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October 2020 10/07/20 11:33:00 AM
10-26-20
Winter weather has made it to south east IA. We had the ground white with snow this morning and a high temperature of only 32° here today! The wind didn’t blow much so it wasn’t terrible but from 80° last Thursday to a low of near 20° tonight is a pretty sharp drop for humans and livestock both! It should go back up to 50° toward mid-week but we have a slight chance of rain again. We had 2 inches last week that still soaked up good. It stopped harvest until Saturday but sure saw them going until the snow stopped everything today. Hope we can moderate a little and warm up to finish a very nice fall before winter sets in for good!
This week was the annual meeting of the American Hereford Association held in Kansas City, MO. I went early Thursday morning to be there by noon for meetings and I was there until last Saturday afternoon. A full AHA board was in attendance for our meetings. We were able to get over a lot of agenda items and thru the annual membership’s meeting held Saturday morning. We were out to eat in downtown Kansas City two nights and had to wait to be seated both nights! Restaurants were very busy Thursday and Friday in Kansas City! I went out to the American Royal on Saturday after the meetings concluded. There were big numbers of cattle in all the shows as other major shows have cancelled, so many jumped at the chance to show at the Royal. The Hereford sale was Saturday afternoon and I slipped in to watch some of it. The heifer market was darn good at $2000 to 8000 with several in the $4 to 5 range. I took time to visit some folks in the barns and then went for home.
Saturday’s sale was much bigger the I had figured it might be! I told Jim it wouldn’t be to much and I’ll be darned he sold stock from 9:30 until just after 5:00! He doesn’t usually believe me when I tell him something anyway, so I guess he should have expected it. He did great and everyone got thru fine without me.
The hog sale grew to 685 head this week! Fat hogs sold from $40 to 46. Sows over 500 were mostly $35 to 1.50. The pigs held pretty steady at 45 to 55 cents a lb. for all weights.
The sheep and goat markets were solid on a big run of 780 head. Kid goats are bringing $3 a lb. up to 70 pounds, the top kids weight 53 pounds brought $175 per head. Big billies sold from $200 to 315 per head and bigger nannies sold from $175 to 235. Lambs were also in strong demand, 50 to 70-pound lambs brought $2.15 to 2.82 per lb. 80 to 90-pound lambs were selling at $1.85 to 2.05 and fat lambs brought $1.65 to 1.75. Ewes by the pound at a little over a dollar.
Logan handled the outside sale this week. Small squares were steady from $2.50 to 6 and straw brought 3 to 3.50 per bale. Big round bales topped at $65 on 18 bales of mixed grass hay that was net wrapped. Corn stalk round bales brought from $32 to 37.50. Big squares of grass hay brought $50 to 55. Firewood had more demand with cold weather coming in, it brought $25 to 30 for a half pickup size pile. The rubber-tired wagon set up to pull with a team brought $300. Thank you, Logan, for a job well done again!
The cattle sale led off with veal calves bringing $175 to 285 for beef type and $85 for the Holstein calves. Black bull calves weighing 375 pounds sold for 1.86. 542-pound bulls brought $1.48. Weigh cows continue to light up the cattle sale. Big numbers with six active cow buyers make price discovery a reality! Better cows sold from $65 to 72.50. The top bull brought $85 this week.
Other than over working Jim and the crew I think the sale went great without me! Sunday, I loaded out at the barn and checked a few cattle. I didn’t see a sign of the boys around the sale barn. Ok, maybe a pass thru! I am glad they could rest up a bit. I shipped yearlings today and have two more loads going tomorrow morning. Then I need to look at some Missouri calves tomorrow.
Big special coming up this week and then the BBQ Sale on Nov 7th. There is a big bred heifer and cow sale Nov 14th followed by a special on Nov 21st, a regular sale Nov 28th. December has a special cattle sale on Dec 5th and the Big Bend Female sale and Goehring Hereford sale on Dec 9th.
With the bigger runs we are going to start the hog sale at 9:00. Thanks for your cooperation.
Have a Dandy Week!
10-19-2020
It cooled off quite a bit over the weekend around here, it was down to 34° a couple of mornings. Sunday, we had some sleet and a very light rain before noon then it cleared off. Some folks north east of here had some snow accumulating both Sunday and Monday, but no know here yet! The forecast is calling for warmer temperatures in the middle to late week and still dry conditions, the high Thursday might be to 80! October has been pretty darn good to us so I guess we can expect some colder temperatures to close out the month.
Saturday was one of the largest hog sales for several years selling 987 head. There were hogs and pigs everywhere! Everyone always asks me “Where do they all come from?” well from west of Des Moines to Anamosa to East of Macomb, IL to Shelbina, MO to Clarinda, IA! It is sure not uncommon to have hogs come from three hours away anymore. Fat hogs sold from $45 to 48/cwt. for the nicer kind. Big sows sold from $40 to 44/cwt and light sows sold at $28 to 38/cwt. The pig market was around 50 cents or better for nearly all weights and classes. The buyers really stepped up to handle the large run. Thank you, gentlemen, for a great hog sale!
The sheep and goat sale got a very late start. The market did not care as all classes sold higher. The better 60 to 70-pound lambs sold from $2.30 to 2.55 per lb. The top 85-pound lambs were at $2.30 and fat lambs sold for $1.69. Goats at 55 pounds sold up to $180 per head and the top billy hit $400 again this week. Look for the market to stay strong as numbers begin to slow down.
The outside sale had a lighter run of small squares selling from $3.50 to 7 and no straw this week. I am getting calls from folks needing some straw. Big bales of hay were from $30 to 55 on most bales. One pile of string tied rough stuff brought $10 per bale. It was rough. Cornstalk bales sold at $40, they were dang nice! The Kewanee elevator brought $900, the JD 54 spreader brought $2400 and the ole Titan trailer sold for $2750. The hedge post market was solid with buyers making selections that fit their fencing needs. Several misc. items including some $9 rabbits and more of those $6 mums that season seems to be over.
The cattle sale had over 600 head this week. Baby calves sold for $200 to 300 for the beef calves and $50 to 150 on the dairy calves. There was not much offered for bred cows this sale. The board of trade and big packers seems to think cattle producers were getting paid too much, so they are reducing earnings again! Light feeders were selling okay with some 300-pound bulls at $2.05 per lb. and some 350 pound bulls at $1.98. the heavier weights and heifer seemed to ease up $4 to 6 from the past couple of sales. The highlight of the cattle sale was the weigh cow market! It was wild with several fleshy cows selling at $70 to77 this week. The bulls were still in the $80’s for the majority of them. The weigh cow sale was proof of what competitive bidding can do to the market. With six buyers on the seats the market found out what cows can really bring! I think Jim had the most fun of all selling them.
Sunday they boys scattered off to different places following chores. Ted took Rachelle down to see her folks. Luke and Colby found a team roping to go to. Curt caught up around home. Layne and Hattie went to a birthday party for cousin Emyt who turned 1 year old! I loaded out around the barn most of the day then found my way to check some cows in the evening.
We shipped a couple loads of yearling heifers out of the country back to northwest IA today. We loaded at two separate farms with different head counts and scales and both loads weighted 745 lbs.! I don’t get that lucky very often.
The boys helped me take Hereford sale pictures last week we got them back today and boy did they turn out really good! Thank you Adm Swigert for a terrific job again!
I am heading to Kansas City on Thursday for AHA board meetings thru Saturday. It will be good to get everyone together and be off ZOOM for once!
A regular sale this week, a special feeder sale Oct 31st, the BBQ sale Nov 7th, and a big bred cow sale Nov 14th.
Have a Dandy Week!
10-10-20
The past week has been dry and clear. We have seen highs in the 80’s and lows down in the 50’s, it has been a very pretty week! Combines are rolling along at a good speed on beans and a little corn. Soybean yields are not what they could have been but are consistently in the mid 40’s and low 50’s. Corn yields are stronger with a lot of field up to 200 bu. There are still several beans to cut this week, but harvest as a whole is sure moving along at a rapid pace. The forecast this week is for a little cooler fall like temperatures but still dry. We could use another shower on some rye and the pastures.
Saturday’s sale had an active hog market. Sows were in that $44 to 46 range weighing over 500 pounds. Fat hogs were pretty much $43 to 46 this week. Feeder pigs sold at 50 to 60 cents a lb. for most weights. Light boars were up to 17 to 18 cents, but big boars are still at 3 cents.
The sheep and goat sale had a very solid run. Goats in the 40 to 60-pound range sold around $3 a lb. Billies and nannies held very steady. Lambs weighing 60 to 80 pounds were from $1.90 to 2.30 while 90 to 100-pound lambs were mostly at $1.65 to 1.80. Weigh up ewes sold for $85 to 1 and bucks were in about the same range.
The outside sale had hay selling steady. Small squares were $3 to 6 and big round bales sold at $35 to 50. There was no straw or cornstalks sold this week. All kinds of misc. items out front this week Many shed clean out items! A pretty nice crowd was out there enjoying the beautiful day and the spirit of the auction!
The cattle sale was light this week in between specials. Baby calves sold from $30 to 80 on the dairy type and $200 to 250 on beef calves. Feeder cattle had more yearling heifers from 600 to 1000 pounds than anything else. 6 weight heifers were in the mid to upper $1.30’s and those big 1000-pound girls sold at $98. Weigh cows were steady to three higher, especially on the fat cows. $60 to 67 was the range on those fleshy cows and $47 to 57 on lean cows. Pound bulls sold from $75 to 85 this week.
Cody and Luke have a new baby girl at their house, she was born last Wednesday night. They named her Hattie Sue. She has a head full of hair and is the delight of her big sister Layne! A new life is truly a blessing to our family!
My sister Debbie was able to come back for a visit from New Mexico the last part of the week. We had a good visit and even sent her home with a group of fancy Hereford heifer calves! Those girls will have to learn to forage for food in that rocky arid country! So glad for the visit and the time together!
We weaned our last set of calves last week. They sure didn’t like it much! They bawled really bad, got out once and just fought weaning pretty hard. They are settling in by now, but they sure grumbled about it.
A special feeder cattle sale is coming up next week.
Have a Dandy Week!
10-6-20
It seems like all with all the things going on in the world, time has slowed down some and here we are in October already! Time is sure not slowing down for us yet. A nice half inch of cool rain fell here on Saturday. The combines rolled hard all last week on beans and some corn. Yesterday by noon they were back at it cutting a lot of beans. Yields vary a great deal this year mostly in the 40’s around here but some just in the 30’s. The highest yield I have known of so far is 82 bushels in NE Iowa. Corn yields sound good in our area with several 200 bu per ac fields coming in. The weather this week looks like a great harvest week. Temperatures in the 70’s and clear all week will let harvest go at a very fast clip this week.
Saturday’s sale was pretty large again. The hog sale totaled 600 head and saw prices move up on everything, but big boars. Fat hogs topped at $50 and most sold from $46 to 49. Big sows sold higher back up to $37 to 40 this week. Let’s hope we can hold those markets steady from here into the fall. Feeder pigs were also higher with 67 pound selling at $37 per head and 75 pounds up to $41 per head.
The sheep and goat sale had 500 head and the market was sure steady on all classes. Kid goats were selling at over $3 a lb. 57-pound kids brought as high as $167 per head. 75 pounds kids were up to $215 per head. The top billy was at $500 and the does were from $175 to 220 for the good Boer cross cull nannies. 50 to 70 lambs brought from $1.95 to 2.30 a lb. while 100-pound lambs topped at $1.60. Ewes by the pound brought $80 to 95.
Logan handled the outside sale for us this week. We were short handed inside and buried with inventory, so I stayed inside (out of the rain!). Small squares of hay sold for $3 to 6 and straw sold from $3 to 4.50 a bale. Big rounds of cornstalks sold from $12.50 to 30. They were small and might have been kinda wet inside. Big rounds of hay were from $30 to 50 on all grass type bales. A light run of hedge posts and misc. items let Logan finish by 12:15. Great job to the outside crew this week.
The cattle sale had nearly 700 head. More calves than yearlings this week and most were right off the cows. The quality was sure nice in the top groups. 380-pound black steer calves sold at $197.50 and 527 pound black white face steers were at $1.67. Four weight heifers were up to $1.55 and five weight heifers topped at $1.48. Weigh cows were $5 to 7 lower with the average cow bringing $57. The top cows still sold $63 to 67 this week. The top bulls brought $88.
The boys managed to get rye planted on all the corn ground and most of it is up already! The rains caught it just right and then these warm sunny days have got it growing really well.
I am hoping by this time next week to be Grandpa again. Cody is ready to go anytime! Grandkids are truly one of God’s greatest blessings!
Have a Dandy Week!
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