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May 2022 05/05/22 9:58:00 AM
5-23-2022
Over the past week, we have had a half inch of rain one day then some mist on a second day and a major drop in temperatures. We came off days of 80’s to 90’s for highs to highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s. It has been a great week to get work done and cattle are doing great as well. This week has a big chance of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday then warming up into the 80’s by later in the week.
Saturday’s sale had a good run of all classes of livestock. The hog market was about like last week’s market only a few more numbers moving thru. Sows topped at $60 and fat hogs were mostly $77 to 79. Pigs had very solid demand with 40-pound pigs at $50 per head and some 90-pound pigs bringing $82.
The sheep and goat sale had over 500 head this sale. Kid goats sold at $4.00 to 4.30 a lb. on the fancy kids weighing 50 to 60 pounds. A nanny with twins sold at $145 count noses. Cull nannies sold from $1.40 to 1.70 per pound. Lambs were mostly $2.70 to 2.90 per lb. for those 60-to-90-pound lambs. Ewes were $1.00 to 1.35 per pound.
The outside sale had round bales up to $100 per bale! Most hay sold from $45 to 70 per bale. Small squares sold at $3.50 to 6 this week. Logan was back on duty for the balance of the outside auctioneer duties. The old sheriff car brought $2600. New Holland baler brought $200. Flower baskets ranged from $8 to 25. Lumber had pretty good value selling from $5 or 6 on small piles up to $350 on a good-sized stack of old deck boards.
The cattle sale had 700 feeder cattle this week with very steady demand. Four weight steers topped at $2.15 and five weights topped at $2.02. A longer string of 787-pound steers half red and half black, medium fleshed brought $1.57. Heifers also sold steady with four weights as high as $1.80, five weight up to $1.70 and a bigger group of 667-pound heifers brought $1.53. Three quarters of a load of 748-pound heifers brought $1.48. Weigh cows hit over $1.00 a lb. on 4 or 5 head of good fat cows. This market will continue to climb up as runs shorten up this summer. We hit $1.00 a lb. three to four weeks before I thought we would! Bulls topped at $1.13.
Last week we chopped some rye and about 60 acres of hay. We are pretty much out of silage at Troy and Keosauqua, so we put up a little in both places to get thru the summer. Sherod boys are planting corn today for us and may get the patch of beans in as well. I hope to get some forage cane planted next week, then get to putting some more hay up.
We are finishing the last group of heifers up the next couple of days and then we should have everything finally settled in the grass for the summer. The crew is hauling manure and cleaning up our winter mess everyday they get some time.
A regular sale coming up this Saturday to finish off May and a machinery consignment sale Wednesday June 1st to start of the new month.
Have a Dandy Week!
5-17-2022
The weather was unusually hot here last week. We went from a high of 50-55 degrees in two days to highs of 90 to 95 degrees! I mean it was hot! We topped in the 80’s over the weekend and it has started off beautiful for the first part of this week. There were a few light showers around on Sunday, but we didn’t have much at all. I am sure there are spots that will need rain again shortly, but there has been an awful lot farming done in the past seven days. The forecast has some rain chances this evening, so we will see how that comes out then another chance over the weekend.
Saturday’s sale was the one we have been looking for this spring! With everyone busy farming, the flow of livestock subsided a little. The hog sale had 47 head this week. We haven’t had that kind of low number in a year. The market was higher on fat hogs from $77 to a $95 top. Sows were $50 to 60 and feeder pigs in small numbers sold from 80¢ to over $1.00 a lb.
The sheep and goat run was smaller also, but still had 450 head. The market continues to maintain a lot of stability week after week. Kids in the 50 to 70 pound bracket brought $3.85 to 4.25 for the fleshy Boer types. Big cull nannies were $1.35 to 1.65 a lb. and a big billy weighing 160 pounds brought $1.95 a lb. Lambs weighing from 50 to 95 pounds would bring $2.80 to 3.20 a lb. on the good fatter types. A group of 138 pound fat lambs brought $2.47. Ewes mostly 80¢ to $1.10 a lb.
The outside sale had a large quantity of merchandise and a shorter run of hay. Since we finished up the sheep sale and Col. Wells was in class this week, Col Jim volunteered for some fresh air! More accurately he got drafted to help sell outside! The hay market was strong on only 200 small squares of mostly grass hay. It sold from $6 to 7.50 a bale. Big round bales sold from $45 to 70 this week. Line posts were $4 to 14 and corners brought $20 to 30 on a light offering. A little portable greenhouse brought $1000. Hanging baskets of very pretty flowers sold from $10 to 27. Fruit trees brought $50. I sure hope the deer don’t kill them!
The cattle sale had 560 head. Baby calves sold from $150 to 300 for beef calves and $50 to 100 on the dairy type. The top pairs were at $2000 on two groups with several pairs in the $1500 to 1800 range. Fall bred younger cows were mostly $1500 to 1700. Weigh cows were higher this week. The top cows brought $97, but lots of cows were over $80. Big bulls brought $95 to 110. As the numbers shorten up, watch for the weigh cow market to go higher into June and July.
We mover another group of pairs to pasture Sunday. We have been waiting for over a week, but the heat and breeding heifers shut me down last week. I am pretty much down to fall bred cows to move out now. They are almost a month behind schedule. I hope to get that done before the weekend. We started AI ing the third group of heifers tonight and hope to get them all to pasture by Thursday.
I mowed rye and hay yesterday and with any luck hop to have it chopped and in the bunks by dark tonight! Bugs were starting on the alfalfa already, I wish those devils like fescue!
A feeder cattle special this Saturday.
Have a Dandy Week!
5-9-2022
We have come into summer today! It is windy, sunny, and almost 90°! It was still jacket weather most of yesterday and now and thru the week it will be in the 90’s. We needed some warm, dry weather, but this is sure extreme. We are just starting to see some field work starting today, mostly anhydrous, manure application and some light tillage going on. It looks like there will be a lot of acres planted this week in warm moist soil that should get the crop up and going very quickly. Chicago believes it as well; all the grains are sharply lower today.
Saturday was another large event here. We started very slowly with a very, very skeleton crew! It was so bad at the start, that clerk Jacky and auctioneer Jimmy were out back helping me sort pigs because there wasn’t anyone else here yet! That was the only time Jimmy got out of the block however, he could hardly breathe when he got back up to start selling again! The hog market was seriously lower on big sows with a $56 top and most bringing 52 to 55. Light sows were from $50 to 55 also and fat hold sold from $70 to 76. The pig sale was solid with all weights selling from 80¢ to $1.20 a lb.
The sheep and goat sale had 685 head this week. The market was lower on lambs but was pretty steady on kid goats. 50-to-70-pound lambs sold from $2.75 to 3.20 a lb. Ewes were all over the place from 65¢ to $1 a lb. and a set of club lamb producing open ewes brought $250 a head. The kid goats sold from $3.20 to 4 a lb. for the good Boer cross kids weighing 50 to 70 pounds. Nannies by the pound were from $1.10 to 1.50 and a few families sold at $135 to 160 count noses (total number of nannies and kids in the group). Being shorthanded, I picked up a couple of Illinois finest to fill in! Trained at Lowderman Cattle and Carthage Sale Co., Reid and Logan filled the gap in this sale. Reid worked the ring thru all the sheep and goat sale. I had multiple compliments on his performance. A big thank you to both of those fellas for running over to help out on the long day!
The outside sale had small bales of hay mostly $4 to 7.50. Two small piles of straw sold at $5 a bale. Big bales were fairly steady this week. $50 to 75 was the range on round bales. Dry rye round bales were from $35 to 40 and big square bales sold from $45 to 95.
Logan was on hand for all the rest of the outside sale and had another great crowd out there. The AC WD tractor sold for $1000. The post market was $5 to 20 on line posts and up to $35 on corners. Used gates out of hog building were short eight footers and brought from $55 to 90. Flowers and baskets from $15 to 27 as Mother’s Day put some spice in the market!
The cattle sale was extra large for May with 1600 head. The baby calf market seems to have peaked now. Beef calves were $150 to 350 and dairy calves sold from $85 to 150. Not much here for bred cows. The feeder market was sure strong in the face of rising feed costs and lower fat markets. Five weight steers were solid at $1.85 to 2 a lb. Six weight steers were also strong with lower six weights up to $190 a lb. and heavy six weights topping at over $1200 a head. A nice load of Red Angus steers weight 887 pounds brought $1.53 and a draft of red steers at 898 pounds brought $1.43 a lb. The heifer market was not to be out done as some 828-pound girls sold at $1.46 and a load of red heifers at 893 pounds brought $1.45. We had another good run of weigh cows with over 250 head this week. The top fleshy cows brought $90 and lots of cows held from $75 to 85. We had over 20 bulls selling from 80¢ on lights or crippled to $1.10 on the better yielding bulls.
Sunday was busy loading out, but we did get time for lunch with most of the family. The little girls are sure growing up fast. Layne is becoming a great storyteller! Hattie is doing all she can to keep up with here big sister and is the orneriest of the bunch right now! Ellie is walking everywhere and getting into everything, here favorite word is NO! Not really. Lucy runs the kitchen! She can sit and watch everyone coming and going. Unless she gets hungry, she doesn’t fuss about anything! We are so thankful to have them close to us most every day, they are such a blessing!
We will finish up the second group of commercial heifer AI breeding tonight or in the morning. This is the black white face group, boy they are nice! We chose the Genex Angus bull Standout to breed them to and anticipate a terrific set of calves out of them. Thankful they get to go to grass, boy our lots have stayed muddy this year!
I am still selling bulls each week and need to get more delivered again this week.
We have bred cows, pairs, and breeding bulls on tap for this week’s sale.
Have a Dandy Week!
5-3-2022
A little rainy, very sloppy and it remains chilly this week. No planting has been done and it is looking slow for this week as well. The forecast looks to be more favorable for planting coming up after the weekend.
Saturday had a lower trending hog market except for feeder pigs that held steady. Sows topped at $71 and most wee $65 to 70 if they were over 500 pounds and just in the mid $50’s on the lighter sows. Fat hogs sold from $70 to 79. Boars were mostly $5 to 7. Pigs for all weight were 85 to 95 cents a lb.
The sheep and goat market slowed up ever so slightly on 500 head this sale. The kids were mostly $3.60 to 4, but still had a $4.30 top. Nannies sold from $1.35 to 1.75 a lb. Lambs were mostly $3 to 3.20 on the fancier 60-to-75-pound lambs and under $3 on the heavier lambs. A good quality set of bred Dorper cross ewes brought $475 a head and the older ewes off of the group sold at $350 per head. The demand remains very solid on replacement quality sheep and goats.
The outside sale had a few less small squares with all the extra rain. The market was pretty solid at $3 to 7 for small squares of hay. A larger volume of big rounds and big squares this week. The rounds backed up of the high the week before. Most of the grass hay that was net wrapped sold from $55 to 70. Big squares of grass hay sold at $42.50 to 60. There were no alfalfa bales in the sale.
Logan sold the post and misc. items. A very good crowd outside with Logan. Folks sure seem to like him more than me, he always has the bigger crowd with him. Posts sold from $2 to 20 on lines and $15 to 40 on corners. The old Tahoe brought $1000, and a wide assortment of items kept the crowd interested thru the outside sale. Started getting a few flowers and hanging baskets in now.
The cattle sale had 968 head that had a very high percentage of cows. Baby calves sold from $200 to 400 for beef calves and $75 to 150 on dairy. The bred cow sale had a unique tone to it this week! We lead of with some nice heifer pairs that were $200 to 300 cheaper than a month ago, selling from $2000 to 2200. Middle aged pairs were also soft at $1400 to 1800. The strong interest in the sale was the fall breds. Several drafts of those were consistently in the $1650 to 1750 range and some first period cows also hit $1400. In 30 plus years the market continues to amaze me! Slaughter cows were maybe a couple of dollars softer with 225 head in the run. Auctioneer Jimmy had a wedding Saturday afternoon, so I was planning g to sell the cows myself. As we were getting ready Saturday evening to sell weigh ups, I noticed Rick Spees still at the sale and asked I f he would mind selling them for us. He took the offer and did a great job filling in and sold for two and a half hours. Thank you very much that helped us a bunch. The cows sold mostly in the mid $70’s. The top cows brought $95 to 97 and heiferettes brought up to $1.10 to 1.20 a lb. Pound bulls were selling from $90 to 111 a lb.
We continue to get a few cattle moved to grass. We finished the first set of commercial heifers and sent them to pasture this week. I received the Ochsner Ranch Hereford heifers this week and got them turned out. I need to get one more group of Hereford pairs out and the fall cows moved, and we will have those all finished up.
A nice feeder cattle sale coming up this Saturday May 7th. There are some very high-quality replacement Red Angus heifers in this sale.
Have a Dandy Week!
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