The moisture situation is very serious. When you say dry in southern New Mexico, it’s a whole different ball game than being dry in southern Oklahoma! There might be a difference of 30 inches in rainfall! When you consider how much more vegetation there is, that is a huge difference!

Almost 100% of cattleman in Oklahoma are talking about how much water the cattle are drinking! The water content of the wheat is way below normal, and cattle are having to drink more to get their fill. This makes for better pasture, but might mean hauling a lot of water. We’ve had several cattle gain over 3 pounds a day here in Oklahoma!

Of course, there are lots of cattle going either to grow yards or feed yards now because of the moisture situation, but that will be good in the long run. There will be less cattle available come March, and supply and demand will be operating at full bore. Some of the light cattle coming off wheat at the auctions are bringing just as much as they did when they first got turned out, and 100 pounds bigger! Sure nothing wrong with that!

Excellent market here in Enid this week! Stocker cattle look higher, with feeder cattle selling steady to weak. Butcher cows and bulls about $1.00 higher, with bred cows selling very well for the kind offered.

Pedro Valles Hennessey blk strs 400lbs @ $152.00
Angie Gribble Watonga blk strs 462 @ $141.00
David Hayton Billings blk strs 563 @ $130.00
Ron Hornung Covington blk strs 620 @ $126.00
David Crabtree Ralston mix strs 667 @ $121.00
Ernest Voth Kremlin mix strs 686 @ $118.00
Richard Cinnamon Garber Ang strs 756 @ $115.00
Ray Cinnamon Garber Ang strs 774 @ $112.50
Roy Schuerman Pond Creek blk strs 802 @ $110.00
E & W Farms Waukomis blk strs 915 @ $106.50
Max Acton Crescent bwf strs 1104 @ $101.00

OUR MONTHLY COW SALE WILL BE TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2006!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR BUSINESS!

It will also be interesting to see how the cattle have actually done on the wheat. Even though the wheat looks short in most places, it is not washy, and there has been more than a handful of people say that their cattle gained three pounds a day this fall. Conditions this year are just great for gains, and the cattle seem to be proving it.

We saw a lot of big 800 to 1000 lb cattle selling this week for excellent money. The cattle seem to be carrying fairly good flesh also, which would indicate they have been doing well. This might be a good year to sell the big cattle early instead of waiting until March. As of Tuesday, lots of these 900 to 1000 lb cattle bringing well over $100.00! What’s wrong with selling cattle at those prices?

Here in Enid this week, we had several good loads of home raised cattle weighing from 700 to 950 lbs, and all of them selling extremely well. The lighter stocker cattle are not as readily available, but still bringing great money! We’re looking forward to a nice selection of cattle over the next month or two.

This might be a good year to look at the futures board pretty closely. As of Tuesday, all of the feeder contracts, from January to August, were quoted somewhere around $114.00. That’s definitely something we don’t see every year! We’ll certainly hope they will be worth that every month, but let’s not forget to take advantage of it!

Please remember to mark your calendars for Thursday, January 19th! Winter Livestock will be having our first monthly video auction. There should be an excellent selection of calves, yearlings, and breeding stock for that sale! Also, don’t forget that you can buy your cattle live over the internet every week at Winter Livestock! Call any of our offices to find out how!

We really appreciate all the business we’ve had over the last 70 years, and we certainly are grateful for the chance to work for you here in Enid! If we can be of any service, give us a call at 580-796-2150!

Thanks again,