Do you know what 9-weight heifers are consistently trading for in Virginia?  Hmmm?  Do ya?  No?  Okay.  Well, just guess, then.  Go on.  Don't be shy.  I won't laugh.  Promise. 

What's that?  I heard a guess of $80.  Nope.  Lower.

What?  Speak up, son.  I can't hear you when you mumble.  $75?  Nope.

Try $61.00.  Yeah.  No joke.

If a guy sold 1250# fat heifers at $83.00 last week . . . that's $1037.50

And bought back some of those 950# Virginia heifers at $61.00 . . . that's $579.50

Now, let's add $100 per head to the VA heifers to account for trucking, order buyer commission, death loss, shrink, pink eye, lice, foot rot, scabies, syphilis, trenchmouth, mental impairment, possible heroin addiction (Washington DC is very close to Virginia), general bad attitude and body odor.  That puts us at $71.50 laid-in.

That's a return on the gain of $1.19 per pound.  If we use a $1.00 cost of gain (on top of the $100 per head pad that we added in already), the profit per head on this deal is $57.00.

You know, I think I'll take a risk on that deal.  At least I would have a shot.  If a guy buys 750# steers at Ericson at $98.50, he's looking at a locked-in loss of over $100 per head, and that's assuming everything goes exactly right. 

Maybe that's what all of these mainstream folks are referring to when they say "risk management" - absolutely, positively locking-in a crippling loss.  But hey, at least you know where you stand!!

Give me a break.

Forecasters are killing the North American Cattle Industry.
"Global warming" is a complete fraud designed to advance the cause of socialism and enslave humanity.
Abortion is the murder of an innocent human being and is never justified under any circumstance whatsoever.
Every human being is a question, to which the ONLY answer is Jesus Christ.