| S Frisch - 3/1/2024 20:03 The replies here are confusing. You realize he's talking about calves from a dairy herd not beef? I don't know any dairy that keeps their beef cross calves more than a day. He's getting $800 apiece with no risk. Take the money and run. Here we get about half that price, sell the hospital pen milk to the calf ranch for $9 cwt and excess colostrum for $72 cwt. No risk.
"Right now, holstein angus cross calves are selling for $800+ a head at birth locally. Why shouldn't I sell my calves from.my beef herd at birth? 800 might look awfully good when this livestock bubble bursts."
He's asking if he should be selling the calves from his beef herd for $800+ as newborns. IMO, that would be dumb unless there is something wrong with the cow that she won't be able to nurse the calf and you're going to get rid of her anyway.
Beef/dairy cross calves are a (currently high value) by product of milking dairy cows. Someone other than the cow gets to feed that calf. If you don't want to do it selling it, for $800 to someone that does, sounds pretty good.
Whereas in a beef herd, the calf is THE product. If you sell the day old calf, you either sell the cow or you feed a dry cow for the next ~364 days.
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Why not sell at birth?
