It's Your Call!

You know that some of the cows have to go in order to balance the hay supplies you have. But before you call your trucker it might be worth a few $$ to make some other calls. Have you considered when and where to sell your cull cows?  

As for the when, the answer is probably as soon as you can. Traditionally the cull cow market heats up and peaks through June, July and early August and then tails off as more and more cows come to the market in the fall. So considering we are now in late summer the time to move the girls would be now. This is even more important if you are moving them out because of feed shortages. If the pastures are short the cows are just going to continue to lose weight and you will be selling less pounds at less dollars. On top of that the feed the cows eat in the next few months would be better put into the calves or the keeper cows.  

As for the where, consider all your options. Once the cow is on the truck it doesn't make a huge difference whether its just down the road or across the province.

• Use the OCA market info line at 519-824-9161 to help keep track of the prices paid.
  
  
• Your local trucker will have an opinion on the best sales spot and why. Discuss it with him.
  
  
• Phone the individual sale yards for their take on numbers and prices. Be sure you give them an accurate description of the cows you will be marketing.
  
  
• Talk to your local abattoir, they may be a smaller but constant market.
  
  

Trucking, shrink, and checkoff, are in both systems. Rail will not have commission, but also won't pay premiums for a fancy cow. So look at live and look at rail and compare, compare, compare.  

So when and where is the best sales opportunity for your culls?...Its Your Call!

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