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April 2026 04/08/26 6:18:00 PM
4-27-2026
We had a good ole tub roller through here this morning. It brought about an inch and a half of rain in 2 hours! The wind wasn’t bad, there was some lightening and thunder, but it was mostly raining this morning. It had all moved out by 9:30am, but there was sure water in the ditches and terraces were full when I went to therapy at 9am. The sun was out this afternoon, and temperatures were in the 70’s. It feels like it might turn around and do another round here this evening! The forecast shows another 80% chance coming on Thursday, so we will have to put off mowing hay for this week! It’s sure looking good over knee high already.
Saturday was the last sale in April and usually lighter. We ended up with a darn good run of stock and outside merchandise. The hog market was mostly steady with fat hogs at $0.60 to $0.65 with on group of colored outside hogs bringing up to $0.85. Sows were $0.50 to $0.55, while feeder pigs were over a dollar per pound for all weights. Some 76lb pigs sold at $85.00, some 89lb sold at $95.00 and 92lb brought $99.00 per head. Feeder buyers were noticeably stronger in the market than roaster pigs buyers this week.
The sheep and goat sale had a nice run and market that is resisting a seasoned decline so far. The top 50lb kids sold at $5.60 per pound, The 65lb also broke over $5.00 at $5.10 for a top. The 95lb wethers also hit a high of $4.40 per pound. The big billies brought up to $2.90 and most nannies brought $1.60 to $1.85. Several lambs sold at $4.00 with 68lb lambs topping at $4.20 per pound. The cull ewes sold at $1.15 to $1.40 and bucks brought $1.30 to $1.65 per pound.
The outside sale saw small squares of better hay bring $4.00 to $6.50 and lower value hay sold at $0.50 to $3.50. The big round bales were $20.00 to $40.00 with some of the fancier alfalfa brought $50.00 to $60.00. Big square bales of hay brought $35.00 to $60.00. Hedge posts were solid at $75.00 on the corners and $50.00 on the fancier line posts. The big run of miscellaneous items had the crew busy out front until 1pm. The tomatoes, plants, flowers and vegetable sets made the first spring debut. The tomato plants ranged from $10.00 to $20.00 each. The flowers were mostly $4.00 to $15.00. There were several puppies around for the sale and thankfully none were left over.
The cattle sale had over 500 head through this week. The veal calves sold from $1500 to $1850 on several nice strong week-old calves.
The cow/calf pairs ranged from $5000 to $5600 for the decent end of the younger pairs. A couple of 870lb pairs, yes 870lb pairs, sold at $4800. Bred cows ranged from $3500 to $4500 for both second and third period cows of most ages. Aged bred cows and small calves sold at $3100 to $3750.
The feeder cattle were in strong demand on a lighter run. Weigh cows were in very strong demand. Heiferettes and cows going home weighing 975lb to 1150lb sold at $2.85 to $3.15 per pound. The cows returning home to feed sold at $1.80 to $2.00 per pound. Lower yielding cows sold from $1.50 to $1.70 per pound. Big bulls ranged from $2.40 to $2.56 on the top end. Full and lower yielding or overly fat bulls sold at $1.80 to $2.20. The cow market is sure solid every week as we get closer to extremely light runs coming up through the summer.
My ankle is sure coming along good. I have been helping with AI, breeding cows and heifers morning and evening. It will get tired and sore by the finish time at 9pm or 10pm, but a good night’s rest and it’s ready to go again. Therapy has been good for it and the crew has been awesome to work with. I will go at least one more week and see if I can’t stop by then.
Ai is going right along and we keep sending more and more cattle to grass each week. Those girls love it and we love it even more! I had all the fences checked, gates and gaps all check and ready before we started letting them go. I’ll be danged if within 10 hours of turning a group of heifers out, there were 10 of them on the loose! It turns out the water gap I had them check was fine, but the heifers found it to be just a nice duck under and off they went! The crew was able to get 2 of them put on just before dark. The other 8 ended up almost 2 miles south in a nice cornfield. So, the boys took horses and a couple hours, and they were able to get them walked back to the pasture and all aws fine. (The water gap was fixed)
We have a really good feeder cattle sale coming up this Saturday and a pair and bred cow sale on May 9th!
Have a dandy week!
4-20-2026
The forecast had us lined up for nasty storms and tornado warnings last week. We did get from 7 tenths to an inch and a half of rain, but thankfully no storms. It did cool off again to the low 30’s at night the past couple mornings and even some frost around. Highs in the 50’s and lows in the 60’s with it warming up again as the week goes. There is another chance of rain later this week, so we will watch and see if the planters get rolling or not. Nothing started in the is area yet. From the looks of the alfalfa around some folks may have to mow hay before they plant crops!
Saturday was a really good sale. The hog market was steady to slightly lower on the big sows. The over 500lb topped at $0.50 to $0.60 with more at $0.50 to $0.54. Light sows were selling from $0.43 to $0.50. Fat hogs sold at $0.55 to $0.65 for the bulk. Pigs were right at a dollar per pound for 70lb and $1.35 per a pound on lighter pigs. The one big boar weighed 980lbs at $0.08.
The sheep and goat market was good and active across all classes. Kid goats sold at $4.20 to $4.80 per pound. Nannies sold at $1.35 to $2.00. Billies sold from $2.00 to $2.30 per pound. Lambs ranged from $3.50 to $4.25 per pound with a very nice quality supply. Cull ewes sold from $0.90 to $1.35 and bucks sold at $1.20 to $1.50 per pound. Several kids and some lambs under 40lb were selling by the head at $70.00 to $160.00.
The outside sale had a nice offering of big round bales. The market had 1 pile up to $55.00 while the most of the dry, net wrapped, full-sized bales were at $30.00 to $45.00. Big square bales were much lower at $40.00 to $60.00 this week. Small square bales of hay brought $3.50 to $5.50. One pile of nicer line posts brought $45.00. Derek had a very manageable outside merchandise sale to work through this week.
The cattle sale sure had an outstanding run of calves and yearlings this week. The fat cattle market is within striking distance of the $2.50 mark and corn not changing much helped producers to continue to keep the pens full, producing high quality beef for customers. Baby calves were solid at $1300 to $1750 this week. We are still seeing 15hd to 25hd calves per week.
Many light weight calves off of fall cows were up to $7.00 per pound on 325lb steers. Many calves just under 300lb brought $1900 to $2150 per head. Some 4958lb blk steers brought $5.70. A package weighing 543lb brought $5.51, 637lb bwf steers brought $4.76, black steers brought $4.44 weighing 670lb, 711lb steers brought $4.12, red angus steers weighing 758 brought $3.855 and a load of red and blk steers weighing 839lb brought $3.76
The 310lb blk heifers brought $1900. Another set weighing 355lb brought $1950.00, some 406lb sold at $5.30, 480lb brought $5.00, 531lb brought $4.75. Some 602 weights brought $4.00, some 675lb brought $3.80, some 705lb brought $3.68 and a load weighing 794lb brought $3.55. Black replacement heifers weighing 913lb brought $2950 per head.
The weigh cow market was darn active here as usual. The better cows sold from $1.85 to $2.00. Some take home heiferettes and young cows sold from $2.25 to $3.15. The bulk of the bulls brought $2.20 to $2.30 with a $2.54 top.
It was a really good sale with right at 1500 head through the ring. The crew did a good job and everyone, but Peewee made it to the end! It takes a great crew to get through the sale with all the many consignments.
I made it to my ankle check up in Des Moines this morning. The Doc let me out of the support book and back into a regular shoe. He says it all looks good, just keep working on getting it stronger and see you in 6 weeks! Yahoo! Then my wife has to ask him if I am allowed to carry buckets of feed and I’ll be darned if he didn’t say, “Sure, get after it.” I guess I will have to see if I can handle it or not!
We start AI in the Herefords this week and should get some to grass by the end of the week. I’m looking forward to that, heifers are ready to go also I think!
I almost forgot to mention this first wave of morels made it to the sale on Saturday. It was a lively auction at noon on Saturday with the market solid at $20.00 on half pound bags and $40.00 to $50.00 on one pound bags. There is always a wide range of buyers on the little bags. Young, old, internet and phone buyers! We will see what happens next week, but that might be it this year!
There is a nice run of bred cows and pairs this coming Saturday.
Have a dandy week!
4-14-2026
Saturday brought a good run of all classes of livestock. The hog sale kicked things off as usual with over 200 head. Fat hogs sold from $0.52 to $0.65 and one cut up to $0.75 for locker hogs. Sows were lower with Jimmy Dean down for the week and some large depopulation in PRSS infected barns in other parts of the nation, putting large numbers in the chain. Feeder pigs sold at $1.00 back to $0.85 on some 110lb pigs. Boars sold at $0.09 to $0.10 for over 350lbs and light boars brought $0.35 to $0.40.
The sheep and goat sale had a good-sized run. The kids goats topped at $5.35 per pound on a fat set of billy kids at 53lb. Most of the market was at $4.10 to $4.75. Nannies sold at $1.40 to $1.95. Big billies sold at $2.10 to $2.60. Lambs were solid at $3.80 to $4.10 for 50lb to 80lb. There weren’t any fat lambs this week. Cull ewes sold at $1.20 and the bucks sold at $1.35 to $1.40. We hope to see this market remain steady the next few weeks.
The outside sale had a good run of hay again, but no straw. The small squares sold from $3.50 to $8.00 and mostly at $4.00 to $5.50 per bale. The big rounds were mostly lower on grass and rougher hay. Some fancy alfalfa or hay out of the barn was steady. Grass hay sold at $25.00 to $35.00. Alfalfa second or third cutting alfalfa sold from $50.00 to $60.00. Big squares were pretty much $60.00 to $80.00 for grass and alfalfa both. It seemed like most buyers were picking up small quantities to make it through and one guy buying larger volumes of hay to help for summer.
The cattle sale had a large run of pairs and breds, as well as, a few bulls. Baby calves sold mostly at $1200 to $1600. The younger pairs were bringing $6000 to $6500. Middle-aged pairs sold form $5000 to $6000 and aged pairs sold at $3500 to $4300. Fall bred 3-6yr old cows ranged from $4000 to $4600. First period cows sold form $3300 to $4250. The big crowd and buyers were making sure they had inventory to put on the grass this summer! The feeders were still in high demand on a light run. There were 250 head of weigh cows and bulls made for several transactions in the late afternoon. The market was $4 to $6 higher across most of the cows and $10 to $15 higher in places. The bulk of the better cows were at $1.80 to $2.00. We had young cows as high as $3.20 at 950lb and several at $2.70 to $3.00 from 1000lb to 1200lb. The top bull weighed over 2300lb and brought $2.66! The bulk of the bulls brought $2.20 to $2.35. Packers are sure willing to bid on cows and bulls to keep chain speed normal when they are offered them in the auction! If you call any of them and try to sell them direct they will bid you a strong $20 per hundred weight less or $200 to $300 per head less!
We have had a couple 2-3 tenths showers the past few days and warmer up to 85 degrees. The grass and cover crops are really responding and growing faster now. We are forecast to see more showers and warm towards the weekend then it may cool off some into next week. Planting here is sure on hold for the next week. I have heard from guys that are running in Illinois and sure south of us in Missouri. It’s just too wet here to get anything started yet. Alfalfa looks great if the wevils or frost doesn’t get it.
Last Tuesday, the doc let me start walking again in a boot on my new ankle. It’s kind of tender but boy does freedom feel darn good! I’m back to driving and started physical therapy in Fairfield and the team up there is getting right after it to help get it limbered up and moving again! It’s twice weekly for a while. I can feel improvement already and very thankful for that.
The crew sent the first couple of loads of pairs to the pasture this morning. We should be able to get another group moved later this week. Then we will be AI’ing heifers next week and getting them in summer pastures as we finish each group.
It looks like the dang ticks are sure going to be trouble again. Our winter wasn’t cold enough to freeze them out and this early warm spring has them up early. Mushroom hunters are really battling them already. The big thing to watch on the cattle is a sever infestation as you kicking out. Ticks on the underlines, ears, udders of cows and the tail. Pour on insecticides, ear tags and longrange, oilars and dusters can all help prevent them. I don’t believe we can stop ticks, flies or mosquito bites from spreading Theileria, but I do think we can sure mitigate our loss of cattle or production from we have learned from the past year and from others that have had it before.
Looking forward to a great run of feeder cattle coming this Saturday April 18th and another bred cow/pair sale on April 25th.
Have a dandy week!
4-8-2026
Another up and down week of weather has been here the past 7 days! We have been warm and sunny in the 70’s and rain and chilly in the low 30’s. We even had snow flurries here on Tuesday! The forecast calls for a chance of rain here on Thursday, but warming up nicely towards the weekend. Folks are starting to mow yards in the area, as the grass is growing everyday!
Saturday’s sale was sure a good one, with an extra large crowd here. The hog market was lower on sows with a $0.60 top. Fat hogs sold from $0.57 to $0.65. Several packages and groups of feeder pigs sold at over a dollar per pound for 40lb to 60lb pigs and $0.90 on those 70lb to 100lb pigs. Roaster and feeder buyers were both active.
The sheep and goat market was steady to slightly lower on a little run. Bottle lambs weighing 50lb to 75lb sold at $3.40 to $4.00. Cull ewes sold at $1.10 to $1.40. Kid goats topped at $5.05 for 45lb kids. Cull nannies were $1.10 to $1.60a pound. Big billies sold at $2.15 to $2.85. Randall Burkholder came early this week. He filled in the right until the Mathes boys arrived, then he sold for a while in the morning. He’s doing great! Thanks for helping.
The outside sale was lighter after the rain we had. Small squares didn’t really get brought in until Saturday morning and only a light test. The bulk of the market was at $4.00 to $6.00, just a few bales reached up to $7.00. Big rounds sold at $30.00 to $55.00 with the bulk of them at $45.00 to $50.00. Big squares of alfalfa was very solid at $55.00 to $65.00 per bale.
The outside sale had an outstanding run of high-quality hedge posts. The market started out good and got progressively higher as we worked through the various piles. Line posts sold from $20.00 to $50.00. Corners and braces sold from $50.00 to $110.00 with 2 piles of 20 and 25 about 10ft long sold at $200.00 and $205.00! That is a Keosauqua Sale company “all time” record! It’s good to see the fellas that doing the work of cutting those things, get rewarded for those efforts!
The cattle sale had just less than 1000 head this week. The baby calf market was steady at $1250.00 to $1600.00 on the nice kind. A few bred cows and odd pairs were getting steady interest. The feeder cattle sold to an aggressive set of buyers. Some 280lb steer calves brought $2000 per head, some 393lb sold at $6.05 per pound. A few 415lb brought $5.90, 510lb sold at $5.00, 607lb bwf steers brought $4.70, 675lb steers $4.15, some 704lbs brought $4.05 and 770lb sold at $3.86 and some 898lb steers brought $3.40.
Heifers weighing 280lb brought $1900 per head. Ten black heifers weighing 400lb brought $5.25 and 503lb red heifers sold at $5.00, 640lb sold at $3.80 and 700lb brought $3.40 to $3.50.
Weigh cows sold steady at $1.85 to $
3-31-2026.00 on the high yielding end. The top bulls got to $2.40 this week.
I made the trip to Des Moines with Becky on Monday. We dropped bulls off at Nichols for collection, then went to West Des Moines for a doctor's appointment for my ankle. The doctor said it looks good. So, we start therapy and quit being lazy! It was all good news for me, but even more for Becky!
We are all finished up calving black heifers and Herefords. Colby still has an ongoing co here calving and Ted has a few black cows left. The first heifers get lutalyse coming up the 19th. The boys have been busy working groups through the chute for pre-breeding work and only have the 5G heifers left to do. The calves are sure doing well, running out in the pastures.
Saturday is a special bred cows, pairs and breeding bull sale. We have several nice quality consignments sure to be worth a look in Keosauqua this week!
Have a dandy week!
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