Opportunity comes in all shapes and sizes and might knock once or several times on our door. Depending on your point of view, a person can turn out a calf, so many pounds, or so many dollars on each acre of wheat. You can turn out a $700.00 weaned calf, a $700.00 bred cow, two $350.00 older bred cows, 500 pounds of calf, 700 lbs pounds of yearling or 1000 pounds of cow, take your pick! At the end of the period, there will be an animal that is 75 days older, 150 pounds bigger, two months closer to calving or two months closer to a different packing plant trip.

All in all, wheat pasture gives everyone an outstanding opportunity! There are a number of ways to utilize that wheat, and getting the gravy off the top is no lost cause. Looking at the cattle getting turned out, there appears to be a lot of folks who are just grazing wheat for a very short time, with very few people even thinking about spring grazing. If that is true, then there could be a very limited number of cattle showing up in March, April, and May. Supply and Demand?

The end of the year is coming up pretty fast and it will be interesting to see what the numbers are for the United States cow herd. There does not seem to be anywhere near the number of bred heifers for sale this year as compared to last year when you could find one on every street corner. The number of heifers in the feedlots has been strong all year long too. Maybe the drought during the spring and summer and ice storms at calving time made everyone want to never calve a heifer again, but those replacements have to come from somewhere.

COMING NEXT TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2007:

Pinegar Ranch 240 Choice, Angus/Red Angus sired strs/hfrs, 450-600 lbs
No implants, knife cut, vacc in spring
Davis Ranch 50 Blk Limousin strs/hfrs, 450-600 lbs, out of Reg. sires

COMING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2007
SPECIAL BRED HEIFER SALE, WEANED CALF SALE

Plummer Ranch 80 Fancy, Angus & Ang/Charx heifers, bred to high powered
Club calf bulls, heifers ultrasounded, with the calves sexed
WW Cattle 30 Blk/Char/Red strs, off wheat, 500-600 lbs

Thank You for all your business!
www.winterlivestock.com

The overall market is certainly good, with just about every class of cattle a little stronger. The calf market has had a much larger audience and much better demand than the last several months. There have been a lot of cattle turned out in the last two weeks, with many pastures in this part of the world with larger calves than normal. It sure appears like everything will be off the wheat in February this season.

The butcher cow market has been sure been depressed this year, with the drought forcing many cows to town, and the packers chock full of kill cows. The overall number of cows going to the packers is about 15% higher this year, with the market acting accordingly. There will only be about three or four more weeks of auctions till next year, and the packers will have to be more aggressive to fill their needs.

Many, many opportunities are showing up around the country. There is certainly nothing wrong with turning out yearlings or bred cows on short term wheat pasture. Pounds of gain are pounds of gain no matter where you start. With the shortage of pasture in the panhandles and Kansas, it looks like a great opportunity to make some yearlings for April and May!

All of us here at Winter Livestock would sure like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all of our friends, customers, and associates. We are very thankful to have the opportunity to work for you and with you. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

COMING TO WINTER LIVESTOCK IN ENID, OKLAHOMA:

Tuesday, November 27 END OF THE MONTH COW SALE

G & T Cattle Co 50 Blk/Bwf cows, bred to Angus bulls, 3-7 yrs old
HAWS Farms 60 Eng/Exotx cows, bred to Blk/Red bulls, 3-10 yrs
T. Glazier 35 Blk/Bwf cows, bred to Ang/Maine bulls

Saturday, December 1 CATTLEMEN’S CHOICE COW SALE

45 Angus heifers, bred to Gardiner Solution & sons
160 Northern Angus Pairs, 3-7 yrs old
100 Northern Angus Cows, 3-5 yrs old, Spring calves
120 Northern Angus Cows, 3-6 yrs old, Fall calvers
200 Blk/Bwf cows, 3-6 yrs old, bred to Ang/Maine
140 Brangus cows, 4-7 yrs, bred Angus/Blk Limo
100 Red/Rwf/xbred cows, bred Angus/Blk Limo

300 to 500 pound calves bringing from $110.00 to $130.00, with the 500 to 700 lbs calves selling for $100.00 to $115.00. Yearlings very lightly tested, $100.00 to $112.00. The butcher cow market is still under pressure from the large numbers moving. Many cows just bringing from $30.00 to $45.00, while bulls are not much higher. The bred cow market is still strong, with younger bred cows bringing $900.00 or better.

Apparently, whatever wheat is going to be grazed this year will only be grazed for a short time period. The small, light weight calves are not bringing much of a premium to the bigger calves in Oklahoma. There seems to be more demand for calves weighing five to six that will come off in February and have some weight on them. The light calves that could go to graze off are just not getting the big demand. Opportunity!

Whatever the price of wheat is, there is always a chance to graze cattle! With the rising costs of gas, oil, etc, every opportunity for extra income should probably be considered. One nice thing about cows and calves is that they don’t care what wheat is worth, they will eat it and gain on it just the same! Let’s not forget about the umpteen thousand or million bales of hay sitting around this year, those cattle will certainly eat that too!

Here’s something to think about. If a person puts out a calf on wheat for 100 days, and it gains 2 pounds per day, that’s 200 pounds of gain. If the calf weighs 350 or 650 pounds, and they gain two pounds per day, that’s still 200 pounds of gain! At the end of the grazing period, there’s a calf weighing 550 pounds or a yearling weighing 850 lbs, with one worth $1.30 and one worth $1.10, that’s a difference of $40.00 of gain, which is what the point is, isn’t it?

There are still lots of opportunity in the cattle business! The calves are selling at a price where everybody can get along, the yearling market is strong and heading for higher country, and the fat cattle are still bringing several dollars above a year ago! What more could we ask for? Bred heifers, bred cows, calves, light yearlings, they are all a commodity with some outcome! Check out www.cattleusa.com and all the auctions that can help you make money! We appreciate all your business!

We will be having a sale next week! Come out and see us!

Special end of the month cow sale, Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Annual Fall Bred Heifer and Cow Sale, Saturday, December 1, 2007

Thank You,

The moisture situation continues to cause problems in many areas. The southeast and southwest parts of the United States are still in a severe drought situation, with many cows leaving those areas. The central plains and mountain areas have more moisture than last year, but the early rains and snows are not coming.

Wheat pasture is a difficult term to define this year. In the normal grazing areas of the panhandles, there is not enough moisture to get the wheat out of the ground, while in Oklahoma and southern Kansas; nobody wants to graze the wheat that’s already up. There is excellent opportunity to graze wheat for a short time and still get $6.00 or $7.00 a bushel! Someone needs to take advantage of it!

Bred cows and calves are still very much a good investment. Calves are being sold at a price where they can be hedged for a profit, while the bred cows will still produce a calf and be paid off in a couple years. The cow herd is still not building up, and those yearlings and fats have to come from somewhere! Let’s just hope it’s the United States and not somewhere else.

It’s a great time to get in the cattle business. There are opportunities coming up everywhere! There are many nice young cows available for sale, along with good quality calves to turn out. There is more hay and feed in the country, and it sure looks like demand for beef is excellent! All we need is a good drink of moisture and it just looks better!

COMING NEXT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 IN ENID:

SPECIAL WEANED, PRECONDITIONED CALF SALE!

S & S Farms 160 Fancy, Angus sired strs/hfrs, Pfizer certified, 400-600lbs
Tom Hill 75 Angus sired strs/hfrs, weaned, vacc, boostered, 400-500
L & W Cattle Co 100 Ang/Char/Limx strs/hfrs, weaned, boostered, 400-650lb
Ferguson Farms 75 Red Angus strs/hfrs, weaned, vacc. 300-500lbs
Jr Payne 25 Braunviehx strs/hfrs, 500-650lbs
Ron Bouzidan 80 Angus/Red Angus hfrs, weaned, vacc 450-550 lbs
Brown Ranch 150 Ang/Herf/Charx strs, hfrs, off grass, 700-850 lbs

Call or visit www.winterlivestock.com for more info!

Opportunities come knocking at our door every day. For the last several years, calves have been sold at an extreme premium to what feeders were bringing or projected to bring. This fall, some calves are selling below current feeder prices and futures prices. The last two years there has been no wheat pasture in central Oklahoma, and now it looks like there is plenty of moisture to get a crop started. It’s frustrating enough to have cattle ready for wheat and no wheat pasture, but it’s far worse to have calves ready and not be able to graze the wheat that’s growing well!

Feed costs are going to have a tremendous impact on our society. The United States has always had cheap food for its citizens, but the high costs of transportation, planting and harvesting, and more competition for the same feed is going to change a lot of things. Since the grade school, the teachers always said people needed food, shelter and clothing, and those were going to be the basic needs. Nowadays, it seems like every one wants more than they need, no matter what the cost.

Bred cows and calves are in plentiful supply right now. The fall calf run is in full swing, and lots of cows and calves are going to town. That’s opportunity knocking! There is more feed in the country than ever, there will be wheat pasture in Oklahoma, and the future looks bright. Why not try to get along? If the majority wants to sell their cows and calves, wouldn’t it make sense to buy at the low rather than the high?

OPPORTUNITIES COMING UP AT WINTER LIVESTOCK:

Tuesday, November 6 Regular sale, great selection of cows/calves

Breckenridge Ranch 60 Ang/Brangx cows, bred to Ang/Brangus
Terrance Ranch 90 Fancy, Angus calves 400-500lbs
Smith Cattle 40 Gelb/Angusx calves, 400-500lbs

Tuesday, November 13 Special weaned and preconditioned calf sale
Tuesday, November 20 Thanksgiving week sale
Tuesday, November 27 End of the month cow sale
Saturday, December 1 Annual Fall Bred Heifer and Cow sale

www.winterlivestock.com
www.cattleusa.com

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS!