When Did Cattle Start Getting So Expensive?

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blackcows

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It seems like there are calves everywhere selling for $10k, $15k, $20k, and more.  Shortly after I started college, which would have been the late 80's, I recall being at the Stoltz sale in Nebraska and a steer sold for $5,000 and that was a big deal.  When did we get to the point we are at now?  What was the first calf you heard being sold that made you say wow?

Mike
 

herefordfootball

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mark tenenbaum said:
There are various forms of inflation that will occur over 20 years- inflation of :prices,egos,breeder trade defecites, and the general posistion of the dollar- <rock> <beer>

I would like to see some of that inflation, just took my steer from 4h to the sale barn and he brought ten cents under market price.
 

AAOK

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In the Fall of 1992 we took a 5 month old heifer we raised to the OK State Fair, and walked away with Res. Cham. Miane-Anjou.  This feat put our little calf as the one to beat at County in the Spring, our 2nd full year to show.  The Spring Show in March '93 was a buzz about the $10,000 yearling M-A heifer brought in from Iowa by some Limi breaders.  Our calf was Champion, and the $$$$ calf didn't even get Reserve.  The family exhibited their heifer about three more times, and turned her out to pasture.  This was my Ah Ha moment to realize that money can't always buy you victory.  Through the years, it has been my observation that very few of the highest $$$ sold heifers ever see the purple unless there is an Breeder/Jockey-Buyer contract included which keeps the calf  in their posession.

Personaly, I would never purchase a Show Calf from an auction; only from a breeder or jock.  
 

stangs13

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Exactly!! Buying the calf is just a small part of the journey...winners are bred, champions are fed!!
 

kanshow

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When Did Cattle Start Getting So Expensive?
Pretty simple answer to that one... the moment more than one person wants a calf.  

Dan & Stangs are right.  Anyone with $$ can buy an expensive calf but only a certain few can feed & condition & show it to become a winner. 
 

Jill

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You know I can remember somewhere around like maybe 97-98 the Shorthorns used to print the 10 highest calves to sell at public auction in the year and that year was the first one where a 10,000 dollar heifer had topped the list, we've come a long way baby!

It has been my experience that the more I spend on one the worse they turn out, don't know if it's just dumb luck or what, but we do WAY better with the ones we raise than we have ever done with any we have bought at any price.
 

afhm

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A better question is how many of those 10K, 20K, 30K, 40K, 50k, 60K are actually paid for?  Or how much is really paid vs what is publized as being paid?  I think alot of it in the showcalf deal is everyone is lind of viewing it as a get rich quick opportunity.
 

shortdawg

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stangs13 said:
Exactly!! Buying the calf is just a small part of the journey...winners are bred, champions are fed!!

Amen ! You said a mouthful there for sure !
 

old timer

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You would think that with more people raising them they would get cheaper.  But not so.  Here is my analogy.  The really high selling ones make they news and everyone hears about them.  There are hundreds of 5 figure calves that sell every year.  But if you want to be competetive you have to reach a little.  Just like pro atheletes.  Are they worth what they make?  Absolutely not, in my opinion.  But when the copetition is tougher, the etremely good ones are worth that much more. Not always does the highest price roster win the championship either.  There was a post on here awhile back about the Iowa state fair and what the top five cost as feeders.  That was as encouraging as anything I have seen.
 

Steer4Caddy

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The high priced calves make raising one and beating them all the better.  It is one thing that motivates a dedicated breeder even more and makes it even sweeter when one you've raised beats a 25K steer in the ring.
 

justintime

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One of the first lessons I was taught when I was a kid, came from a man who was considered a master breeder at the time. He told me to remember that over 50% of the genetics were in the feed bucket. I have no idea how many times I have thought of that through my life. There is some truth to this, in that even the best cattle don't look very good when they are thinner. I have a friend that always has his cows in excellent condition, and I sometimes tell him, that his cows are too fat. He always replies that he has never had a potential buyer drive out of his yard because his cattle were too fat, but he knows of many places where potential buyers have driven out of people's yards because their cattle were too thin. Again, some truth to this as well. Personally, I believe moderate condition is the best for both the cows and the owners.

In regards to cattle getting expensive, I don't think this is a recent phenomenon. It is more recent in clubby calves probably, but there has always been high priced sales in the purebred side. I am old enough to remember some sales in the 60s that had $25000 - $30,000 animals. I think one thing that is hard for many of us to get our heads around, is that some people do not want to buy cheap cattle. I have had a couple of occasions when I was working as a sale consultant where this was brought home to me. One of these involved getting a bid on a bull calf in a sale. The guy who gave me the bid, gave me $8000 to bid on a particular bull calf. I told him that I would probably be able to get him bought for less than the bid he had given me. He replied that I was to make sure the bull calf sold close to the bid he gave me, and he told me the worst thing he could do was purchase a cheap bull to use in his herd. He felt that this could possibly reduce the value of his calves when it came time for them to sell.

On another occasion, I was given a very large bid on a female in a sale. This man told me that he was quite taxable and he needed to purchase some cattle to solve his tax problems. He said he would rather own 1 or 2 cows that cost $15,000 - $20000 each than have to purchase 15-20 cows that cost $2000-2500 each. Guess everyone sees this differently, and sometimes  what these animals bring makes no sense to us, but it makes perfect sense to the buyer.
 

JSchroeder

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While the insane steer prices you hear of is relatively new the trading of six-figure seedstock is nothing new.  It was much worse in the early days of the importation of European breeds.  Ask some Charolais breeders who were around in the 60s-70s about the insanity the tax code built into cattle prices.
 

DLD

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I can remember hearing about the occasional $10K prospect steer selling when I was in high school (early 80's).  The first I heard much higher was in the winter of  84 - 85 when a few $12K to $15K ones traded in (or at least going to) TX.  No doubt then, just like now, some of it is kinda like trading my $10K dog for your two $5K cats, but there's plenty of "real money" changing hands as well...
 

john deere

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we are not teaching these kids anything by spending a lot of money on these calves.we need more 4h & ffa classes that are bred & owned.how many cow calf pairs do you see at these youth functions. not many because it's easier to spend money than do your homework.
 

mark tenenbaum

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herefordfootball said:
mark tenenbaum said:
There are various forms of inflation that will occur over 20 years- inflation of :prices,egos,breeder trade defecites, and the general posistion of the dollar- <rock> <beer>

I would like to see some of that inflation, just took my steer from 4h to the sale barn and he brought ten cents under market price. That must have been a prtty bad sale-any good fed steer should be worth way more THE OTHER SALE MONEY ASIDE::
I would like to see the $15000 I got ripped off for non-payment by some showcattle dirtballs in ohio-and the cattle back to normal they almost starved to death
 

TMJ Show Cattle

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Everybody knows how some people trade around calves. But if you think some of those calves that sell between 7k and 15k aren't for real, ask how come Phil Raisback about the one's his Dad bought at Cate's.I know it's crazy but alot of them do sell. In the steer deal I've been with Steve Bonham and watched him write the checks.
 

mark tenenbaum

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kanshow said:
When Did Cattle Start Getting So Expensive?
Pretty simple answer to that one... the moment more than one person wants a calf.  

Dan & Stangs are right.   Anyone with $$ can buy an expensive calf but only a certain few can feed & condition & show it to become a winner.  Amen to that-some people have a god-given talent-and some areas have such good feed stuffs-that its a huge difference
 

oakview

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The first price that I remember getting my attention was Louada Zenith, I believe he brought 17,200 in the mid to late 60's.  I think there was a bull called Scotsdale Arrogant that brought over 10,000 about then as well.  At that time, it took a really good bull to bring over 1,000 at the Iowa Royal Shorthorn Sale (forerunner of the Iowa Beef Expo).  I also remember being at the Graham Land and Livestock dispersal in the 70's.  The sale averaged over 3,200, I think, and I remember telling myself on the way home that it would be the best sale I would ever see.  Columbus was the top seller at 14,000 if memory serves correctly.  Since that time, I've been to several WHR and Sullivan sales that make the Graham sale look second rate, which it was not.  I've always wanted to attend a Cates sale, but family gatherings are more important to us on Labor Day weekend.  I did buy a bred heifer from them a few years ago on order.  She just weaned her 5th calf, always calving in March or April, and does an excellent job, thank you.
 
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