The Rural Voice, 1986-10, Page 52&CHiPON 01:
ELECTRONICCOMPUTERS SYSTEMS;:
$ oo
STRATFORD
273-1412
• SALES • SERVICE • LEASING
BUYS YOU A PRINTER
When purchasing a WIZARD (IBM Compatible) with 640k
memory, 1 Drive, 20Mb hard drive. and monochrome
monitor at the regular price. Down payment is required.
Authorized Dealer for 0 corona
dolt° systems. inc.
GODERICH EXETER
524-2681 228-6810
Hybriols
the tastes! grcw;eee term ;ire m America
/ices 2t1'4 to 4t!! more meas 1•'a
Increases fuel ante:errc*. and draw bar Iraraepewer
23% neper hogs root deeply ;u pre suce mine trachea
gtgh ;station se<:ga :aures teas sell cempactfe:i.
wtr:ie etteriag a cen;?Htorde nate
The :rre-stablized uelt ccestructien and flatter
tread canton- make Tanne the tree 1?ybr ii ie titre Ne;.
Hwy. 4 South of Clinton
482-3752 or 482-9796
50 THE RURAL VOICE
ADVICE
WHAT PRICE
FOR BUYING
REPLACEMENTS?
With all the talk of "cheap"
grain this summer, there seems to
be a feeling among beef producers
that the sky's the limit when it
comes to the price one pays for
replacement cattle this fall.
Although this attitude is welcome
in the cow -calf and the back -
grounder segments of the industry,
economic reality dictates a limit to
the price paid for replacements.
Ve hat is this limit? With so many
variables in the beef business, a
definite price that one must not ex-
ceed is a difficult number to come
up with. But by doing a few
calculations based on your own
farm operation, you should be able
to come up with a price range
hich will give you a better chance
of making a profit.
First of all, calculate your actual
cost of producing a pound of gain.
The big cost, in spite of "cheap"
grain, is the cost of feed. This cost
can vary from farm to farm depen-
ding on the source of feed and the
teed conversion. Most of the
figures 1 have seen lately indicate a
cost of feed per pound of gain at
40 to 45 cents. Other costs, such as
veterinary, death loss, interest,
buying and selling costs, along
with other miscellaneous and
overhead costs, usually amount to
another 20 to 25 cents per pound
of gain. These items together come
to between 60 and 70 cents per
pound of gain. What the actual
cost per pound of gain is on your
farm can be calculated only by us-
ing your figures.
Another aspect of this equation
is the anticipated price of finished
cattle when these purchased
replacements go to market. What
will the price be six to nine months
from now? No one can say for
sure, but some of the educated
guesses I have seen recently, in-
cluding the futures market trend,
indicate that the market price next
spring and summer for finished
cattle will not be too far away from
the price right now. In other
words, 82 to 86 cents per pound
liveweight.
Let's put this equation together.
To make a profit, the selling price