It looks like fall is here! Calves are outnumbering yearlings at the auctions, temperatures have dropped to freezing or below in the high country, and the grass has finally stopped growing! We’ve had green grass for a long time around Enid, some of it green enough to be washy and it appears like the weeds are finally turning the other way.
There will be thousands of calves showing up from here until December, and the big question is, where will they all be put? There seems to be a lot of discussion on whether to graze wheat or not this year, more so than in years past. With wheat on the board at all time highs, many folks just want to harvest a crop and not run any cattle. But whether wheat is worth $9.00 or $2.00, those cattle still represent some pretty good extra income!
Every day a calf is turned out on wheat in a normal year, they will gain somewhere between 1 and 3 pounds a day. Based on the futures, those cattle will be gaining somewhere between $1.12 and $3.36 per head every day! If a person only grazes them for 100 days, that’s over $100.00 a head you’re getting from those calves and you can still harvest a wheat crop!
At today’s prices, many of these calves, especially the heifers, can be hedged for a profit on the spring futures. It is not very often that you can sell an 800 pound yearling for the same price/cwt or more than a five hundred pound calf! Many of the calves weighing under six are costing less than $650 dollars a head, while the yearlings are bringing well over $800.00 and in some cases over $1000.00!
We have a lot of competition for our product nowadays. Pork and chicken production hit all time record highs recently, and for the most part are more efficient at converting high priced corn. However, our herd numbers are still not being built up. Heifer calf numbers are still fairly strong going to town, and heifers going to the feedyards have not dropped either. All these things still make a bred cow or heifer look like an extremely great commodity to own!
OPPORTUNITIES COMING UP AT WINTER LIVESTOCK IN ENID:
TWO SPECIAL CALF SALES: OCTOBER 16 & NOVEMBER 13, 2007!
Coming next week:
T Hill Ranch 50 Angus sired str/hfrs, weaned, vacc, 500-700 lbs
Staerkal Ranch 150 Ang/Limx strs/hfrs, weaned in June, on grass, 400-700lb
WK Cattle Co 100 Ang/Gelb/Charx hfrs, weaned, vacc, boostered, 5-600lbs
END OF THE MONTH COW SALE IS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007!
WWW.WINTERLIVESTOCK.COM
Thank You to all of our customers and friends!
