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July 2024 07/03/24 9:46:00 AM
7-23-24
Cooler temperatures have made for a very nice week here in Southeast Iowa. The evenings have been in the 50’s and consistently in the 60’s overnight. The daytime has held just to the lower 80’s, but a few days topped in the lower 70’s. Keosauqua caught a strong half inch of rain Monday evening, that sure helped clean things up and knock down the dust again. The forecast looks mostly the same or just a bit warmer and continued to be dry. July will be over before you know it and fall is just around the corner.
Saturday’s sale had a nice fun of all classes of livestock and a big run of hay. The hog sale had fat hogs steady at $53.00 to $56.00. Sows sold from $50.00 to $54.00 for over 500lb sows. There weren’t very many pigs in this week. The few that were here were from $40.00 to $60.00 per head. There were over 100 head of light hogs out of confinements that sold at $0.35 to $0.50 per a pound.
The sheep and goat sale had over 400 head this week. The light lambs ranged from $1.60, clear up to $2.30 for the top selling group. Lambs weighing 80lbs to 100lbs were $1.75 to $2.10 a pound. The ewes brought $0.70 to $0.85 a pound. Kid goats weighing 40lb to 70lb sold from $2.50 to $3.00 for the Boer kids. Heavy kids sold from $2.00 to $2.50 for the top. Nannies brought $0.85 to $1.20 a pound and billies ranged from $1.40 to $1.75 a pound.
The outside sale had a large run of small squares coming right out of the field and a big run of round bales and big square bales. We want to thank Philip Zimmerman for all the help he has been conducting for a large portion of our outside sale over the last couple years and we wish him the best of luck with his new position at the church. Thank you again!
Colby took over that part of the outside sale this week and got along great! A couple of different occasions a fella in the crowd tried to change his direction on how to sell a couple of items and with the tactic of my dad, he informed them that he was running the sale today, not them. My dad would be very direct with you if you challenged him much and Colby might just have those same genes! He got along good and worked through all the merchandise out there. Small square bales were $2.50 to $6.00 with most of the nice quality second cutting type hay at $4.00 to $5.00 a bale.
Big bales topped at $60.00 to $75.00 with the bulk at $40.00 to $55.00 and a few smaller bales down to $25.00 this week. Big square bales sold from $35.00 to $50.00. The straw fell off, only bringing $15.00 for round bales of net wrapped wheat straw. There was a big crowd for the miscellaneous items and not so big for the big bales this week!
The cattle sale had a package of 8hd black/white face fall bred heifers. There were several inquiries on them, for just a short notice of them coming! They brought $3100 per head. The feeders had solid interest across all weights and classes. The weigh cows and bulls were fully steady on a run of 85 head.
The boys had a good night at the Decatur County Ranch Rodeo at Leon, Iowa Saturday. They finished first out of 15 teams. They will be entered up again Thursday night at the Van Buren County Ranch Rodeo.
Ted and Rachelle took their 2 girls and went to see Rachelle’s Grandmas near Hereford Texas and then they went on over to New Mexico to see my sister. Hopefully, they get back before the weekend!
We are looking for a regular sale again this Saturday, as it warms up more into the weekend.
Have a dandy week!!
7-17-24
Boy it can get hot and humid in July! We spent a couple days in the mid 90’s with 80% plus humidity, it was nasty! We finally had a cold front move through, and it cooled us off nicely. Keosauqua really didn’t receive any rain, but areas to the north and east had a nice rain. We ducked and dodged pop-up showers last week, which worked well since we were trying to bale hay. We got some wet, but we sure did get a lot of nice hay baled and put under the roof! With the rains the last 2 weeks, there will be third cutting hay ready to mow shortly!
Saturday was plenty warm for a sale, but we made it through in good shape. The hog numbers were light this week. The fat hogs sold at $52.00 to $56.00. Heavy sows were mostly $55.00 to $60.00 per the hundred weight. Only a couple pages of feeder pigs selling at $0.80 to $1.00 per pound.
The sheep and goat sale had 4—head and was slightly lower to steady for all classes. Kid goats were mostly bringing $2.50 to $3.10 for the better kind. The feeder kids at 30lb to 40lb would bring $60.00 to $90.00 per head. The nannies ranged from $1.00 to $1.45 on meat type good nannies and $0.40 to $0.80 on rougher dairy nannies. Big billies sold at $1.40 to $1.50 a pound. The lambs weighing 40lb to 70lb were $1.50 to $1.75 a pound. The 70lb to 100lb lambs sold at $1.70 to $2.10 a pound. The slaughter ewes brought $0.55 to $0.72 a pound. The big bucks sold for up to $1.00 per pound this sale.
The outside sale had small bales ranging from $2.00 to $6.50. A stack of straw brought $2.50 per bale. The big round bales were mostly $40.00 to $65.00. with the difference being the bale size and the quality of the hay. The big squares of straw brought $25.00 to $30.00. Hay in big squares were mostly $40.00 to $55.00 this week. The abundant hay crop, continued rains and short numbers of cows around, will keep the hay market in this range for a long time.
The cattle sale had a handful of pairs at $2500 to $2900. Two groups of 2-3 year old black cows bred to Hereford bulls, due to calve in January sold at $2700. A couple of angus bulls retuning home to breed cows brought $3400 to $4200. A few odd feeders had strong interest and weigh cows were fully steady on 120 head. The top cows remain at $1.55 to $1.60, with the bulk of the cows bringing $1.40 to $1.50. The big bulls were $1.80 to $2.00 per pound on the majority of all the pound bulls this week.
I had a day last week, when Luke was mowing, that wasn’t busy for me. So, I went to Grand Island, NE to the Hereford Junior National Show. This was the 25th anniversary of their event and it was truly the Grandaddy of them all! That was the theme for this year’s show. It’s truly the premier Junior event in the country for the whole year. There were over 800 exhibitors from 41 states and Canada with over 2000 entries of Hereford cattle. The kids also competed in various contests like speech, sales/marketing, judging, showmanship and other leadership opportunities. The cattle were incredibly good and ran deep in the classes. The champion line up of polled heifer shows had 2 days of intense evaluation by Dr. Mark Hoge, the lead judge. The 16 division champions and 16 reserved division champions made for an unbelievable line up of all the very best Hereford genetics and young exhibitors from all over the USA! The champion polled heifers were from California. The reserve champion polled heifer and the grand champion steer were from Iowa. The horned champions came from Texas and Oklahoma.
This event is a massive event that takes on all kinds of fundraising and planning. The gal that makes it all happen is also a born and raised Iowa gal, known for her talents of pulling off this magnificent event. Amy Cowan is the best in the world at running this show with her team and all the kids. Congratulations on one for the record books!
The county airs are well under way in southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. Davis county will happen this week, Van Buren county goes next week and Lee county just finished up. It’s awesome to see young people and their families all working together on their projects. I sure encourage everyone to go out and support their local county fairs!
Have a dandy week!
7-8-24
This last week we received 1.5 inches of rain on Wednesday into Thursday. Then another half inch on Sunday afternoon. The grass and the crops are making the most of the good water and warm temperatures. The forecast is calling for another chance on Thursday but otherwise, it should be a dryer week. The temperatures have been very comfortable with highs now in the 70’s, then the 80’s in the afternoon. Overnights we are mostly in the 60’s, with some nights dropping into the 50’s. The forecast looks similar for the first week of July, then hotter into the 90’s next weekend.
Saturday had 250 hogs, 400 sheep and goats, and 200 head of cattle. The hog market had the best heavy sows bringing $0.60 to $0.65. The light sows were mostly $0.45 to $0.55. The fat hogs ranged from $0.50 to $0.58. The big boars were back to their $0.05 a pound standard price.
The sheep and goat market held steady except on those 100lb to 120lb. The lighter lambs sold from $1.85 to $2.30. The 80lb to 100lb lambs were mostly $2.00 to $2.30. The ewes were strong on wool breeds at $1.10 to $1.35. The kid goats weighing 50lb to 60lb sold from $3.00 to $3.30 on the front-end kind. The nannies brought $1.40 to $1.70 a pound and not many bigger billies to test the market.
The outside sale was short on small squares, but the market was much higher with the top at $8.00 to $8.50. That consignor needed a good bonus because the highway patrol gave him a $240 fine, on the way here for going through the stop sign too fast! The rest of the little bales of hay sold from $3.00 to $6.00 a bale. The big rounds and the big squares ranged from $60 to $75 on the bigger bales of higher quality hay. The small size and plain quality hay brought $30 to $50 a bale. The wheat straw in 4ft wide round bales brought $35to $37.50. The big squares of 3ft x 4ft straw brought $35. There were several miscellaneous out front with 2 big husky round hog feeders selling at $775 and $800. There was a very nice crowd out front for this week’s sale again.
The weigh cow market is still sneaking higher this week. More than one cow brought over $1.60 a pound this sale. Many good yielding cows brought from $1.500 to $1.57. The top bulls sold at $1.95 this week and a good looking 2500lb Hereford bull brought in right at $4500 selling by the pound! It sure looks like the market will hold until after the state fair again this year.
I tried to get some second cutting alfalfa put up last week. I mowed it as some of the water got off the field Thursday, so I wouldn’t make tracks. I jumped right back on it Friday with the tedder, Luke waited until 2:30p on Saturday to rake it and we baled half of it in really good shape. The air was dead on Saturday, and we couldn’t get going quick enough to get it all baled. I was counting on enough sunshine Sunday to get it finished up. I even called Colby to come at 11am to start but was just not ready and by 12:15p it was raining. We got a half inch this afternoon, I went and scattered it back out to dry better and hopefully I can finish it up tomorrow.
Last week was Becky and I’s wedding anniversary. Many of you know I met her in the café, here at the sale barn. Her aunt Rowena was the operator of the café at the time and Becky was the eye-catching, shy waitress working in there. Here we are, 37 years and 4 sons with their own families now. All the great people that pass through the Keosauqua Sale Co, have sure made out time together fly by! You really can’t believe all that she can do for us around here. All the book work, customer calls, grandma duties and taking care of her folks is truly amazing what she can get done with some much patience and grace! We all love her dearly and I am so thankful she told me yes!
It is a regular sale this Saturday.
Have a dandy week!
7-2-24
This week has been cooler than last week. We had a rain shower last Thursday, that left a strong half inch of rain. The weekend was absolutely, beautiful with temperatures only in the 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. The forecast is calling for some showers tonight and into next weekend with the temperatures in the middle 80’s. The crops look really good, but anytime we catch some warm rain it is usually good for everything!
Saturday’s sale was somewhat larger than normal for the first of July! The hog sale had over 200 head. The sows were lower with a top at $0.70. Most sows were $0.58 to $0.65. The fat hogs sold from $0.58 to $0.64. We had a few 45lb pigs that brought $38.00 and some 85lb pigs at $65.00.
The sheep and goat sale had a good run again, the market held up better than I expected as we get into the summer slowdown. The lambs under 70lb sold at $1.85 to $2.25 a pound. The good lambs weighing 80lbs to 100lbs brought $1.70 to $2.20 a pound. The lambs over 100lb brought $2.00 to $2.35. The weigh ewes sold at $0.80 to $1.20 a pound.
The goat market was steady as well this week. The top kids at 58lb brought $3.65 a pound. The big nannies ranged from $1.07 to $1.47. The billies brought $2.25 on a very light test.
The rain Friday stopped most all the small square bales from coming into the sale. There was a nice offering of round bales made it in again and sold pretty, steady. The better grass round bales were from $55.00 to $70.00 and small bales and older hay were $35.00 and $50.00. The big squares brought from $40.00 to $55.00. The first new crop wheat straw round bales brought $45.00. There was a large run of miscellaneous items that had the crew busy out front until after 1 o’clock this week.
The cattle sale had 500 head when we generally wouldn’t have 200 head! The baby beef calves sold at $500 to $850 or even $900 on a couple of them. The Holstein calves were $150 to $300. There wasn’t much in for breeding cows or pairs. The feeder calves were very solid across all the weights and classes. As the calendar and the fat market march forward, demand is improving on yearling cattle. The fat cattle auctions are reporting large volumes of cattle selling at $2.00 to $2.08 the past week. With the corn and feed costs down, the margins are improving again.
The pound cows and bulls were slightly higher with a $1.60 cow top and a $1.98 bull top! The numbers shrink and demand improves, this market is sure not done yet!
We snuck out and made some nice second cutting hay and several really nice big round bales of wheat straw. I wouldn’t have been able to get the straw up without the tedder! It got 6 tenths of rain on it after we mowed it. We scattered it out a couple times and it was darn nice straw when we baled it on Thursday. We will try to get more second cutting alfalfa made towards the weekend if we can get it put up in between these showers.
Becky and I attended the Jefferson Co 4-H and FFA auction in Fairfield Monday evening. It was a nice evening and there was good support from the area banks and businesses. It made for a good evening for the youth exhibitors in that county.
We will have a sale this Saturday after the 4th of July. Packers will be needing inventory to start next week off with and usually makes a good active market.
Be safe and enjoy Independence day.
Have a dandy week.
7-8-24
This last week we received 1.5 inches of rain on Wednesday into Thursday. Then another half inch on Sunday afternoon. The grass and the crops are making the most of the good water and warm temperatures. The forecast is calling for another chance on Thursday but otherwise, it should be a dryer week. The temperatures have been very comfortable with highs now in the 70’s, then the 80’s in the afternoon. Overnights we are mostly in the 60’s, with some nights dropping into the 50’s. The forecast looks similar for the first week of July, then hotter into the 90’s next weekend.
Saturday had 250 hogs, 400 sheep and goats, and 200 head of cattle. The hog market had the best heavy sows bringing $0.60 to $0.65. The light sows were mostly $0.45 to $0.55. The fat hogs ranged from $0.50 to $0.58. The big boars were back to their $0.05 a pound standard price.
The sheep and goat market held steady except on those 100lb to 120lb. The lighter lambs sold from $1.85 to $2.30. The 80lb to 100lb lambs were mostly $2.00 to $2.30. The ewes were strong on wool breeds at $1.10 to $1.35. The kid goats weighing 50lb to 60lb sold from $3.00 to $3.30 on the front-end kind. The nannies brought $1.40 to $1.70 a pound and not many bigger billies to test the market.
The outside sale was short on small squares, but the market was much higher with the top at $8.00 to $8.50. That consignor needed a good bonus because the highway patrol gave him a $240 fine, on the way here for going through the stop sign too fast! The rest of the little bales of hay sold from $3.00 to $6.00 a bale. The big rounds and the big squares ranged from $60 to $75 on the bigger bales of higher quality hay. The small size and plain quality hay brought $30 to $50 a bale. The wheat straw in 4ft wide round bales brought $35to $37.50. The big squares of 3ft x 4ft straw brought $35. There were several miscellaneous out front with 2 big husky round hog feeders selling at $775 and $800. There was a very nice crowd out front for this week’s sale again.
The weigh cow market is still sneaking higher this week. More than one cow brought over $1.60 a pound this sale. Many good yielding cows brought from $1.500 to $1.57. The top bulls sold at $1.95 this week and a good looking 2500lb Hereford bull brought in right at $4500 selling by the pound! It sure looks like the market will hold until after the state fair again this year.
I tried to get some second cutting alfalfa put up last week. I mowed it as some of the water got off the field Thursday, so I wouldn’t make tracks. I jumped right back on it Friday with the tedder, Luke waited until 2:30p on Saturday to rake it and we baled half of it in really good shape. The air was dead on Saturday, and we couldn’t get going quick enough to get it all baled. I was counting on enough sunshine Sunday to get it finished up. I even called Colby to come at 11am to start but was just not ready and by 12:15p it was raining. We got a half inch this afternoon, I went and scattered it back out to dry better and hopefully I can finish it up tomorrow.
Last week was Becky and I’s wedding anniversary. Many of you know I met her in the café, here at the sale barn. Her aunt Rowena was the operator of the café at the time and Becky was the eye-catching, shy waitress working in there. Here we are, 37 years and 4 sons with their own families now. All the great people that pass through the Keosauqua Sale Co, have sure made out time together fly by! You really can’t believe all that she can do for us around here. All the book work, customer calls, grandma duties and taking care of her folks is truly amazing what she can get done with some much patience and grace! We all love her dearly and I am so thankful she told me yes!
It is a regular sale this Saturday.
Have a dandy week!
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