There’s news about a shortage of food in the world, at least rice, but yet pork and chicken production are at record levels and cattle production is as high as it’s ever been, even with 3 less packing plants and 15% less cattle! Isn’t it amazing how the news can be manipulated to say shortage one day and surplus the next, yet nothing has actually changed except peoples perception? “Figures don’t necessarily lie, but liars do figure”

There seems to be a lot of anxiety in the market right at the moment. Even though it’s already the first of May, the grass north and west just isn’t greening up like a person would think or like. Moisture has been very good along highway 81, but very far west it just hasn’t fallen. Many folks are looking for grass right now, but it doesn’t seem to be available. Maybe in two or three weeks the weather will stabilize and spring grass will truly be here!

Barring hail or a severe drought, it sure looks like Oklahoma is going to have one heck of a wheat crop, or rye crop, depending on the planting. There seems to be a lot of rye in the wheat this year, and many folks have commented on not seeing this much before. Good or bad, there will still be plenty of work for the harvest crews this summer!

The cattle market is outstanding! Calves are bringing $110.00 to $130.00, in places more, and yearlings all bringing either side of $100.00! The cow market has fluctuated some what, some pairs bringing unheard of prices, while others of similar quality just bringing $1100.00 or $1200.00. There are a whole lot of hay bales sitting at the sides of the fields, and hay cutting hasn’t even begun yet! All the excess hay should make for a great opportunity on bred cows or pairs.

COMING NEXT WEEK TO WINTER LIVESTOCK IN ENID:

Box Bar Ranch 300 Choice, Ang/Lim/Charx hfrs, gtd open, off rye, 650-850lbs
Blaser Ranch 180 Ang/Limx strs, off wheat, 700-900 lbs
C & H Farms 150 Lim/Char/Angx hfrs, off wheat, gtd open, 700-900lbs
Sonny Bode 130 Angusx hfrs, off rye, gtd open, 800-900 lbs
Ruth Selly 100 Blk/Bwf strs, off wheat/grass, thin, 650-750 lbs

Thank You to all of our sellers and buyers!
We appreciate your business!

Our overall economy is still thriving. Housing seems to be in the news a lot, but they don’t seem to mention all the houses that are selling and are still being built at very high prices. It’s funny how the news media doesn’t mention all the new cars running down the road, and the disparity that’s growing wider and wider between the haves and have-nots. Or the fact that land in rural America is being bought for pleasure rather than production, and at extremely high prices. If our economy is so bad, why are there lines to get dinner see a movie or go on vacation?

It’s nice to see that beef is still featured so prominently in the high end restaurants and at pretty good money too! The grilling season is upon us, and the way the world seems to work, or not work, there are sure more backyard chefs showing up every day! The weather is finally starting to turn around, and the warm air will let things grow, and change lots of attitudes, mostly for being outside and hopefully eating beef!

Even with input costs at what seems to be all time highs, there may still be a chance for folks to make money. For some reason, no one wants to spend the time to put out a few bales of hay in the spring and early summer. There are plenty of leftover hay bales from last year, and this years cutting is just getting started. Time and time again, if a person could just add a little time to their cattle, they might advance them $10.00/cwt! Take the time, make the effort, and when everyone else wants to sell, maybe it’s a good time to buy!

OPPORTUNITIES COMING TO YOU AT WINTER LIVESTOCK!

NEXT TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008
END OF THE MONTH COW SALE AND SPRING YEARLING RUN!

Edwards Ranch 250 Home raised Ang/Limx strs/hfrs, green, 500-700 lbs
Davis Ranch 50 Home raised charx strs/hfrs, dry wintered, 500-600 lbs
Bode Ranch 130 Choice, Angusx hfrs, off rye, gtd open, 750-800 lbs
Butler Farms 100 Ang/Limx hfrs, off wheat, gtd open, 650-775 lbs
Jantz Farms 40 Ang/Angx cows, 7-10 yrs, bred to blk bulls, fall calvers!
M & M Cattle Co 40 Blk/Bwf, strs/hfrs, weaned, 450-550 lbs, thin

Thank You to all of our customers!

Maybe American agriculture will catch up with the rest of the world’s industries, and maybe not. It’s pretty hard to spend twice to four times as much for inputs and still have a smile on your face. There sure seems to be a lot of money in a few people’s hands nowadays. People in the oil business are buying up property like there’s no tomorrow, and hunting seems to be more important than producing food!

What is a recession? Looking around at all the unnecessary things being bought, people going out to dinner every night, and big gas guzzling cars still being sold, it sure seems like no one knows or fears a recession. If no one had a credit card to buy things, what kind of economy would we have then? It’s a proven fact that money does not grow on trees, so with all the things pointing the way they do, how do people spend money like they do?

In the face of $90.00 to $110.00 costs of gain, feeders actually worked higher in places this week. Eight weight steers are bringing back up near a dollar, with big feeder cattle bringing in the $90.00’s. Calves were a little tougher to sell, especially calves right off the cow, but still, $100.00 to $130.00 a cwt is a great price! The last time we had $6.00 corn, around 1996, calves were bringing in the $40.00’s and $50.00’s!

However unfair it may seem, central and eastern Oklahoma has had tremendous moisture over the last few months! It’s been kind of spotty, but it’s almost unbelievable how green the grass is and how big the wheat has gotten right around Enid. Harvest looks like a bin buster if nothing too bad happens, and it sure looks like everyone did a fantastic job of farming this year!

A person still has to raise a calf or buy a calf in order to sell a yearling. Opportunities are all around, especially with the abundant hay bales and moisture in certain areas. Many cattle are coming off pasture fairly green, and there sure might be some compensatory gain in them! Buy the value, not the pretty face.

COMING APRIL 29, 2008 IN ENID:

Edwards Ranch 250 Home raised, Ang/Char/Limx strs/hfrs, off rye, 500-700lbs
Davis Ranch 50 Home raised, Char sired strs/hfrs, dry wintered, 500-600lbs
ORS Cattle Co. 130 Angus sired strs, off wheat, 850-950 lbs

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS!

Even with the packing “industry” controlling prices on fats, things may have a silver lining. In a normal year, the middle of April would see warm temperatures, trees all greened up and big cattle coming off some wheat. This year, there hardly seems to be any big cattle moving. The majority of the cattle selling at town, at least in the plains, are weighing under 750, with quite a few in stocker weight and condition. Maybe this will spread the numbers out enough to help the fat market.

Something else to think about: the normal weather pattern might be returning! Almost every old timer says it used to snow a lot in Oklahoma, and April snow storms were not uncommon north of the Oklahoma border! The large amount of moisture and cooler temperatures are not out of line, but they are sure welcome! Every drop of rain is going to go somewhere, and there are plenty of aquifers that need replenishing. Let’s be thankful for the good moisture, and remember that summer time heat is not far away!

When will the cow herd numbers get back to normal? With the fewer numbers available it makes every thing a little topsy turvy, just like the gas and oil markets. When there’s lots of something available, most folks take it for granted, but when the numbers are down, everyone wants to get excited! Maybe with all the moisture, people can start to buy back some cows, and get some more calves to market.

The market sure looks good this week, maybe steady to a little stronger. Stockers are very attractive and have plenty of outlets, while heavy feeders are hard to find, but it seems like that’s a blessing right now. Many cattle, if not all, are losing money coming out of the feedlots, and the only saving grace is if they were hedged. With so many cattle being bought according to the board, it makes a pretty big difference when they come out and how big they are.

Overall, we have a great market! Calves and stockers still bringing great money, feeders are really bringing good money considering the cost of gain at the lots, while fat cattle are bringing little enough that food in the stores and restaurants ought to be very affordable!

Thank You

Since when was it appropriate to let a foreign company build our military equipment and let foreign companies buy up our land and businesses? Are American companies so greedy that they would let that happen just because they weren’t making enough millions? It sure looks like the United States needs to decide who runs it, the people or the money.

The cattle market and the economy seem to be following the weather. One place gets four inches of rain and a few miles down the road another place gets nothing. It seems like in some areas the economy is as strong as ever while other areas are in a recession. Central Oklahoma seems to be in a garden spot at the moment, while the panhandles and western prairies are back in a drought! This makes it awful tough to try and fight high priced grains, especially with the calf market as high as it is! The restaurant business still looks good though, because the parking lots all look full when you drive by them at dinner time!

Where is everyone going to spend their hard earned dollars and where are they going to spend the not so hard earned ones? Gas prices are becoming a larger and larger portion of the home budget, almost as much as mortgages and rent, and even with hundreds of oil wells being drilled, the price of gas continues to get higher. Even with $10.00 wheat, the input and harvest costs are so high, the actual margin of profit may not change too much. The United States has always had high quality food at low prices, but when we let greed overtake the good of all, no good can come of it.

And what about those CEO’s and sports figures that are getting millions of dollars a year? The overall housing sector is in fairly big trouble, yet movie stars and baseball players are building or buying million plus dollar homes. When did it become more important for one person to get it all rather than America to be the best for all? Only 2% of the people in the United States claim ranching or farming as their livelihood, yet they produce for 100% of the people, not including everyone who is here on vacation, going to college for free, illegally working, or otherwise.

We have a great cattle market considering everything! There appears to be lots of opportunities in the cow business, and the world population still needs to get fed! Spring time is here, green grass is growing, and you have to own a calf in order to sell one. Take a look at all the opportunities around; surely there is something for everyone!

Thank You,

Weston Winter