Question about Jersey Steer prices...

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Howdy, I am curious if anyone out there has an idea what 12 week old Jersy steers are worth these days in the open market. They have been raised on a replacement cow, and appear to be thriving, and around 150-160 lbs. Any help would be appreciated. Charlie Rickreall, Oregon

-- Charles Prince (webducks@uswest.net), August 10, 2001

Answers

I sold two 150-160 pound Holsteins last week, one was a bull, the other a steer. They went for .90 and .84 respectively.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 10, 2001.

Not much I'm afraid. We bought ours 1 week old for $5, but farmers around here usually just kill them. They are so small and less cost effective to raise for beef. Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), August 10, 2001.

Mary, yes, but...

I have a copy of Animal Agriculture: The Biology of Domestic Animals and Their Use by Man by Cole and Ronning, Editors, 1974. It contains a table: Comparative ratings on economic traits of 29 breeds of cattle now available to North American producers.

The table considered 16 factors, three of which concerned the carcass: cutability, marbling and tenderness. The top two breeds for tenderness were the Guernsey and Jersey. When all three factors were combined, tied for first place were also the Guernsey and Jersey. They did noticeably better than traditional beef breeds, such as the Angus and Hereford. Optimum slaughter weights were also significantly lower than most beef breeds.

I understand there are feedlots in California which feed out nothing but Holstein steers as most come out with a high carcass grade.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 10, 2001.


Auction here they would go for at least$1.00 a pound .It all depends on what kind of orders the buyers have .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), August 10, 2001.

We paid 75.00 apiece for our week old Jersey bull calves and we were lucky to get them at that price here. They are still high. Most of our dairys are keeping them and raising them themselves. I would say a dollar a pound at least to sell them, for home raised, hormone free, milk and pasture fed steers.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), August 10, 2001.


12 week old Jersey steers... Probably half of what a holstein steer of the same age would bring. Jerseys dont put meat on very well.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 11, 2001.

dafodyll lady, I beg to differ. Holsteins don't put weight on very well (on pasture alone, they do better if heavily supplemented with grain) and tend to be rangy. Jerseys, on the other hand, fatten just fine on pasture. They don't get as big as a Holstein, but they get to maturity faster. As someone noted, optimal butcher weights for Jerseys are lower than for other breeds, and they get there sooner. The meat is excellent, but typically won't get a grade A rating because of the yellowish tinge to the fat. Has nothing to do with taste or quality, its an appearance only judgement. However, because of this, Jersey steers typically bring less at auction.

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), August 11, 2001.

Thank you, Sojourner, I stand corrected. :^)

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 11, 2001.

Well, I better correct myself as well. It's true that IN GENERAL jerseys fatten pretty well on just pasture (better than Holsteins) and IN GENERAL they reach butcher weight sooner. Individuals of either breed may vary some, though.

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), August 11, 2001.

We went to sale barn last week. Four day old calf-$175. It's not in our barn I can gaurantee you that!!!

-- (stephanie.wilkerson@experian.com), August 13, 2001.


I can usually pick up the tiny ones for 20.00 {50lbs} at 100 lbs they are at least 1.00 a pound.Stephanie where are you , if close I can get some for you .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), August 13, 2001.

Thanks Patty, but I'm in Iowa.

-- (stephanie.wilkerson@experian.com), August 14, 2001.

Boy Patty, I'd like to have about 10 of those! Some of these Mennonite guys go up to PA and get calves and it still cost us 110 for a Holstein. Maybe they won't pick up the Jerseys up there.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), August 14, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ