speaking of beef...

hooknline

I don't care for Ocala too much because unless your a regular you can wave, sign and tell all you want. You won't get noticed if he's only looking at the buyers. Never felt welcome at Ocala.
Webster, always got a fair shake, and never once got over looked

FLDXT

Ocala has its issues, hopefully some things have gotten straightened out recently, but it is still a slow sale compared to Okeechobee. They all tend to pay a little more attention to the guys that are there everyday and do it for a living. Each auctioneer has their quirks, we have a great one in Okeechobee, good guy and even better auctioneer, but its a fast sale, cattle are usually out of the ring, sold before their weights pop up.

hooknline

I hear Ocala has new ownership. I may take a ride back up there to see how things are now.
I sure wish the state would bring back the reporting too. Unless you really stay on top of it it's hard to hit the price trends

FLDXT

Ocala does, or more of a transition of ownership. The mkt reporters are not coming back anytime soon. I know Okeechobee mails out a weekly news letter with prices on it, and I think so does Arcadia, might help you some. If you have some quesitons let me know, things are usually a little higher down here but it won't be too far off.

hooknline

Ocala and Arcadia are doing their own reporting now. Ocala through their Facebook page and Arcadia has it on their website. Thanks.

fins4me

Over 3000 hits on a thread about beef...:cool:

hooknline

fins4me wrote: »

Over 3000 hits on a thread about beef...:cool:

More interest means higher prices right?

Triple Threat 33T

fins4me wrote: »

Over 3000 hits on a thread about beef...:cool:

Fins what are your thoughts about the table quality of dairy cattle? Another member raised the question earlier.

FLDXT

.02, depends on what you are wanting out of the dairy animal, some of the dairy breeds are the highest marbling of all breeds including beef, they just have a horrible conversion, feed/wt, ratio comapred to beef breeds along with the lack of sizeable whole muscle cuts to make it worth while. Most of your cull dairy cows become hamburger, bull calves are most likely veal, the bigger steers that are fed out are usually lower quality cuts or small whole muscle cuts found at the cheaper end superstores.

fins4me

Triple Threat 33T wrote: »

Fins what are your thoughts about the table quality of dairy cattle? Another member raised the question earlier.

IF the question is how is the table quality of "Dairy Breeds" then as long as they have been raised (grown) quickly so they do not lean out to much they are very good. If you let them lean out and grow at the breeds pace instead of the pace you establish then they get to much frame and are often to lean.

IF the question is concerning the table quality of culled dairy cattle,,,, only good for ground beef. This is the source for a good % of the fast food industry beef patties as well as preformed patties from grocery freezers.

FLDXT

fins4me wrote: »

IF the question is how is the table quality of "Dairy Breeds" then as long as they have been raised (grown) quickly so they do not lean out to much they are very good. If you let them lean out and grow at the breeds pace instead of the pace you establish then they get to much frame and are often to lean.

IF the question is concerning the table quality of culled dairy cattle,,,, only good for ground beef. This is the source for a good % of the fast food industry beef patties as well as preformed patties from grocery freezers.

and if you push them to hard they get sick and go backwards. PIA to feed.

Crazy Horse

What cow makes the best ox tail ?

got ants?

Crazy Horse wrote: »

What cow makes the best ox tail ?

Cain't be too hard fer these guys to answer....

[email protected]ays

while I do appreciate all the help & knowledge shared somehow I feel dumber than when I started this thread. wasn't sure that was possible!

hooknline

Don't over think it, and don't fall for the hype. Ezpz

restlessnative

Crazy Horse wrote: »

What cow makes the best ox tail ?

Oxen

dieselbeef

good topic..and it didnt get derailed yet...cept for the aluminum welding thing...der dee der

BigRob305

Do they sell grass fed cattle at the auctions here in florida?

Triple Threat 33T

BigRob305 wrote: »

Do they sell grass fed cattle at the auctions here in florida?

Not at the fairs. The FFA and 4H kids get a weaned calf and have to get it up to the 1000lb minimum weight relatively quickly and they feed a combination of hay and show feed while keeping the animal in a relatively small pen.

FLDXT

Becareful stepping into a big amt of grassfed beef. Its an acquired taste, the majority of Americans have never experienced it, and it is nothing what most Americans are used to. I can't stand it. Remember grass fed beef is much leaner, but fat is what adds flavor, when you here the terms, prime, choice, etc... that is an indication of marbling or intramuscular fat in a cut, the more marbling the higher the quality grade.

WaVeCrAzEd

Awesome thread. We need a ranchin' section.

alacrity

learned a lot from this thread. thank you.

gandrfab

alacrity wrote: »

learned a lot from this thread. thank you.

Now how do we get are forum brothers that whole sale beef, to sell it to the forum brotherhood/sisterhood.

FLDXT

Their are not alot of places in FL that "finish" cattle. The majority of cattle that come out of FL are 5-6 wt, feeder cattle as we call them. Usually they are sold at weaning and go to a background operation where they are "taught" to eat. Most cattle that have never been fed have to be taught what feed is. After they leave their they usually go on grass or to a feed lot. The vast majority of cattle are then fed, feed, to meet the desired specs of the industry for weight and backfat. Usually the ideal time fat cattle are considered finished are when they reach the desired weight, which I can't quote the industry std, its been a while, and .5" backfat, of course this is all dependent on teh breed and the feedlot. Of course their is alot more to it deciding what cattle are finished and what not but that is the basics. The reason it is so hard to feed catttle in FL is all the grain or components of most rations are grown in the midwest, freight on those commodities drives the price of feed up which makes it impratical, cheaper to send the cattle to the feed then the feed to the cattle, plus 100 degree days are not real sporty on cattle either.

FLDXT

Sorry for poping off on this but I like talking about cattle! I don't know much but i know a little about cows!

Triple Threat 33T

gandrfab wrote: »

Now how do we get are forum brothers that whole sale beef, to sell it to the forum brotherhood/sisterhood.

Triple Threat 33T wrote: »

The animals raised by FFA or 4H kids usually have to weigh 1000 lbs on the hoof to go to auction and can weigh up to 1600 lbs on average, sometimes more.

I've seen them go as low as $1.25 per lb, which is giving it away. $2.00 to $3.00 a lb is break even, to cover the cost of feed, on average and really doesn't compensate the youngster for their time.

It doesn't get any more wholesale than that bud. That and it's the best beef you can eat. Win win. You're welcome.

Triple Threat 33T

FLDXT wrote: »

Sorry for poping off on this but I like talking about cattle! I don't know much but i know a little about cows!

And we appreciate your input. Excellent information. :beer

FLDXT

Triple Threat 33T wrote: »

It doesn't get any more wholesale than that bud. That and it's the best beef you can eat. Win win. You're welcome.

...and the kids will appreciate it also, alot of them use their steer money to go to school. Any support you can give to 4H and FFA would be greatly appreciated, these kids work hard and it keeps a young generation coming up in Ag. There is alot that goes into raising a steer, between feeding and breaking one, its a chore. The further away this country gets from agriculture the worse it will get. You think its bad with oil, wait until we have to depend on another country for food.

hooknline

gandrfab wrote: »

Now how do we get are forum brothers that whole sale beef, to sell it to the forum brotherhood/sisterhood.

Like it was said, either your local 4h or find a local cattleman that will finish one for you. It is in fact some of the best beef there is to be had when its that fresh.

hooknline

FLDXT wrote: »

...and the kids will appreciate it also, alot of them use their steer money to go to school. Any support you can give to 4H and FFA would be greatly appreciated, these kids work hard and it keeps a young generation coming up in Ag. There is alot that goes into raising a steer, between feeding and breaking one, its a chore. The further away this country gets from agriculture the worse it will get. You think its bad with oil, wait until we have to depend on another country for food.

Well said.
And some might find this of interest: I just got in from setting up a cow on the first stage of artificial insemination protocols. In 10 day ill be breeding someof the worlds best black angus genetics into 1 cow as a trial by fire.