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March 2026 03/04/26 10:59:00 AM
3-24-2026
March weather in southeast Iowa has seen about as much fluctuation as is possible in a week! We wont from those blizzard conditions and a -10 degree windchill to 85 degrees on Saturday! I mentioned last week that the whole country could have pneumonia after the up and downs. Boy this past week sure did not help that at all. We have cooled back off to 28 degrees at night and headed back up to the 70’s before the weekend. The snow we received sure didn’t make it sloppy very long and we have dried up pretty well. The forecast has a chance of rain again towards the end of this weekend and more of those up and down temperatures until the end of the month. It’s hard to believe that March will be gone already on Tuesday!
Saturday was a beautiful, warm, spring day and brought out a large run of livestock, as well as, a huge crowd! The hog sale had nearly 300 head of pigs, fats, sows and boars. The fat hogs sold from $0.70 to $0.78. Colored outside hogs continue to have the highest market value at the sale. The sows sold from $0.68 to $0.73 for the over 500lb sows. Lighter sows were mostly $0.55 to $0.65. Pigs sold at $1.10 to $1.40 per pound for most all weights. Boars sold at $0.08 to $0.15.
The sheep and goat sale saw 650 head through the ring. Bottle babies sold from $35.00 to $75.00. Kid goats topped at $5.15 per pound for the 50lbs. That weight was the hot spot this sale. The 60lb to 80lb kids at $3.60 to $4.25. The cull nannies brought $1.55 to $2.25. Big billies sold at $2.45 to $2.60. Lambs weighing 45lb to 55lb brought $4.00 to $4.40 and 60lb to 80lb lambs brought$3.20 to $3.75. Cull ewes sold at $1.10 to $1.60 and bucks brought $1.35 to $1.70.
The outside sale had a darn good run of hay. Small squares sold from $3.00 to $6.50. The big round bales were $30.00 to $65.00. Big squares sold at $45.00 to $70.00. Cornstalks and straw brought $30.00 to $40.00. Derek was on hand to help outside. He and Colby did small squares and miscellaneous and I did the big round bales. I put a handheld PA in the back of my side by side and Doug Flynn under the wheel and we drove past the hay and sold it in about 20 minutes. There was a very large amount of outside merchandise, so I sold around the outside of it to help the other crew. There was a huge crowd out there doing a lot of business this week!
The cattle sale had over 900 this week. There was a very large offering of baby calves this week. The better end sold at $1150 to $1350. We always have a few head of cows and pairs and this week’s offering sold from $2600 to $4600. A couple 3 yr old Hereford breeding bulls brought $4400.
A feeder cattle market remained very strong all afternoon. The 300lb steers and bulls sold over $6.00 per pound. The 500 pound strs were up to $5.25 and 600lb brought up to $4.50 to $4.70. Some 700lb steers brought $3.70 to $4.05, 800lbs topped at $3.65 and low 900lb steers brought at $3.40 top again. Farmers, feeders and order buyers alike made for an extremely active market all afternoon.
The weigh cows sold steady at $1.76 to $2.00 on the better yielding cows. Young cows sold from $2.30 to $3.10, going back home and big bulls from $2.10 to $2.40. We sold 140 cows and bulls again this week.
Sitting around with my leg up felt pretty good Saturday night. I sat in the block through the feeder sale and I don’t have my foot high enough! It was much better Sunday. Monday I got the staples out and changed into a support boot. I’m still supposed to stay off of it for 2 weeks. Doc said it looked good. Bill thought dang this is going to be a little more work to get this ole thing going again. I’m sure healing fine, but it would be awful nice to be able to drive and chore again! The boys put the first CIDR’s in last Friday, as our breeding cycle begins again. We will be on a pretty set schedule from now until the end of May. The heifers sure look good and expect a good breed up this spring.
It’s a regular sale this week. A special feeder sale April 4th and a cow sale April 11th.
Have a dandy week!
3-16-2026
Ole man winter has returned here Sunday night! We went from 57 degrees and calm to 10 degrees with 20mph to 40mph winds with snow! It was sure nasty Sunday night, but by now the sun is out and the snow has quit with temperatures up to 20 degrees. The wind is still very sharp at 15mph to 25mph but it is supposed to ease up towards the early evening. The forecast looks to be colder again Tuesday, but Wednesday we go back to 55 degrees and Saturday says a high of 81 degrees! If the calves and kids haven’t been sick yet, the weather is going to challenge them over this week. Check them extra close, don’t assume that they are up going and healthy because this next 100 days can really take them away from you if you aren’t watching.
Saturday had a large run of livestock and a good run of outside merchandise. The hog sale got started off with a steady market of pigs and 4 to 6 lower on fat hogs and sows. The pigs sold at $1.10 to $1.35 per pound with both feeders and roasters bidding aggressively on feeder pigs. The fat hogs sold at $0.63 to $0.73 with outside 300lb colored hogs at the high end of the market. Sows topped at $0.70 to $0.75 and big boars sold at $0.15 to $0.20.
The sheep and goat market had 520 head. The kids and bottle lambs sold from $40.00 to $100.00. Light lambs weighing 60lb to 75lb ranged from $4.00 to $4.60 per pound for the higher quality, fleshier lambs. Weigh ewes sold by the pound from $1.20 to $1.50. The kid goats weighing 45lb to 70lb sold at $4.10 to $4.80 per pound. Nannies sold at $1.50 to $2.10 and big billies brought $2.40 to $2.60 per pound. The strength of the market has surprised me. Generally it would ease up then get a little stronger going into Easter, We will wait and see if there is any strength going into the holiday.
The outside sale had a lighter run of small squares. Small squares ranged from $3.00 to $7.50. Big round bales sold at $15.00 to $55.00. Big squares of better greener alfalfa sold at $45.00 to $70.00 this week. There weren’t any cornstalks or straw to check the market. Hedge posts were good in quality and not just quite as high as last week. The better line posts form from $20.00 to $40.00 and the premium corners sold at $50.00 to $70.00. Smaller plainer line posts sold at $8.00 to $20.00 and plain corners brought $20.00 to $35.00. All kinds of miscellaneous items there this week, kept Derek and Colby busy! Thank you to Philip for taking care of the big bales and the hedge posts.
The cattle sale had several nice baby calves that sold from $1250.00 to $1700.00. Those 200lb calves were at $1800.00 to $2150.00. Ther were a couple small groups of first calf heifer pairs this week. One set had November/December calves on them and were not bred back yet. They weighed 1220 and brought $5900.00. The other 10 heifers had month old cales. The pairs brought $5000.00 and $5100.00 and were weighing 975lb on the pairs. The other scattered middle aged cows with a 2 week old calves sold at $4000 to $5500.00. The third stage young cows sold at $4500.00 to $5100.00, aged third period cows topped at $4300.00. A good package of black 3-6yr old bred Hereford and due to start September 15th brought $3750.00. I would expect to see those fall bred cows to get much higher as we get to may and the grass is waving in the breeze!
A handful of feeder cattle in this week, saw very active demand from DV auction and the fellows on the bleachers. The 350lb heifers sold at $5.20, 500lb bull calves brought up to $4.50, 655lb Charolais heifers brought $3.525 and some 720lb black bulls were at $3.35.
The weigh cow market was back in gear with the better cows bringing $1.75 to $1.90. Heiferettes and turn out cows brought $2.30 to $2.95. The top bulls sold at $2.20 to $2.40 per pound. A big crowd was around here for the sale both outside and on the bleachers.
I am spending time healing up this ankle project, watching some online sales and looking at bull sale catalogs. The thing that aggravates me the most is sitting inside watching Becky chore. I don’t mind the rest of it so bad, but watching out the window when this nasty weather hit sure wasn’t any cup of tea! She’s a trooper and gets it done, but I would much rather be doing it, than having her take care of them.
We don’t have any cows left at our house to calve. The boys relocated what we had left to calve to Troy, where Ted and Rachelle can watch over them. I am thankful that happened, even though I argued about it!
Lucas put the breeding calendar together, so I have a date on the calendar to get my butt moving to help! My appointment with the surgeon will be next week to get stitches out and an x-ray. It will likely set the course to how soon I become mobile again! It’s pretty much whatever the good lord has in store for me!
This week will be another feeder cattle special. We are expecting about 800 head. It should be nice and warm again.
Have a dandy week!
3-10-2026
We hit 70 degrees and have had an inch and a half of the rain this past week. There is no frost left in the ground and the rain sure soaked up good and made the wheat and rye green up fast. There are chances of more rain and thunder storms over night and cooling down this 70 degree temperature, but it’s sure not a bad way to start off March in Southeast Iowa.
Saturday sale had a very pretty day and a good run of all classes of livestock with a lively crowd around for the sale! The hog sale kicked off at 9am, as always. The fat hogs sold from $0.65 to $0.75. The big sows were in strong demand this week with sows over 500lb bringing $0.79 to $0.81. Lighter sows sold at $0.68 to $0.77. The feeder pig market on about 100 head was mostly $75.00 to $100.00 for pigs weighing 60lb to 85lb. Both 4-H and feeders were active in this week’s sale.
The sheep and goat market wants to move lower, but has been so dang strong that even the lower market is remarkable strong! The baby lambs and kids sold at $50.00 to $100.00. Kids weighing 45lb to 75lb were $4.10 to $4.50 per pound. The cull nannies ranged from $1.50 to $1.80 and billies sold at $2.25 to $2.80. The better lambs sold at $3.70 to $4.10 per pound, cull ewes brought $1.25 to $1.40 and bucks sold at $1.25 to $1.55.
The outside sale had way less hay this week. The small squares were held back by the rain. The ones that did make it to the sale sold well at $4.50 to $7.00. There wasn’t any straw in the small bales. The big rounds sold at $25.00 to $50.00 and big squares brought $35.00 to $50.00.Local and shippers both participated in the hay market this week.
There was a nice run of miscellaneous items out front this week. Colonel Philip Zimmerman was back to fill in for Derek out front his week. There were all kinds of posts, gates, a building, and a few ATV’s out there in this weeks sale.
The cattle sale had a run of 810 head. The futures were nervous and going south last week, but the cash market in Keosauqua on Saturday, sure remained extremely active across all weights and classes. Little black bull calves under 300lbs brought $1875.00 per head. Some 343lb steers sold at $6.20, 445lb strs brought $5.70, 520lb strs brought $4.72, a xbred load of Charolais and black steers weighing 832lb brought $3.41 and a load of red and black steers weighing 901lb sold for $3.40.
The heifer market was just as good retaining the market. Some 200lb heifers brought $1900 per head! Some 407lb heifers sold at $5.05, 600lb heifer brought $4.21 to $4.31. The top baldie heifers weighing 775lb brought $3.70. A great group of backgrounders, farmers and order buyers sure made for an active market here on Saturday. The weigh cows were lower at least $10.00 per hundred weight. I’m not sure how long that will last, but we sure it sure felt to be lower. The bulk of the better yielding cows sold at $1.55 to $1.70 and the better bulls brought $2.10 to $2.17.
If you were here Saturday, you saw that I was absent. Last week, I hay my right ankle worked on in Waukeee and have a new join in the upper part of my ankle. I had it brought over 30 years ago and after that surgery, I soon wore the cartilage out of it. It’s been bone on bone for a long time. I looked at getting work done on it 25 years ago but never got a good feeling that they would be able to make it better. A few years ago, I ran into an Orthopedic surgeon at the farm I was loading yearlings at. He asked me about what I had going on. After a short discussion, he told me if I ever wanted to get it looked at, to let him know because he had friends in West Des Moines that worked on ankles. So, at about Christmas time, I gave up and called him and said I was ready! They were able to schedule me an appointment and I got right in to meet the surgeon. He looked at my xrays and gave me 3 options. I could get a cortisone shot and it would be better for a while, we could fuse the joint, it would take the pain away but also would limit your mobility OR we can replace this joint and I will make a new man out of you! Easy reasoning told me I was in for a replacement. So, we scheduled surgery at the last edge of calving season and recovery to be over at the start of breeding season! Becky had me at the surgery center at 6am. The doctor was in shortly and by noon we were back home and on the road to recovery! I am non-weight bearing for 2-4 weeks, so I’m on the crutches or a nice little knee scooter for a while. I really don’t have much pain so far and sure think I am healing faster than the normal old man might be! I stayed out Saturday and boy was it a long slow day watching the computer!
I am sure thankful for all the crew, Jimmy and Clay Hammaker for filling in and running the sale! I was back Sunday and am getting along very good!
We have a nice bred cow and pair sale this Saturday, March 14th.
Have a dandy week!
3-2-2026
March has arrived as a lamb. We are mild and dry, so far. It is 35 degrees today, cloudy and chilly, but sure nothing nasty about the first of march this year. The forecast is calling for some more rain chances through the week, with temperatures mostly above freezing with a 70 degree day out ahead of us. It’s been a winter to remember and reminisce on in the future!
Saturday’s sale to end February had a large run of livestock, hay, posts and miscellaneous. It was a beautiful day for sure and a big crowd was around all day. The hog sale kicked off just before 9am and we sold over 300 head this week! The market was from $0.65 to $0.78. The sows were higher with over 500lb sowings selling at $0.83 to $0.86 and lighter sows mostly bringing $0.60 to $0.70. Big boars brought $0.15 to $0.20. The feeder pigs had a very wide market ranged. A solid price of $1.10 to $1.25 per pound was paid for all the bulk of the pigs. A package of 80lb 4-H pigs sold at $180.00 per head.
The sheep and goat sale was slightly lower on most classes. Those 40lb to 60lb meat type kids sold form $4.50 to $5.20 per pound. Nannies sold from $1.75 to $2.30 per pound. Big billies sold at $2.25 to $2.50 per pound. Light lambs sold at $4.00 to $4.40 per pound. The 100lb lambs topped at $3.50. Ewes selling by the pound sold at $1.25 to $1.50 with big bucks mostly the same.
A couple packages of middle-aged ewes with lambs at side brought $200 to $310 counting noses. Baby lambs were $60.00 to $100.00 and bottle kid goats sold at $40.00 to $90.00.
The outside market had 1285 big bales of hay. The market is steady to just a little higher. Nicer quality, good, tight big round bales sold at $40.00 to $60.00. Smaller, lighter, rougher condition hay was $20.00 to $35.00. The big squares were from $30.00 to $55.00. Cornstalk round bales brought $20.00 to $30.00 and straw round bales sold from $20.00 to $30.00.
The hedge posts were very high quality this week. Several stacks of 9ft and 10ft would bring $70 to $90. Good 8ft line posts sold from $20 to $40. It’s always fun to sell top quality posts and several fellas went out and found the good kind!
Derek and Colby had all they needed out there! The calf shed brought $1900, a used chain saw brought $200, a 3 point seeder brought $450, used fencers brought $100, wood sheep feeders at $200. There were all kinds of miscellaneous items out there that took most of 2 hours for them to work through.
The calf market was good at $1000 to $1400 this week. A group of 3 head of black bred 3rd period cows brought $4250. A few black steers weighing 305lb sold at $2000 per head and a 388lb brought $5.60. Some 650lb all-natural, unweaned bulls brought $3.825. Some 876lb onery bwf bulls sold at $3.025. The light heifers weighing 400lb brought $4.75, 565lb brought $4.20 and some 659lb sold for $3.76.
The weigh cow market was solid as ever with about 140 head. The heiferettes and young cows sold from $2.20 to $3.00. The high yielding cows ranged at $1.70 to $1.85. The bulk of the average cows sold at $1.65 to $1.75. Bulls sold at $2.00 to $2.24 that were lean and not overfull. As the summer gets closer it will be interesting to see if the cow and bull market takes a strong march to new record highs!
Last week was a busy week in the nice weather. We sorted through the 5G heifers. We pregnancy checked all the fall cows at Ted and Colby’s. We weighed and ultrasounded all the Hereford yearling cattle. Bull shoppers have been coming through making their picks for the breeding season and I picked up a couple new herd bulls as well!
It’s a special feeder cattle sale this Saturday, March 7th.
Have a dandy week!
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