what is a better buy: 1 hereford heifer and 1 black angus bull for $1,200 or 1 red angus heifer for $800.00?

Question

these cattle would be for meat purposes. cant decide whats better. or i can get 2 jersey steers for $130.00..whats better buy?

Answer 1

It depends on what you are trying to do. When you say meat purposes do you mean they are going directly to market or are you saying you are going to breed beef cattle? If you are looking to begin breeding than I would choose the black angus bull and hereford heifer probably. However, I would look into the bloodlines of the bull. 1,200 dollars is still a reasonable price for a red angus heifer. I would be a bit leery of paying basically 600 dollars for a angus bull, when I would pay thousands to get a half way decent bull.

I would not get the Jerseys steers at all. Even if you are going to just raise the cattle for harvesting for meat this would not be the best choice. Since they are so cheap they are probably very young and from a dairy. This means you would have to feed them for over a year and would have the cost of feed. Also, Jersey's don't get very big and don't make very good market steers.

I would talk to your area extension agent or someone who knows a little bit more about cattle and figure out what would be best. It may not be very feasible for you to start breeding cattle.

Answer 2

If you're using these two animals for meat consumption yourself, the two jerseys would be the best buy, as long as they're not too old (older = tougher meat). If you're selling on the meat market, jerseys will not sell as well as either the angus or hereford.

If you're starting a herd, the choice between the pair or the red angus depends on whether or not you already have a bull. If you do, the red angus might be a better buy, IF she's at breeding age already. If not, you still may be better off buying the pair, selling the bull (he could bring even $800), and keeping the hereford.

At our local meat market, black/white "baldies" bring the best price. They are a cross between hereford heifers & black bulls, so that would be the best start for a herd. If you really want high prices at the meat market, keep the baldie heifers and cross them again with a Charolais bull, then sell those calves at the meat market.

Answer 3

I would choose either heifer package. Heifers by economical standards are going to be more expensive whether you're buying a Holstein or Hereford or Angus. This is because they reproduce or can supply milk. Jerseys' are good- but mostly their use is to breed dairy cattle.
I personally like Charolais but if you are going to be starting a herd go with the Hereford heifer and black Angus bull.

Answer 4

The Jersey steers are the better buy, but they are not as meaty as the Hereford and Angus. Between the heifer/bull for $1200 and the red heifer for $800, simple math will tell you the two for $1200 deal is better - $600 each.
Still ... for meat, pound for pound, I'd go with the steers. That sounds like a good deal, but hard to tell when you can't see. If the steers are skinny, they would not be as good a buy as well-fed, healthy heifer/bulls.

Answer 5

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