Drought conditions still prevail around Enid. Cows, calves, and yearlings are all showing up at the auction in thin flesh, with a tremendous amount of compensatory gain! This is one year out of fifty, according to the old timers, that a person can buy these Oklahoma wheat cattle weighing 600 lbs instead of 900 lbs! The genetics are the same or better as they have always been, but water, feed and wheat are in very short supply!

Eventually, the grain market will straighten out, or the cattle market will adjust. Lots of events are hitting simultaneously this year and there are going to be several opportunities to take advantage of! The old cows have come off their highs and many of them are going to the packing plants from $30.00 to $45.00. The young, high quality replacement cattle still have a great demand for them, and prices have not changed a whole lot. Stocker cattle are seeing some better demand, with weaned cattle bringing a premium.

Where are the spring yearlings going to come from? Not in north central Oklahoma, that’s for sure. Along interstate 40, there seems to be some excellent wheat pasture and probably south of that. From Enid to the Kansas line and east to the Arkansas line, everyone has water and feed shortages and probably west to the panhandle is in the same boat. There will sure be graze out pasture, if the price of wheat doesn’t keep people from grazing it.

We will be open each and every week from now until Christmas! Our last sale of the year will be December 19, which will also be our end of the month cow sale! We should have lots of good quality, green conditioned, cattle coming to the auction for the next several weeks! Come to Oklahoma and buy the best valued cattle around!

Don’t forget to watch our internet site for listings and live auctions. There are many auctions showing their sales live on the internet, and this time of year you can buy plenty of good quality cattle, LIVE, through the ring, over the internet! Take advantage of this great technology! Give us a call if you have any questions or cattle to consign, we are here to work for you!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS!

WE APPRECIATE YOU!

The cow market has changed dynamics, though. Those old bred cows are now finding their way to the packers, with a lot less people wanting to turn out an old cow, no matter how little she costs! Many of the thinner, bred cows that two months ago were going to stalks or feed, are now costing $100.00 a head less and going to the packers.

The last 5 or 6 years has seen a lot of cows change hands and locations. Drought in one part of the country moved cows to another part, like here in Oklahoma, but now the drought has come to Oklahoma and the cows are going back out! One good thing about these older cows moving around, is that every time they change hands, 20% or more of them end up in the packing plant. That cuts down on the number of calves available this spring or next fall, and supply and demand take over.

Without rain, there will be a lot of folks north of I-40 twiddling their thumbs this winter and spring! There is no winter wheat pasture around north central Oklahoma. That is not really an opinion, that’s just a statement of fact. The big runs of wheat cattle out of the Enid area will not be happening in March. What can we do?

HOPE YOU HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

COMING NEXT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006:
Bluebaugh Ranch 100 Fancy, certified Angus source strs & hfrs! 550-650 lbs
Vermillion Ranch genetics on both sides, No implants
Replacement quality hfrs, CHV, Vet vaccinated
Steinert Ranch 100 Ang/Lim/Charx steers, weaned 60 days! No Implants
PI tested negative, wire broke, bunk broke, booster vacc
Individual ID’s, Beef Management Systems program

Expecting several hundred bred cows and pairs again too!

12:00 NOON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006
WINTER LIVESTOCK, ENID, OK
ANNUAL FALL STOCK COW SALE
Cantrell Cattle 80 Fancy, SD origin bred heifers, ¾ Angus, ¼ Simmental
Bred to Cowans Ali and Witch Doctor
Calve 2/13/07 to 3/05/07
Five Ranches 600 Mostly Blk, red/char bred cows, 3-7 yrs old, pairs also!

In perspective, we have a pretty great market now compared to then. Little or no wheat, limited feed and hay, very little water, smaller supplies of cattle, and fewer packers are just a few of the things we have to deal with right now, yet prices are over twice as high on calves as they were ten years ago! It’s actually a pretty good market!

It’s strange how so many folks don’t want to turn out a heifer. In today’s market, with all the high priced feed and fuel, people will still pay $100.00 a head more for a steer calf in hopes of getting a possible extra ¼ or ½ lb gain per day. With the feed situation the way it is, and genetics what they are today, it doesn’t appear like a person can make up that $100.00. In most any market, buying well is the same as selling well.

There appears to be a lot of opportunity in today’s market. Even with higher priced feed and fuel, and no prospects for wheat pasture, demand for beef is getting better every day! We’ve taken $20.00 off the futures board and the feeder cattle, yet a steak still costs the same in the restaurants, if not a little more. Our export markets have opened back up, there are more people eating beef in the world, and our cow numbers are way down, so how will the market stay down where it is?

We had an excellent market here in Enid this week, with lots of good quality, thin calves in the run. Light weight steers up to $154.00, with four weights up to $145.00 and five weight steers up to $122.00. Heavier, fleshy steer calves from $95.00 to $105.00. Of course, the heifer mates are bringing about $100.00 a head less. Buy the value!

COMING TO WINTER LIVESTOCK IN ENID:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006 MONTHLY COW SALE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006 ANNUAL STOCK COW SALE

80 ¼ Simmental, ¾ Angus bred heifers, South Dakota origin

Hand picked from 260 head, ultrasound safe with calf to

Witch Doctor and Ali

Calve in February for 30 days

700 Bred cows, mostly black, from 3 to 7 years old

100 Pairs, from 3 to 10 years old

25 Service age bulls

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2006 LAST SALE OF THE YEAR!

Calves are actually bringing very good prices, considering there is no wheat, corn is high, and trucking costs so much. It all depends on perspective. Up until five or ten years ago, $400.00 was a good price to receive for a calf, today, many of them are still bringing $500.00 to $600.00 a head, that’s a great price in historical terms! Cows are the same way, most of the butcher cows are still bringing around $400.00 a head, with big cows bringing $700.00. What’s wrong with that?

The herd build up in the U.S. is still going on, if it every really got started. The drought situation in the last 10 years has dramatically changed that. Many bred cows changed homes, while a lot of heifers went to the feed yards instead of getting bred. There will probably be a lot of bred heifers available this fall, but at what price? If it will rain or snow, those pairs this spring could be worth quite a bit!

Yearlings may also be in very short supply this spring! The biggest portion of cattle that went on feed the last two months have been cattle under 700 lbs. If you combine this with more cows going to packing plants, cattle gaining better, the population hitting 300 million and demand getting better, it sure makes you think that cattle and beef prices should get higher! There will be far fewer cattle available this spring, and when supply is low and demand is high, you have a good market!

We will have a very busy schedule the next two months! Please call ahead with your consignments so we can advertise your cattle for you!

COMING UP AT WINTER LIVESTOCK IN ENID:

SPECIAL CALF SALE NEXT TUESDAY!

Bartholet Ranch 120 Ang/Limx calves, weaned, Express sired, 7way,Ivermec

Steele Ranch 400 Angus calves, weaned, 7way,cttlemstr,Ivermec,no implant

Hill Top Ranch 200 Angus sired calves, weaned, boostered

Dettle Ranch 95 Angus sired hfrs, weaned, wire&bunk broke, booster vacc.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006 SPECIAL COW & CALF SALE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2006 THANKSGIVING

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2006 MONTHLY VIDEO AUCTION

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006 ANNUAL FALL BRED SALE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2006 LAST SALE OF THE YEAR!