POINTS TO PONDER
From the Field Helge By
By the time you read this, most of you will have marketed your 2017 calf crop and whether you sell them in the fall calf run, or into the early new year sales, you found a better market than last year. In many cases, the producers I talked to saw a sizeable increase in the dollars they received. With the cost of everything else going up, it was a necessary increase, and may it continue. A very good commercial producer from Western Ontario, who sells in the Keady Beef week of sales the end of October, gave me his average prices from the last four years, which I found very interesting and want to share with you. These are fully vaccinated tan Charcross calves. Steers Ave Wt Price 2017 2016 2015 2014
614 lb 600 lb 575 lb 574 lb
$1,538 $1,158 $1,846 $1,790
Heifers Ave Wt Price 600 lb $1,380 556 lb $956 557 lb $1,599 566 lb $1,581
A bit of a roller coaster ride from 2014 to 2017. Every auction market manager I talked to said the premium paid for
the Charcross calves was as big as it ever has been. One manager even went so far as to say a 20-cent premium in certain weight ranges. Pounds also paid the bills and the identifiable Charcross calves were sought after, whether it be tans, silvers or whites. Historically, and I can’t see why it will change, you will never be disappointed selling Charcross feeder cattle at any level. I must qualify here too, that it wasn’t just the colour but the quality. Quality calves of any breed saw a premium and no matter what your preference you still need quality. Don’t skimp on the quality of the bull you purchase, for that bull will do your program a lot of good or bad. In the long run your investment will be returned to you, good or bad. In this issue you will see advertising for many of the early bull sales and the quality of the Charolais bulls available this spring looks excellent. The breeders really are striving to produce bulls that will go out and cover a lot of ground, service the cows, then calve well and give you the identifiable added performance. Cow numbers in the United States are up and there will be more beef going through the system this year. The numbers in Canada haven’t
moved much but we are in a North American market. The fat market has been stronger through the end of the year, even with more cattle and the packers have been profitable so they have been harvesting more numbers and the meat is disappearing off the shelves and into the export market. A news article I saw is good news for the beef industry, as well as the pork and poultry industries. The U.S. is set to produce a record amount of total protein this year. But the average U.S. consumer will eat 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2018 according to the USDA, surpassing the former record set in 2004. Many consumers are choosing protein over carbohydrates as a calorie source. As we get into the bull sales, if Craig Scott or I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are always happy to help in any way we can. All our Charolais Banner and Charolais Connection magazines are online for free at charolaisbanner.com if you want to go back to past issues. We also try and keep the sale news very current on our homepage so check it out. Until next time, Helge
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Charolais Connection • February 2018