LOVELOCK - How do I know what my cattle are worth? Every rancher asks this question before selling their calves, bred heifers, cull cows and bulls. The problem is that most of the time the question is not answered until after taking them to market. However, there are some tools available to everyone who will go to the effort to find them.
For cow/calf producers the CME Feeder Index (http://www.cmegroup.com/wrappedpages/misc/FCLRP.html) provides a standard price collection mechanism that any producer can use. The CME Feeder Index is calculated from the seven-day average of direct and sale barn sales that are reported to USDA (AMS) from a 12-state region from #1 and #2 feeder steers that weigh between 650 and 849 pounds. In practice that means they accumulate prices from all of the reported sales of cattle that meet the criteria stated for the preceding seven days and create an average price.
They do not report the average weight as a part of the index so it is not a weighted average. It is just the average price of reported steer prices that weighed between 650 and 849 pounds. Therefore, you cannot really say that the CME Feeder Index is for 750# steers since it is not a weighted average. For example, the CME Feeder Cattle Index: for the seven days, ending Dec. 16 was $143.34, and for the seven days ending Dec. 15 it was $144.24 for all feeder cattle.
In order to use this information you would need to compare the sale prices of your own calves to these reported values to start benchmarking the value of your production. Remember that there is also typically a $25/cwt spread in quality (fill, flesh, hide color, muscle/frame, breed, etc.) to add to the confusion at any sale.
If you are looking for more market forecast information a good website is "Beefbasic.com" (http://www.beefbasis.com/). Here is a forecast written by Brett Crosby, from the Beefbasic's website, "Cattle prices have reached historically high levels and appear poised to stay there for the foreseeable future. The domestic beef cow inventory numbers remain in decline, which leads to a smaller calf crop and tighter supplies for feedlots and packers. Slaughter weights, while historically high, cannot add enough supply to the market to make up for lower inventories. Further, demand is strong in both the domestic and export markets. Finally, there is no sign of heifer retention that would lead to herd rebuilding. This all points to high prices that will likely stay high for at least two more years." This website also has an eight-, 16- and 24-week price forecast for different markets across the country.
For more regional market information, you can go to Cattle.com (http://www.cattle.com/markets/) and find reports on regional and state cattle markets. However, if you are looking for more local market information the Fallon Livestock Exchange market reports can be found at ( http://www.cattle.com/markets/barn_report.aspx?code=AL_LS155). This report will include the prices received at the weekly Fallon auction.
All of these tools are available free to ranchers and cattle producers, and if used properly they should help you determine what your cattle are worth.
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