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February 2026 02/04/26 1:12:00 PM
2-28-2026
The colder weather came back into Southeast Iowa this last weekend. We went down to 8 degrees overnight and stayed below 25 degrees all weekend. We are warming up a little today, but that dang south wind is still chilly at 35-45 degrees! We sure cannot complain about February weather. It’s been dry and very nice all February! The forecast looks warmer the rest of the week, with temperatures into the 50’s and 60’s with a slight chance of rain or snow a couple of times, but nothing heavy. As we start into March, we are sure hoping for more of these nice days to bring us closer to spring!
Saturday’s sale was sure a good one! The hog sale lead things off again with fat hogs selling at $0.70 to $0.85 and a few locker hogs at over $0.90. The sow market was solid with a $0.72 top. Mostly light weights selling at $0.60 to $0.70. We only had 1 group of feeder pigs this week with 88lb pigs bringing $109.00 per head.
The sheep and goat market seems to have found a new normal! Boy this market is holding good and strong! The kids weighing 45lb to 70lb ranged from $5.00 to $5.60 per pound. Nannies sold from $1.50 to $2.10 per pound and big billies sold from $2.30 to $2.60 per pound.
The lambs weighing 50lb to 70lb sold at $4.20 to $4.70 per pound. Fat lambs almost hit $3.00 this week. The weigh up ewes sold at $1.20 to $1.50, there wasn’t much for cull bucks. Baby lambs sold from $35.00 to 75.00 and bottle kids sold from $20.00 to $85.00. The low end of the market would be white dairy kids and the upper end is boer crossbred kids.
The outside sale had a very large run of hay around again. The small square of straw sold at $6.00 to $8.00. Hay ranged from $3.00 to $7.50. Big round bales of hay were sure steady at $25.00 to $50.00 and a few bales at $60.00. Big square bales sold at $25.00 on the rough grass and up to $65.00 on the finer alfalfa grass mix. The round cornstalk bales sold at $20.00 to $30.00 and round straw bales sold at $15.00 to $35.00.
Ther was a big crowd around out front this week, even though it was chilly! The hedge posts sold good for the better kind at $35.00 to $50.00 on corner posts. All kids of miscellaneous items out front again, including a Honda 4-wheeler that brought $3000 and an older high mileage car brought $800. Plus all kinds of items to occupy an hour and a half sale.
The cattle sale was this week’s highlight, with many strings of reputation, fancy feeder cattle from the area! Baby calves were pretty much $1100 to $1300 this week. Those 200lb calves were sure in the $1800 to $1900 per head. There were a few pairs selling from $4700 to $5000 and bred middle aged cows sold at $4000 to $4500. The 300lb steers brought almost $7.00 per pound, hitting $6.85 and $6.90 on different calves. The top 400lb steers brought $5.75. A set of 585lb RWF steers brought $4.55. A nice load of mostly black steers weighing 730lb brought $4.06. A load of RWF steers weighing 752lb steer brought $3.895 and a load weighing 824lb brought $3.82. The 300lb heifers topped at $5.10, 495lb heifers sold at $4.80, 583lb heifers sold at $4.07 and some 676lb heifers sold at $3.70.
The weigh cows were steady with high yielding cows bringing $1.80 to $1.90. The top bulls sold at $2.30 to $2.38 and young cows and heiferettes sold at $2.30 to $2.80.
The cattle sure went through good, even with the short staff this week! Thankful for a dedicated crew that can take hold and stay the course to finish. The Sunday crew had a full day and some usual challenges, but made it through without too much trouble.
Becky went with me to the Iowa Hereford banquet in Pleasant Hill last Wednesday. There was a nice big crowd and good food that evening. We were awarded this year’s Iowa Seedstock Producer of the year. We were grateful to join the list of elite Iowa cattle breeders from the years past.
The Hereford sale was the next day, on Thursday. It was very nice and warm in Des Moines. There was a big ole crowd that turned up to participate in the sale. Our yearling bull turned out to be this year’s high selling Hereford, going to a new customer at Hampton, Iowa. We made it home in good shape, by 4 o’clock to find a couple new baby claves. It was sure a week to remember for this crew! A great big thank you goes out to the Chad Clausen Family for taking the bull and getting him ready for the sale!
It is a regular sale this week and there will be special feeder sale March 7th.
Have a dandy week!
2-17-2026
Well, it’s hard to believe the whole month of February could be so warm and mild. It’s dry and temperatures have made it into the mid 60’s this week. It sure has folks in an awful good mood for sure! When you get up to chore at 40 degrees and no snow, or you check your cows through the night in a sweatshirt with no baby calves froze to the ground from a heifer you looked at 2 hours ago and all the loaders start and run, it tends to keep folks in much better spirits! It’s truly a beautiful month of February! We thank the good lord for an unbelievable stretch of gorgeous winter weather!
Saturday was a beautiful day for a sale. One of the largest crowds all winter came out to buy, sale and just enjoy the markets and the camaraderie of Keosauqua Sale Co! The hog sale had over 300 head and solid prices were paid across all classes. The big sows sold at $75.00 to $78.00 and light sows were more $58.00 to $68.00. The fat hogs sold from $85.00 to $75.00. The feeder pigs were right at $1.00 to $1.10 per pound.
The sheep and goat market had over 600 head this sale. The market continues to be very, very high for this time of year. The bottle kids ranged from $50.00 to $90.00. Bottle lambs were from $25.00 to $85.00 per head. A nanny with twin kids about a week old brought $250.00 counting noses and a couple bred does due anytime brought about $600.00 each. The market kid goats at 50lb to 65lb sold at $5.20 to $5.80 per pound. Lambs weighing 60lb to 80lb were mostly $4.25 to $4.70. Old nannies were $210 to $2.40 and cull billies brought $2.50 to $2.65. Old ewes ranged from $1.20 to $1.85 and older cull bucks brought up to $2.00 per pound.
There was a huge outside sale again this week, with well over 1000 big bales here for the 3rd week in row. Small squares brought $2.00 to $6.00 and small squares of straw brought $8.50. The big round bales sold at $5.00 to $25.00 on the small, barely wrapped older hay. Better bales of quality hay were $30.00 to $50.00. Big squares of hay sold from 20.00 to $50.00. Big round bales of straw sold at $15.00, no talk bales were in this week’s sale. There still looks like an opportunity to buy some hay for next year, just in case!
There was a very large run on miscellaneous items out front on the nice day! Good hedge posts sold at $50.00 to 60.00 per post. It was a great day to be out front for the sale!
The cattle sale had a good run of bred cows and pairs. Baby calves led things off with most bringing $950.00 to $1250.00. Bred heifers in small groups sold at $4400 to $4950 middle aged 3rd period cows were mostly $4000 to $4500. Broken mouth 3rd period cows were $3300 to $4000. The first period middle aged blk cows were $3200 to $3600. Middle aged blk cows with month old calves brought $5000 to $5150 per pair. There was a light run of feeders but a very aggressive market on all weights were noted. The weigh cow sale had 130 head and was steady with high yielding cows bringing $1.80 to $1.93. Heiferettes and cows returning to feed or breed were $2.10 to $2.80. Big bulls topped at $2.36.
Bew baby boy Tate is doing well and mom has been back at the office a couple days! They are both doing good!
I am heading up to the Iowa Beef Expo and Iowa Hereford Banquet this evening. The banquet will be this evening in Pleasant Hill and the sale is tomorrow at 11:30am there at the north annex on the State fairgrounds. Last year it was nearly 20 degrees below zero and this year looks to be 60 degrees at sale time. It will be good to see everyone and hope for a good active sale!
The new calves have been stretched out in the sun on the dry grass the past few days. Those babies just glisten in the afternoon sun. The cows aren’t eating as much feed and the market is solid as we head towards spring. We are thankful to experience it all for sure!!
We have an outstanding run of cattle coming for this weeks feeder cattle auction. Come take a look!
Have a dandy week!
2-9-2026
When Mother Nature gives us a break it is an awesome stretch of weather! Wow, it has been nice the past week with highs in the 40’s and lows not much below 20 most nights! Today we are heading to the 60’s. This warm dry ground is sure a blessing for all the new baby calves showing up around the country. The forecast looks really good for the next several days. As we get towards the middle of February, we are sure pushing through the winter a long way. March is yet to come but if the local ground hog has any pull we should not mind March this year!
Saturday had a nice run of all classes of livestock and outside hay & misc. items. It was a picture-perfect day with a big crowd around most all day. The hog sale had a very competitive fat hog market. Fat hogs sold at $75 to almost $90 this week. Big, 300 pound outside colored hogs were at the higher end of the market. Sows sold from $70 to 82 on those weighing 500 pounds and $50 to 65 on most lighter weights. A handful of pigs were bringing around a dollar a lb. for all weights this week. Big boars were at $12 to 15 and light boars under 320 pounds were at $35 to 38.
The sheep and goat market moved up to 450 head. Kid goats weighing 40 to 60 pounds sold at $4.50 to 5.00 per lb. 70 to 90 pound kids were $3.60 to 4.10 a lb. Nannies sold from $1.85 to 2.20 a lb. Billies sold from $2.40 to 2.85 a lb. The lamb market was just as active. 50-to-70-pound lambs from $4.00 to 4.75 a lb. 100-pound lambs brought $3.00 to 3.05 and some 145-pound lambs brought $2.50 a lb. Cull ewes ranged from #1.30 to 1.52 and big bucks were from $1.45 to 1.75 a lb. Bottle lambs brought from $40 to 80 and baby goats were $30 to 70 a head.
The outside sale was loaded with big bales that numbered over 1100 bales this week. Big bales sold at $10 to 25 on the low end and $45 to 55 on the best. Big squares sold from $40 to 55 also. Bedding bales, straw and stalks sold from $25 to 45. Small squares of straw sold from $4.00 to 7.00 and hay brought $3.00 to 7.50 a bale. Firewood ranged from $10 to 35 for those smaller stacks. The Oliver tractor brought $2100 and a host of other merchandise out there kept the crew and a very large crowd occupied until 12:30 this week.
The cattle sale saw over 1000 head. The baby calf market was steady at $975 to 1150. Two weight calves sold from $1600 to 2150 as they got closer to 300 pounds. The top four weight steers were at $5.00 to 5.55 a lb. The better five weights were also $5.00 to 5.40 a lb. Some 620-pound steers brought $4.51; 664-pound steers at $4.13; 771-pound steers at $3.78; 803-pound steers at$3.72 a lb. A package weighing 886 brought $3.50 and a load at 920 pounds were at $3.40 a lb. The heifer market sure kept the pace right up this week. Three weight heifers were $5.20 to 5.65; four weights were $5.10 to 5.40 and six weights were $3.65 to 4.05 a lb. The top seven weight heifers brought $3.40 to3.50 a lb. The weigh cow market had plenty of snap to it Saturday evening. Packers are definitely engaged to keep shackle space full. The better cows were selling $1.80 to 1.90 a lb. Take home cows sold from $2.00 to 2.50 a lb. The big bulls hit a new top at $2.36 at 2145 pounds! Most of bulls were in the $2.00 to 2.20 a lb.
Becky went with me to the henry Co Cattleman’s banquet last week. A great big turnout, close to 300 and really good food. This county cooks a ton of product throughout the year. They turn around and give those proceeds back as scholarships to local young leaders working on further education. Great work and a good banquet! I didn’t even get a speeding ticket on the way back home!
Ted & Rachelle delivered a new grandson on Thursday last week! They named him Tate, 7 lbs. 9 oz. Mom and baby are all doing good. They got home Saturday afternoon right in time for Ted to help Luke get a calf at his house. I think Ted was glad to get back to business and Rachelle was glad to get relief from both Ted & Tate! Thankful they are home and all good for sure!
Looking like a darn good run of cows and pairs coming up this Saturday. Watch the website and Facebook to keep up dated on all the listings for this week’s sale.
Have a Dandy week!
2-4-2026
We have had a slight rise in temperatures from below zero to more in the teens and 20’s. Mostly cloudy the past 2 or 3 days, bit when the sun pops out it gets nice! The forecast looks better the next with highs into the 40’s or maybe even a 50! Its pretty darn nice for early February for sure! We have been able to get some lime and fertilizer spread and even cleaned up some manure this week!
Saturday was the last day of January and had a good run of all classes of stock and a big outside run of hay. The hog sale had over 300 head. The market is sure solid to better. The sows topped at $0.73 to $0.79 with a couple of locker sows bringing $0.82 to $0.83. The fat hogs sold from $0.80 to $0.90 on outside 300lb type butchers. The feeder pigs were back up to a dollar per pour or better for 70lb to 100lb pigs.
The sheep and goat market had 300 head also. The baby lambs and goats sold form $50.00 to $90.00 per head. The lambs sold at $3.40 to $3.70 per pound, while kid goats were $3.50 to $4.20 per pound. The weigh up ewes brought $1.10 to $1.60 per pound. The bred ewes sold at $360.00 to top. Ewes with lambs at side brought $150.00 counting noses. Nannies by the pound ranged from $1.60 to $2.10. There was good buyer participation on DV online auction!
The outside sale had a large run of hay. The small bales of hay sold from $3.00 to $7.00. Small bales of straw were mostly $3.00 to $4.50. The big rounds of better hay sold at $40.00 to $55.00. Smaller bales or plain quality hay sold from $17.50 to $35.00. Big round bales of straw sold at $35.00 to $45.00. The corn stalks sold at $30.00 to $40.00. Big squares of better alfalfa mix hay sold at $40.00 to $55.00. Grass mix big square bales brought $27.50 to $40.00. It seems as the winter is taking more hay and producers are taking advantage of the market to buy hay to make sure they are comfortable going into spring. Derek was on duty this week and had a good crowd outside in the cool temperatures. The firewood was a good seller bringing $15.00 on medium size piles and $75.00 to $90.00 on the bigger piles.
The cattle sale had baby calves selling from $1000.00 to $1200.00 on the nice end! The feeders had a noticeable stronger maker on a light supply. The weigh cows were fairly steady on the over 100 head again this sale. The slow cow pen had more in it and you could sure tell those ole things had been through some tough weather! There is a big difference in a cull cow check if we make the decision and get them sold before they deteriorate too bad! The top cows sold at $1.80 to $1.90 with the bulk of them bringing $1.70 to $1.80. The bulls sold from $2.10 to $2.20 on the lighter yielding bulls.
We are getting several calves everyday! We are very thankful to get them on the ground while it has warmed up! We had to hold up on tagging them in the cold, but we have been able to get caught back up this week.
Tomorrow is Ted and Rachelle’s day to bring new life into the world and add to their family! We hope and pray they get along good… and get back to work soon!!
The ground hog sure would not have seen his shadow in this country, so I’m good with just 4 weeks of winter left! They can have 6 weeks out east if he went back underground out there! They just as well get it, as they have had most of the nasty weather out there all winter anyway!
There is a good special feeder cattle sale this coming Saturday. Then next week on Valentines Day, there will be a cow and bull Sale!
Have a dandy week!
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