Which would you rather raise......

[Limiman12]

I know this will be different for different people, largely due to points in life you are, and what your market is.....  But a comment on another post about preferring a balanced female got me thinking.....

You walk out to the barn, you have a breeding that  would make a nice replacement  female, or a very marketable steer.  You see the calf on the ground and sucking and can tell its a good one.  Are you hoping it is a bull or heifer?



Myself, I have a five year old daughter and a three year old son.  I would be hoping for a heifer because dad and I are trying to keep our herd commercially viable while having a handful of heifers that in time will be able to be bred clubby to get a reasonably competitive steer in five to ten years.  When asking about bulls right now, I ask about their daughters, his mother etc.  I feel, and I doubt my opinion will change in time that a good heifer that produces will make you more money then a similar in quality steer, and I always have a market for heifers, our herd.

 

[leanbeef]

That's an interesting question... As long as I've been around cattle which is all my life, I've ALWAYS wanted heifers. It's kind of funny since I'm pretty commercially oriented for a purebred seed stock guy, and typically, our bulls are worth more than the heifers. Even if I was raising feeder calves, the steers would obviously be worth more than the heifer calves. I think as a kid I was always prone to getting attached to certain ones in the herd, and if they were heifers, then there was a chance we'd get to keep them. I believe in the power of a good cow family, so I like having daughters to keep out of my favorite cows. There are matings that I REALLY want heifers out of, and then there are some I try not to care too much because I know some of them are gonna be bulls. Interestingly, I breed for bulls because we have a good ag enhancement program in Tennessee and it helps get bulls sold, so I try to make sure they all meet the criteria to qualify. But I still hope for heifers

I think I'm just wired toward the production segment, not necessarily so much the terminal end.

 

[Limiman12]

I think we see it the same.....  Bulls or steers are worth more NOW but heifers are an investment.  A $5k bull for a commercial guy or show steer makes you money now, but a similar quality heifer might not be "worth" that much right now, she might raise you a couple $5k bulls or steers, and might be the cow that jumps your herd to the next level.    With AI I have access to lots of great bulls, I want some good cows to breed em to.

Surely someone out there will give why they want a bull calf.

 

[knabe]

To me it doesnt matter.

 

[Blue Dog]

I would cut him. Wanting to raise good steers for the grangkids. Wouldn't you know it, all heifers this year.