality of these show steers is just incredible.  There just isn't much market for a "good" steer anymore.  These steers have to be 2 or 3 levels above "good" to even get a bid.

The costs associated with feeding and showing are just too high to buy a "good" steer.  You can buy a "good" steer for $2,000, or a steer a couple levels above that steer for $4,000.  It is now to the point that it is worth spending the extra money at acquisition. 

As far as the traders being your enemy, I personally disagree.  If you are a producer, and you can't get a trader to buy any of your cattle.......well, it is probably because they aren't that good.  It's not because they aren't your friend. 

We bought a steer this fall, that had all of the pieces that we look for in a show steer.  He had the look, the middle, that hair, cool front, great attitude, big topped, the "total package"......except he was starting to get funky on his front legs.  We sold him to a County Fair family because we just didn't think he would hold together.  All of the pieces with one strike against him, and we threw him out.  That is the show steer world we live in now.

There's a picture of him, for reference. 

And so you know, we are not Major steer show exhibitors.  We compete at County Fairs, and are happy to win classes or divisions beyond that.

 

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looking4champions

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Jun 8, 2015
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Notice I said the middleman is not your friend.... Didn't say he was an enemy.  A jockey can buy one from that ends up in who knows where..... How do you as a breeder remain connected.  Or should I saw how do you as a breeder get acknowledged for breeding that animal...? How does a jockey help further your reputation?



 

DSC

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May 3, 2007
Messages
285
Most GOOD steer traders acknowledge where the steer came from if or when he wins. If you look at all the blogs, the PULSE.....etc you will see the breeders name listed as "raised by" and then the trader is list as "sold by". 
 

vc

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Jul 24, 2007
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1,811
Location
So-Cal
Out of the three you posted pics of, the third calf with hair on him would look like a pretty cool dude, the other 2 (granted are not set up the best to evaluate) have a little extra leather and look to be going through that awkward stage of growth.

Halter broke, haired up, clipped and on feed, advertise with the local 4H and FFA clubs. Find a kid that will put in the work but may not have the money to buy an expensive steer, set them up with your best calf for fair value, (market plus your time). Mentor them through the project, if they do well others in the same boat will come, if they get calves that have a chance to compete at a fair price. You may not sell a 10,000 calf but you can make a little extra off the better calves and you are helping out someone who may not have had that opportunity if it weren't for you. I think as long as you can keep them reasonable and still make a little money off of decent calves you can find a market, just don't look to get rich off of them.

We have a local family the raises club calves in the area, they have decent calves, with some a little better quality. They sell them all, some should have gone to the sell barn, most kids in the area have not gone outside our area and do not know what is out there, and what a really good one looks like, their top calf might be a little above middle of the road some where else, but since it is the best comparable to the others they have they can get way more than it is worth, in my opinion. Granted these kids would not have had a show type calf if it weren't for this family, they would have had one of the hill calves from the area and never even had a chance. But driving 5 hours away from home scares them off of looking at other calves.
 

Tallcool1

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Jun 21, 2012
Messages
969
looking4champions said:
Notice I said the middleman is not your friend.... Didn't say he was an enemy.  A jockey can buy one from that ends up in who knows where..... How do you as a breeder remain connected.  Or should I saw how do you as a breeder get acknowledged for breeding that animal...? How does a jockey help further your reputation?

So, the middleman is not your friend......and he is not your enemy.  What EXACTLY is the middleman?

The middleman is the guy that can put you on the map.  He is the guy that has the customers.  He is the guy that has the knowledge and skill set to get your calf over the finish line.  He is the guy that will pay you a premium for your cattle, because they are good enough for him to make money with. 

As previously posted by DSC, other than a very select couple of traders, the producer will get some of the credit.
 
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