Options for Marketing Cull Cows and Bulls

I was sitting next to a fellow at a recent cattle sale and he leaned over and asked, “What do you do with cull cows?”

It just so happened, the week before I had hauled a couple of cull cows to a packer who buys culls. I guess we’re lucky in this part of the country because we have two packing plants in San Angelo, Texas which buy cows and bulls.

I elect to sell my culls to them for a couple of reasons. First, if I’m culling them, there are good reasons they are culls and I don’t want to possibly pass those “cull factors” on to a fellow rancher. Secondly, the packers pay the market price (most of the time, the top market price) and I don’t have to pay commissions, insurance and other fees charged by livestock auctions.

And I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of money received for these animals. Although the packers pay on the hanging carcass weight, the price is usually a little better than the equivalent live price through the auction ring.

Of course, there are restrictions as far as the physical condition of the animal and any medications which may have been given, but the packers are an excellent market for the animals I cull from my herd each year.

So, the fellow’s question got me to thinking, after he told me he had no place to go except the local auction with his culls, what do other folks do with their culls?

We’d be interested in your comments. Let us know how you handle cull animals.