The weather has almost put a complete stop to cattle business in parts of Oklahoma. Many auction barns were shut down this week due to the ice, and fat cattle trade is limited. The highways around are in good shape, but there doesn’t appear to be any way to get a trailer or cattle truck down the side roads. All the sleet we’ve received, with a day of sunshine on it, has just been glazed over.

There have been a few sales up north, with the market about $3.00 lower than the week before. Usually there are a lot of cattle moving after the first of the year, and this year is not necessarily an exception, but there will be a lot of cattle balled up together once the roads are clear. Of course, that would only be the cattle that didn’t sell this fall because of drought.

Hay and feed are going to be at a big premium this winter, at least until grass comes one. The supply was short to begin with, and this weather has probably shortened it up even more. There could be more dispersals this year with the feed situation, but there will also be more opportunities. With all the moisture received though, spring grass should be wonderful.

The overall market is still pretty good! Stocker cattle are bringing over $100.00, with yearlings and feeders bringing mostly $90.00 to $100.00. Bred cows and pairs at the moment are not abundant, and will probably be worth a very pretty penny when the snow clears! It might be a good time to think about grazing some wheat out, even at $5.00 a bushel, it might not be worth more than the opportunity to buy some young pairs!

JANUARY 30, 2007 IS OUR NEXT MONTHLY COW SALE!

SUTPHIN RANCH 25 2 yr old breeding bulls, all fertility tested

Angus, Limflex, and Charolais bulls

JONES RANCH 45 3-8 yr old pairs and bred cows

Blk/Bwf/Red/Charx bred to Ang/Lim bulls

Thank You for all your business!

It will be several weeks, if not months, before a real count of the losses can be identified. Death loss, weight loss, market opportunities, and just the tremendous expense of cleaning everything up will amount to a huge pile of money. This doesn’t even include all the calves that are probably not going to be in the head count this spring!

We seem to be living in a time of extremes. A short five years ago, the part of the country that is now buried in snow was liquidating cow herds because of drought! It just goes to show you how tough the American cattleman is! One thing is for sure, nobody out here is waiting on their roof tops wanting to blame somebody.

It’s a funny thing about our cattle market, every one is trying to get “choice” cattle raised, and packers are actively seeking people to make alliances with to get the “better” cattle, yet during 2006, cattle that graded less than 35% choice brought within 10 cents of what the cattle did that graded up to 80% choice, and within 50 cents of cattle that graded over 80%! Looking at USDA figures, with cattle being fed about 30 days more, “better” genetics, and trying to please Japan, LESS than 15% of the cattle graded over 65% choice! But boy can we make them big!

Mother Nature always has and always will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, influence in agriculture. So why fight it? Most cattle just don’t get fat until they reach a certain age, and in most cases, that’s after they are 20 months old! Unless the packers and retailers quit being so greedy, nobody will be able to afford the luxury of trying to get one fat enough to satisfy Japan, or anyone else for that matter!

There are going to be some great opportunities coming up in the next few months! The herd buildup is not happening, heifers have made up 40 to 45 percent of the slaughter for the last three years. Between droughts and blizzards, the calf crop can’t be getting any bigger, and demand for beef is still getting better! Those bred heifers, bred cows and pairs are going to have some value in the future!

Thank You

Happy New Year! We’re starting the new year off with a lot of great things happening! Moisture has fallen all over the major grazing areas, especially in the west. Some big snowstorms have left up to three feet of snow in the plains. This is definitely not fun right now, but that kind of moisture will bring a lot of green grass out this spring!

Right here in Oklahoma, we received some much needed rain, and a fairly nice amount of it. The wheat looks as if it has grown an inch or two in the last couple of weeks! There may be some short term grazing out there, and definitely some graze out prospects. Most of the wheat pasture is still south of highway 51, but things are sure looking better north of it!

It will be interesting to see how the markets start out the new year. There were a few sales this week, but not any real test of the market. Fat cattle ended the year higher, with the futures board looking a lot stronger down the road. The last on feed report showed a lot less cattle placed, and more cattle marketed, with beef production at all time highs.

Calves and stockers will probably be a little harder to come by this year, with many of them selling earlier this fall. Pairs and bred cows will be in the same boat, although many of the bred cows might be selling as pairs this spring, if the blizzards didn’t get them. All the moisture though, has given everybody a chance to keep their cows a little longer, although the hay cost will be high. Once spring comes around though, Katy bar the door!

We’re looking forward to a great year here at Winter Livestock! We will be having our regular weekly sales every Tuesday, our regular monthly cow sales the last Tuesday of every month, and our first video sale will be Monday, January 8! Don’t forget about all the opportunities we have for you here at Winter Livestock! Our internet service is amazing! We are helping over 30 different auctions around the country, so about any day of the week, you can watch a sale over the internet from Iowa to Oregon!

Please come by any of our facilities or give us a call, we would love to hear from you! Our offices are open Monday through Friday, while our docks and yards are open 24/7! We have hay and water in every pen, and fantastic personnel to help you in any way! We have really enjoyed working for you, and are looking forward to serving all your cattle needs in the future!

THANKS AGAIN,