Can someone tell me what these livestock auction terms mean? Give me info about auctions?

Question

I have never attended a cattle auction before, but am thinking of going and buying a calf or two to raise for my household.

Can someone translate this report for me? http://www.pulaskicountystockyard.com/market_report.html

Specifically, what is a "Springer?" A "Replacement?" Is this report really saying that a 100-200 lb steer sells for $109-$124? What does "Feeder" mean?

And why do the prices get lower as the steer gets bigger? That makes no sense...

Also, can you tell me about how a livestock auction works- and any tips for getting good prices or for what to look for to get a healthy calf or young steer?

Answer 1

a springer is a cow which will soon have a calf. a replacement cow is a young cow which can replace an older one in your herd 100-200 lb calves are selling for between $109 and $124 per hundred weight.a feeder calf is one that is ready to go into the feed lot to be finished out and the last few hundred pounds of weight put on it. if you have plenty of graze like winter wheat for the calf to feed on a small calf grazing it does less damage causing the loss of less wheat. a feed lot steer is eating grain and additives along with roughage and costs more to finish out so you must pay less to make any profit. it's a little more complicated but maybe you get the picture.

Answer 2

they get cheaper when they get older becuase for meat it gets tougher and isn't as desireable, for milk it will be drying up soon and it isn't able to breed as it gets too old. you should probably try to talk to someone who's been in the business for awile. get some inside information.

Answer 3

a springer is a female or cow which is already breed usually 5 months or longer a replacement is a cow which is breed or has a calf with her a feeder is a calf wich will be feed until slaughter weight which is between 1100 and 1300lbs depending on the animal feeders are sold by the hunderd weight meaning a 200lb calf at $124 per hunderd weight will cost you $248 the price per hundered weight gets cheaper as the calves get bigger because there is more weight to buy for example a 700lb steer sells for $90 per hundered weight will cost you $630 if you only want one or two the best thing to do is buy of the farm and skip the auction

Answer 4

A springer is a dairy heifer that is bred usually 4-6 months pregnet. A replacement is a heifer that would make a good cow once she is bred to replace an old cow you might have, A 200lbs steer would sell for $218-$248 a peice. The prices are listed per hundred pounds. So $109 is equally to 100lbs or $1.09 per pound of each steer. A feeder is a steer or heigher that is being sold to be fed out to go to the slaughter. The reason steers that are bigger sell for less is becase they are just that bigger so the cost more to buy. If you are looking to  buy find someone locally that has bought cattle before and will help you. You will get a better deal buying from a farmer instead of buying from an auction. Auctions can be risky and confuseing to first time buyer so i recomend buying from a farmer.

Answer 5

I completely agree that you are much better off buying from a farmer the first time around, than purchasing at an auction.

Remember any animal that goes through an auction house has been exposed to every single germ, virus, bacertia that has ever been there.

As a first timer you could end up with a Vet bill you will not be able to recoup with selling the animals.

If you decide to go ahead, there is another word you need to know.  "Freemartin."  A freemartin, or martin heifer is the STERILE female offspring of a twin birth, where the other twin was a bull calf.

So only buy a freemartin to raise for beef, never to breed, because she will be sterile.  Once you have been around cattle a while, you will be able to pick out the physical differences in a freemartin, compaired to a regular heifer, or a steer.

If a cow has twins, and one is a bull calf, and the other a heifer, the hormones of the bull calf affect the female calf in utero and make her sterile.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

P.S.  If you want to bottle raise a calf, up to beef size, you can almost always get bull calves from dairys for cheap.  The dairy farmer will probably be happy to give you some help and advice as well, that you will not recieve with buying from an auction.  Word of warning though, calves bottle raised by humans are charming, and it can be very hard to send them of to slaughter in the end.

Answer 6

springer is a new born ,springs free from mother cow

livestock auction runs like auctions of any other kind , they have a base price then people bid on it till someone gets the highest bid

those price for bigger steers that are low possibly cause they are older and perhaps its like they ain't getting any healthier , reached peak health and just gonna get old and cost more to take care of

hope thats helpful though the last answer concerning the steers are just a guess