It sure looks like these young pairs need bought. There seem to be a lot of pairs bringing from $1100.00 to $1500.00, while at the same time, five weight calves are bringing up to $700.00 and big steers over $900.00! If things remain the same, that would make some of those three year old cows only cost $500.00! That’s a great price to buy a young cow! And what could be better to turn out than a nice young pair!

With all the moisture we’ve been receiving, stocker cattle have certainly come up. There is tremendous demand for the light weight cattle, and it sure looks like that demand is spilling over into the feeder cattle. The only thing that seems out of line is the futures board. It is so overrun with fund money, that the basic principles it was started on don’t apply! It would sure be good if they made those folks own some actual cattle along with the contracts!

At the moment, it looks like all cylinders are hitting for a great summer and a good crop! The moisture is coming, the sun is shining, and the grass and wheat are growing. There should be plenty of moisture to plant high priced corn, and we should certainly be able to grow some hay for next year. It’s possible there might be a lot of grass and wheat baled up this year. There is certainly a need to build the inventory back up, and in the end, that might let the price stay up.

It will be interesting to see next months on feed report. The last two have shown more marketings than was expected, with placements still lacking. There are probably a lot more cattle turned out now than two months ago, so the numbers in the feedlots will not be so big. However, the month of May will see more numbers if the demand for graze out cattle is any indication. Either way, we have a great market to deal with!

COMING NEXT TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2007:

Bill Steinert 90 Mostly black hfrs, weaned, booster vacc, no implants, 3-550 lbs

CONSIGNED FOR TUESDAY APRIL, 24, 2007:
Steinert Farms 200 Fancy, Blk/Bwf pairs, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado origin
Calves sired out of high growth, Profit Maker bulls, cows
Running about 7 years old, with calves up to 3 mos old

Thank You to all of our customers!

Weston Winter

It looks like there might be some wheat pasture opening up. Several places appear like they won’t produce more than five or ten bushels an acre and several folks are either going to bale it or graze it off. This has certainly helped the stocker market and it will probably help folks save some cows too. Even at $5.00 a bushel, it wouldn’t seem to pay to cut that kind of wheat.

Even with this fantastic market we have, our input costs are also quite a bit higher. It’s quite a jump from $.75 cent diesel to $2.50 a gallon, just as a pickup used to cost under $20,000, now that same pickup might cost $35,000. Calves off the cow used to bring $400.00 a head, now there are some bringing as much as $750.00! Maybe it’s all relative, but it’s sure nice to be selling calves right now!

Spring is definitely here! The wheat has done leaps and bounds from where it was just 30 days ago, and early grass is already greening up, with a lot of trees starting to bud too. The moisture out west will certainly bring tremendous pasture this year, and if the rain keeps falling in Oklahoma, we’ll have some good pasture also. It would sure appear like a good time to get a hold of some replacement cows. There has been a great exodus of cows from Oklahoma in the last couple of years, and with the moisture coming now, maybe we’ll be able to restock the pastures! Opportunity only knocks when it’s at your door, not when you want it to be there. Take advantage of the opportunities that are coming!

1324 cattle sold in Enid this week, with outstanding demand for all classes of cattle. The overall market is great! Light weight calves up to $150.00, with thin weaned stockers up to $140.00. Feeder cattle about all bringing either side of $95.00. Butcher cows and bulls look about steady.

END OF THE MONTH COW SALE NEXT TUESDAY, MARCH 27!

Crown H Ranch 150 Blk/Bwf 1st calf pairs, calves sired by Express bulls
15 Registered Angus bulls, 2 yrs and older
G & T Farms 50 Blk/Red bred cows, 3-9yrs old, bred to black bulls
D & G Ranches 30 Angus bred cows, Montana origin, 3-7 yrs old

There will be many more by sale day, weather permitting! Please call if you have any questions about the sale or about buying over the internet. We appreciate your business!

Thank You

There’s certainly something lost in the translation when the retailers say they want to “keep prices steady”, and packers want to buy on the average. Granted, it’s nice to have things stable, but to give up profit and economic freedom, not to mention choice, doesn’t make sense. Whatever happened to the folks who said if it was bad for the industry it’s bad for them?

Many parts of our cattle market are reaching or surpassing all time record highs! Boxed beef has come up almost $20.00, with fat cattle jumping to $100.00 last week, and calves and yearlings bringing excellent money. Of course, this week feedyards that still actually work to sell their cattle are being bid less than that, but with spring break, grilling season, less supply and more demand, it would seem that fats should hold their value.

A good soaking rain can sure make a lot of difference! Especially if you’ve been dry! The wheat where the rain fell is going up like wildfire, trees are starting to bud out, and in places around Enid, there is actually wheat coming out of the ground that wasn’t there 3 weeks ago! We are one day closer to cutting hay! We still need more moisture to grow pasture and fill ponds, but its coming!

Opportunities come and go. A few months ago there was opportunity to buy young bred cows, now with the moisture, they are hard to find. A few weeks past, there were plenty of calves and yearlings to choose from, but what about next week? The wheat pasture run is over. In the next few weeks there will be some opportunities to buy some calves, or some yearlings, maybe even some pairs, so take advantage of the moisture!

Next Tuesday, March 20, 2007:

T & R Cattle Co 85 Ang/Lim/Charx strs/hfrs, weaned in Sept, 400-500lbs
Bovashield Gold, 7-way blk leg, Super Polybac,
No Implants, excellent condition
Creek Farms 80 Angus steers, off wheat, no implants, 750-800 lbs
A Wright 30 Angusx heifers, off wheat, gtd open, 1 raising, 800 lbs

COMING ON TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007, END OF THE MONTH SALE:

Crown H Ranch 150 Blk/Bwf 1st calf pairs, calves sired by Reg. Angus Bulls
20 Reg Angus bulls, Express bloodlines, 2-5 yrs

Of course, we’ve had great moisture out west, spring is officially just a few weeks away, and demand for beef will be even greater with the warm weather coming. Bred cows and pairs are hard to find right now. Most folks sold whatever they didn’t have feed or pasture for, and what everyone has left will probably stay at home. With the supply of young cows and pairs getting smaller, pastures getting smaller and demand getting better, it sure looks like those young bred cows and heifers will have a fantastic market this spring!

It’s sure good to see the fat cattle finally getting closer to a fair price! Cutout values have raised almost $10.00 in the last few days, and fat cattle are following suit. We’re at $96.00 right now, with $100.00 looking almost achievable! That would certainly let some of those yearling last fall come out okay. Let’s hope the yearling market this spring will do the same!

There’s been a little run of wheat cattle in the last two weeks, and there might be one more, but after that it’s going to be anybody’s guess. All the cattle that are on wheat along I-40 will be moving right now, and there are no cattle on wheat in northern Oklahoma. It looks like right now that everybody might be twiddling their thumbs this spring waiting for the wheat to turn. Especially when it’s worth near $5.00 a bushel!

If it doesn’t rain in parts of northern Oklahoma, we may see a number of cattle coming to town that really shouldn’t. Folks are trying very hard to hold onto the cattle they have left, but it will take moisture to let them do it. Coming from La Junta, Colorado to Enid, Oklahoma, it’s absolutely amazing to see the dust blowing in Enid and the mud on everything in Colorado! It’s usually the other way around!

Get a hold of those good heifers and cows! They are the only ones that have a chance of having a calf! Herd numbers and available pastures are down! Possession is going to be a key this next go round!

COMING TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007 TO ENID:

200 BLK/BWF, 1ST CALF PAIRS. Calves sired by registered Angus bulls.
Calves will be approx. one month old or older at sale time.
20 Registered Angus Bulls, all low birth weight heifer bulls, 2 to 4 years old

Thank You to all of our customers!

The futures board has jumped in the last week, and it even looks like there is a good chance to hedge cattle this time around. Of course, the price of corn will make a big difference in that. Right at the moment, it seems like everything costs about the same, feeder cattle, fat cattle, costs of gain are all running in the 90.00’s. With better weather ahead, less cattle in the feedyards and green grass coming, maybe that will change.

All the snow melting is creating some big mud issues right now, but in the long run that’s certainly better than dust blowing! Many areas will have more than half of their normal yearly moisture by next month! On the other side of that coin, here in north central Oklahoma, the wheat is just peaking up out of the ground. There’s the possibility of some of that wheat being disastered out, but we won’t know until the middle of March.

We had 2200 head of outstanding quality stockers and feeders in Enid this week! Fly weight calves bringing up to $165.00, with four and five weights up to $140.00, and six weights up to $123.00. Feeder cattle all bringing $94.00 to $104.00. Butcher cows up to $53.00, with some nice bred heifers up to $1100.00. Looking forward to another nice run of cattle next week!

CONSIGNED FOR NEXT TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2007:

Jacobs Ranch 250 Fancy, Angus replacement heifers, gtd open, no implants,
One raising, off wheat, 600 to 800 lbs
WW Cattle Co 75 Fancy, Angus/Red Angus hfrs, Stevinson Basin genetics
Gtd open, no implants, 700 to 800 lbs
4C Cattle Co 180 Ang/Limo cross strs, off wheat, 750 to 850 lbs
70 Ang/Limo cross hfrs, off wheat, gtd open, 700 to 800 lbs
Troy Ronn 75 Ang/Char/Limx strs, off grass, 475 to 575 lbs, weaned in
Sept/Oct, 7 way, ibr-bvd, pasteurella, excellent condition
Larry Miller 60 Colorado origin strs, one raising, BMS vacc program, off
Off wheat, blk, 850 lbs
Hawes Farms 75 Fancy, Angus sired strs, off wheat, 650 to 750 lbs

Thank You to all of our customers, we really appreciate your business!
Don’t forget to watch us live on the internet, www.winterlivestock.com!