Seedstock Pricing An Sci 426
Know Your Potential Buyers
• Breed
• Performance: Calving Ease, Birth Weight,
Weaning Weight, Yearling Weight, Milk
• Carcass Merit: IMF, REA, FAT
• Phenotypic Traits: Color, Polled or
Horned, Frame Score, Thickness, Depth,
Bone, Dewlap (sheath, brisket, and throat)
Hair
Know Buyer’s Herd and Goals
• Purebred or Commercial
• Markets cattle at weaning, yearling, or
retained ownership which EPDs are most
important
• Does the buyer sell seedstock? Bulls,
show heifers, or replacement females
opens or breds
Seller
• Needs to have a defined program
• ISU Simmentals: calving ease, maternal,
and high marbling
• ISU Angus: moderate birthweight, above
breed average growth and marbling
• Offers volume discounts, credit for on farm
pick up, and guarantee both bulls and
heifer as breeders.
Sale Options
•
•
•
•
Private Treaty
Production Sale
Consignment Sale
Bull Test
Private Treaty Advantages
• Cattle are pre-priced, the seller should
have 2-4 price categories
• Less sale expense
• Less stress on personnel and cattle
• Bad weather
Private Treaty Disadvantages
• Not as much competition between buyers
• If you sell out opening day, are the cattle
priced too low? Or, are there not enough
cattle to meet the demand?
• If you don’t sell out opening day, have the
market conditions changed or are you too
high?
Production Sale Advantages
• Competition between buyers until you
reach their threshold
• One herd health program and ability for
buyers to buy multiple similar genetics
• You can sell your program
Production Sale Disadvantages
• All your eggs are in one basket
• More expense: auctioneer, facility, sale
help, advertisement
• Have to have a large number of cattle for
sale ($100,000) to offset expenses
• Bad weather
• Stress on personnel and cattle
Consignment Sale Advantages
• Share costs with other consignors
• Works well if you have a small herd
• Allows you to meet more potential buyers
Consignment Sale
Disadvantages
• More cost per head travel, meals,
labor,and lodging
• The cattle need to be in the top half of the
offering to make an acceptable spot in the
sale order
Bull Tests Advantages
• Share costs with other consignors
• Find out where your herd is for
performance traits “ADG” and carcass
• Opportunity for smaller producers to
compete
• Use a facility to feed bulls that is too
expensive at home
Bull Tests Disadvantages
• Your cattle have to meet test requirements
and usually the top 2/3rds to make the
sale
• You have no control over health and
nutrition
• More expense in feed
BULL A
BULL B
HEIFER A
HEIFER B
Fair Market Value
• Bulls are priced at 2 times the value of a
fat steer that would be $2500-$2800 today
for the top bulls. ISU’s prices for private
treaty are $1900-$2200-$2500
• Bulls at auction have been selling for
$1200-$5000.