What a great market we have! With grains setting all time record highs, calves and yearlings continue to sell at excellent levels! Calves are still bringing up to $125.00 and yearlings, even with $100.00 cost of gains are still bringing either side of $100.00. That’s a pretty good market with all the high input costs involved!
Maybe these high prices are here to stay. Gas, oil, fertilizer, electricity, and just about anything else that people need to buy have gotten much higher over the last several years. Agriculture seems to be the last section to stand off the high prices, but it looks at this moment like they’re holding up fairly well. The last time we had $6.00 corn, in 1996, our calves were only bringing $50.00! Today they’re still at or above $100.00, that’s great!
There seems to be a lot of uncertainty in the markets right now. Not only the agriculture industry, but in the general economy. The government keeps lowering interest rates in hopes of revving the market up, but the general population keeps spending on their credit cards like they don’t have to pay it back! What would happen if everyone had to pay off their credit cards, in full, tomorrow?
It almost seems like the agriculture industry is playing with a lot of credit right now. It’s been two maybe three years since there’s been a good wheat crop in Oklahoma, and many folks have this year’s crop tied up in paying for the last two. $12.00 wheat will go a very long way if we get a great crop, but will it go far enough? Land prices continue to get higher, with land in western Kansas $400.00 an acre higher than a year ago. Of course, they had 80 bushel wheat in places last year, too!
One thing that is sure in our favor is the cattle. Cow numbers have continued to decline, with the calf crops getting smaller, and drought forcing many cows to the packing plants. There seems to be a good run of wheat cattle right now, but many of those were just turned out 60 days ago! In two weeks or less, the wheat run will be over and then where will the cattle come from?
It will be very interesting to see what the wheat price does if some of those folks in Chicago or Kansas City would come down to Oklahoma in a couple of weeks and take a look at the wheat. It appears to be doing flip flops right now, and with all the moisture and spring around the corner, it certainly has an excellent chance of growing very well! If only grass were as good as wheat pasture for gain!
EXPECTING ANOTHER EXCELLENT RUN OF CATTLE NEXT WEEK!
Burns Ranch 180 Fancy, Angus cross strs/hfrs, off wheat, 700-900lbs
Schultz Ranch 100 Angus sired strs/hfrs, off wheat, 600-800 lbs
Cosner Ranch 80 Fancy, Limo/Charx strs, very green, cake & grass, 500-700
A & M Farms 75 Ang/Limx strs/hfrs, off wheat, 700-800 lbs
Thank You to all of our customers!
