F Market-Ready
Calves
Weaned calves that have had a few days to get used to the feed bunk may bring a better price on sale day. Letting the auctioneer know how you’ve prepped your calves is a good idea, too.
By Gary DiGiuseppe
our times a year, Russ de Cordova gives the buy- ers attending his auction something special. It’s a quarterly pre-condi- tioned weaned calf sale, and de Cordova, co-owner
of the Buffalo Livestock Market, says many of the calves offered at the sales are ranch-raised. “We sort them out in deals of like-
kinds and like-weights, and we offer them to feedlots and stocker operators as VAC 45 weaned calves that are ready to go to grass, or go to feed, with mini- mum health problems,” he says. Under VAC (Value Added Calf) 45,
the calf meets certain criteria, like vac- cination schedules and deworming, and has been weaned for at least 45 days. “They’re trained to eat out of a bunk
and drink out of a trough,” says Bryan Nichols, livestock consultant for The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ar- dmore, Okla. For producers who highly manage their cattle, the special VAC 45 sales offer “the best opportunity for guys who may have lesser numbers of cattle to capture more value,” he says. “Those cattle have most of the stress of their lives behind them, so they’re ready to go on and perform for the next owner.” Nichols says one of the ways to gener-
ate a better return at auction is to have a veterinarian-driven herd health program that’s specifi c to your area. “Always be aware of practices in the industry that add value to that animal,” he says, “and make sure, if possible, to implement those strategies and be able to capture that additional value.” It’s equally important to let the auc-
You know what private buyers want. 42 The Cattleman July 2013
thecattlemanmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94