Pricing a heifer to sell?

[zephyrhillsusan]

I hope this is the appropriate thread?  If not, feel free to move it!  We're pretty new to Dexters and will soon have our first heifer for sale.  I'm trying to figure out how on earth to come up with a price.  I know that the economy changes things, as well as the region you live in.  We live in Northwest Georgia, so not that many Dexters available and probably not as much demand, either.  For the purposes of my question, I'll just ask you all to answer for your own region, right now in November 2013.

If you have a nice heifer (better than okay, not as good as great) to sell, how do you set a base price to start from?  By the way, I've already consulted with a much more experienced breeder on the subject of whether to sell her for breeding or cull, just because I don't trust my own instincts yet. This person said definitely she is worth breeding; use a bull that will improve her hip to pin angle, but she is nice-looking.  Let's just pick on 9 months as an age to use since most will be weaned by then.  What would you use as a base price?  (Please be specific because I don't know AT ALL where to start!) Then do you increase the price for things that seem to be in demand, like polled, red, A2, good temperament, halter broke, bred?

I guess my question has several tiers:
Base price, understood that the animal is registered and tested 
What raises the price and by how much?
What lowers the price and by how much?

I'm just going to give an example of what I mean, and the numbers are just made up to give you all a place to start critiquing and answering!
Base price - $800
Tested negative for PHA and chondro
Polled (could be hetero or homo) - $100  (I am NOT knocking those who want horns, but it seems that a lot of people are looking for polled animals.)
A1/A2 - No increase or perhaps minus $100 since a lot of people are looking for homo A2?
Black, carries red - No increase or decrease
Good temperament, handled frequently, at her dam's side in stanchion for pre-milking training, halter broke - $100
Could be bred to a red, homozygous A2 bull and sold preg-checked after 15 months.  How much more would you charge?  Of course you have to keep her separate from the bull till she's old enough, feed her for 6 months more, factor in the breeding, and pay for the preg-check.

That would give you $1,000 for the heifer, unbred.  If she was red and A2 and had a marvelous milking pedigree, maybe $200 more.

Am I all wet hoping to establish some sort of guidelines?    How do you all price your animals?  Any input appreciated!  
 

[kansasdexters]

Susan,

If you establish a customer base for your Dexter beef, your baseline price for any Dexter that you produce will be what you could get for that animal as a beef. For me, that minimum price is $4.25 per lb (whole animal, hot carcass weight), and assuming a 600 lb heifer, a dressing percentage of 55%, that price is $1,400. That is what that heifer is worth to me, if I process her as beef. I won't sell any animal as registered breeding stock for less than that amount, since I can get that amount for that animal as beef.

Patti

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks, Patti, I hadn't even thought of that aspect! At this point we don't sell beef to customers (just for our own use), but I guess that would still hold true. I've been looking through the ads on this forum, and I see many heifers for sale for a fair amount less than that. That makes me wonder how people can afford to do it? Is it just because they don't want to butcher the heifer and would rather take less to see her used for breeding? That's almost certainly where I'd end up, too! I guess I have to get a lot more tough-minded!

[zephyrhillsusan]

Oops, I duplicated it!

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks so much, Sheri! That is so helpful! I'm the kind of person who keeps all my books in alphabetical order (and has sections for biographies and non-fiction!), so this logical way of looking at attributes and pricing based on that makes lots of sense to me. I guess when you've done it enough you can do it subconsciously and just look at a heifer and know how much to ask, but I'm definitely not there yet. And I love the idea of selling her with the option to come back here and be bred. As long as I know she hasn't been with another bull and has a health certificate, that should be fine. It would give me the chance to see how she turned out.

[jlmissouri]

I am by no means on expert, but I have also bought some very nice heifers as I started my herd. The cheapest Heifer was not registered but a great little heifer at $250. The registered heifers were bought in a lot, and I am sure that made them a little cheaper. I bought two for $500 and Two for $650 with free delivery. Of course all my heifers were purchased during a bad drought, and people were thinning their herds. I am sure the price has incresed since then. If I were to sell my future heifers I think I would price them at $700-$900. I have seen prices well above these, but I really think people are paying an inflated price. If you look I am sure you find stock from good lineage in the $900 price range.

I have not slaughtered any of my cattle yet, so I cannot say for sure how much you would profit from that route. It is pretty expensive to get an animal slaughtered and packaged for resale, so that has to be figured in. It is also more time consuming selling an animal in pieces. I am sure in the end it will be more profitable, and I will give it a try. I know the sale yards in my area range around $1.31 live weight, so selling a Dexter heifer that route would not be the way to go. I also don't think there is a premuim on Dexter beef in my area, people are brainwashed about Angus being the best.

The guy I bought my registered heifers from was selling last years calves at $750, so I would assume the best he would sell at $900. His herd is polled from a red bull, which in my area sells for a premuim. Horned Dexters are easier to find in my area and can usually be found a little cheaper.

[carragheendexters]

Those prices sound similar to Australia. Though in the saleyard, prices aren't good at the moment. You would be lucky to get $1.31 for any animal, and that is per kilo ie per 2.2lb. we're going through a very dry time and prices are down. We sell our beef at $10/kg (2.2lb) for meat , not carcass weight. That is up there in price compared to what others sell in private kills, as we sell a premium product with good fat finishing. Others that are cheaper sell their meat with little finishing.
Have recently seen advertised very cheap Dexters, $100 for a heifer, and whole small herds for $2000. Currently there is oversupply of Dexters, most unregistered, and little demand for those animals.
People are virtually giving the animals away rather than slaughter, which results in lower prices for everyone. $1000 will buy a really nice registered heifer.
regards Louise

[mikeksfarmer1]

Great post thank all of you for your contributions!

[wagradexters]

Louise, this may sound arrogant to some but it is my belief that people who sell at those prices are no friend of the Dexter breed. They flood the hobby farm market with substandard stock, sell or give cattle to people who can't afford to feed them, do not follow up with adequate information and after sale service, and betray their own poor litle Dexters.
One has only to read one of the general forums to learn how much misinformation there is in the hobby farm sector about Dexters, spruked as gospel by people who have not sought correct information, and have obviously not had responsible advice from reputable registered breeders. Hoping not to offend anybody with the truth,
Margaret

[carragheendexters]

Hi Margaret,

I don't think that you are sounding arrogant, more so, realistic, honest and ethical.

Recently there was another starter herd advertised on another Australian group that I am on. A bull and 3 cows in calf to a different bull, all registered, halter broken, and also they had been shown. Full price for all 4 animals $1,250. Once the transfer fees are paid that drops their return to $1,074.

The owner was from a drought area and needed to offload them, as they were having trouble feeding them.
I commented that they would get more for meat than that, they replied that they would only get 75c/kg at the sales. I was actually thinking more along the lines of slaughtering the cattle themselves and selling it as mince and sausages, not sending them to the sales.

Having looked at the photos of them though, I think that they were not worth slaughtering at all. They were in pretty poor condition maybe max fat score of 2-, maybe a 2 for the better conditioned animals, all bones and ribs. I think a bullet in the paddock may have been the best way to go with these animals

I did think to myself whether they would be worth purchasing at that price, getting some decent condition on them and then selling them again. I think though it would take a good 6 months to get any weight on them, and it would cost in feed what you would make on them. Also being in calf, it would be hard on these cows.

I don't understand why people in drought situations and drought feeding would breed their cows back anyway.

Someone else, somewhere along the line, also posted that there isn't enough slaughtering of Dexters going on. Too many animals being bred with that should only be meat. Can't remember who posted that.

regards Louise

[Deleted]

Thanks for the information. It's a subject I have been wondering about.

[legendrockranch]

Apr 11, 2014 6:50:00 GMT -5 carragheendexters said:

I don't understand why people in drought situations and drought feeding would breed their cows back anyway.

"IF" you can afford to pay for feed through the drought sometimes it will pay off. That is a BIG if though. Prices are starting to creep up here in Texas according to this article. The cattle industry is a roll in the dice anyway.
www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/04/texas-ranchers-hit-hard-by-drought-eye-rebuilding/

If I were only to get $800.00 for a heifer considering all of the testing, parentage verifications, innoculations, etc. etc. etc. Oh and let's not forget the price of hay $90.00-$100.00 per 900lbs, protein tubs, minerals etc. etc. etc. No pastures or green grass for the past 5 years. Well let's just say I would not be raising any type of livestock. I'd surely miss my Dexters.

I hope this comment from the article posted is true "Austin-based rancher Dan Dierschke didn't sell any of his animals during the drought -- and he's glad he held onto them".

Wish I had a beef market sometimes.

[wagradexters]

For sure that price is OK Pinevalley, ... so long as she has four only even teats of good length, no excess white, good legs, neat feet with good heel, toes pointing forward, nice deep barrel and wide spring of rib, face or tail not wry, looks like a gorgeous little chunky Dexter rather then a gangly leggy giraffe as some do, etc, etc, etc. I hope she proves to be perfect for you.
MargaretW
Au.