Keep in mind there are many costs associated with grassing steers. These costs include trucking, marketing, labour, vet and medicine, pasture costs, costs for the receiving ration, and others. At the time of writing this article, grasser prices at local sale yards were strong. Looking back at these historic figures, the years with the five highest spring prices had four of the five worst negative price margins between spring and fall. This point must be considered when deciding whether to purchase grassers this year.
Stockers often give their best returns when utilized in the falling phase of the market.
Currently, the market is rising. Grazing stocker cattle requires a well thought-out plan and requires flexibility to respond to changes in the beef cyle. In spite of the ramifications of these points for the current year, over the long-term stockers can form a valuable and possibly increasing component of the grazing industry in Western Canada. One advantage with stockers is they are a flexible form of grazing units. Since rainfall varies widely, setting stocking rates is difficult.