I had the same question recently except I do NOT have a lot of hay. Either way I think the decision is between either

- sell them now as slaughter cows or

- calve them out in spring, early wean the calves in midsummer sell the cows for slaughter after weaning then sell the calves in fall

If you have enough hay, time and space so they are not really costing you cash, maybe next summer is most profitable. In my case they would have cost cash in the form of additional purchased hay.

I sold one to a neighbor, took the other two to Bloomington Livestock Exchange last week. They looked at them, preg checked and decided to sell at their bred sale rather than their slaughter sale.

As usual the next day I get a call from a private buyer looking for some bred cows...  For younger, good, big beef cows I think you come out about the same either way bred or slaughter.

You might do better selling cow next summer for slaughter and calf next fall if you can get there with minimal cash expenditure. Depends on your situation.

Good luck.

Jim at Dawn