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September 2022 09/13/22 10:40:00 AM
9-20-2022
Well, Mother Nature is catching up this week! Saturday it started raining and before it quit, we received 3.5 inches! Then Sunday night another seven tenths fell which gets us back in really good shape. The ponds came up some and even the creeks started to trickle along. The Des Moines River sure didn’t raise up much for over four inches of rain. Nearly all of the rain soaked up into the dry ground and did not run off much at all. It is getting hot and humid today, up to 95°! The rest of the week looks to be more normal with highs in the 60’s to low 70’s, that will sure be welcome after today’s heat wave.
Saturday’s sale had a skeleton crew and a large run of stock again. The hog sale had several feeder pigs this week. The majority of the pigs sold for 70¢ weighing up to 70 pounds. Heavier weights were mostly 50 to 65¢ up to 150 pounds. Fat hogs were softer bringing from $57 to 65. Sows topped at $72 on the over five weights and not a large run of sows this week.
The sheep and goat run was a little lighter as producers try to wait on the market to improve as we move into the fall. 50-pound lambs sold up to $2.45 and a few 68-pound lambs brought $1.75. Dorset ewe lambs going back home brought $275 per head. Ewes exposed for late fall lambs brought $200 to 285 per head. A couple of Suffolk ram lambs brought $375 and 510 per head. The goat market was steady with 50-pound kids back to $3.00 a lb., even some 90-pound fat kids sold at $2.75 a lb. A few billy kids returning home brought $250 to 275 per head. Cull nannies brought $1.25 to 1.45 a lb.
The outside sale had a big inventory of misc. items and a fair run of hay. The hay market was soft on small square bales running from $3.00 to 6.50 a bale. Big rounds were strong with quality hay selling at $80 to 95 a bale and new crop cornstalk bales brought $47.50 per bale. Logan was on vacation again, so my cousin Mike stepped in to help with the outside sale. A big crowd again for as much as was going on in the area Saturday. Mike walked right thru the sale and had good interest and market in everything, except what Logan didn’t get sold last week, (old sofa, exercise bike and vinyl siding)! Maybe a tire or two! The tin was strong at $35 per sheet on some used red that was 18 foot long. All the pups found homes as did the pumpkins and watermelons. Always entertaining to sell outside. Thank you, Mike, for helping out.
The cattle sale had a good run of yearlings this week ending up with 990 head. Baby calves ranged from $75 to 160 for dairy and crossbred calves. No real sample of bred cows. Yearlings were lower than a couple of weeks ago finding several feeder lots full. The market went like this: 58 steers weighing 741 pounds at $1.82, a couple of loads at 840 pounds brought $1.77 to 1.78 and 60 steers weighing 916 pounds brought $1.69. Weigh cows ranged from $80 to 95 on the upper end and $60 to 80 on the middle cut. Bulls ranged from $85 to 1.17 for a top. The crew was pretty well soaked from the all-afternoon rain but did a great job with only half the staff getting everything pushed thru and penned.
Sunday was supposed to be the boys annual pasture roping out at Luke and Cody’s, three and a half inches of rain postponed that until October. So, Owen was around loading out Sunday morning and I helped him until 10 or so. I decided I had time to get to Macomb, IL for the Lowderman Family Hereford sale. Good cattle mostly spring heifer calves and a few bred cows created a solid group of cattle for the sale. A nice crowd and a very active internet gave the boys a really good sale.
It is coming up to time I need to get our heifers ready for the December 7th sale. Clipping, pictures and catalog all need to get done pretty quickly to meet deadlines.
A regular sale this Saturday followed by a special feeder sale on October 1st.
Have a Dandy Week!
9-12-2022
We have been thru some very dry and hot weather over the past couple weeks. The dust has been horrible on the gravel roads, cattle lots and anyplace there is any kind of traffic it has been uncomfortable, sometimes scary meeting people on the roads. Saturday night prayers were answered, and we received a beautiful inch to two inches of rain all across a very large area. It came so nice and easy, no lightning or thunder even, just an awesome rain that continued for six hours into Sunday morning. It cleaned up everything, washed the dust off the cattle and the grass. It might even help some late beans! The forecast is calling for a pretty dry week again with 80’s for highs and 50’s for the lows.
Saturday sale drew a good run of livestock, hay, and a big crowd. The hog market was steady except pigs that were lower. Sows were selling from $60 to 65 for five weights and $45 to 55 for lighter weights. Fat hogs sold from $65 to 71. Pigs were mostly 60 to 95¢ for al weights, the ole boars are still around a nickel a lb.
The sheep and goat markets are sure wanting to move up. Well, sheep producers are sure wanting the market to perk up! It has been stubbornly low and sure may take a month to straighten it up yet. Fat lambs sold from $1.00 to 1.04. Light lambs were from $1.55 to 2.35 a lb. Ewes ranged from $60 to 88 a lb.
The goat market was steady with 50-to-70-pound kids mostly $2.50 to 3.10 a lb. Nannies sold from $1.25 to 1.50 a lb. and billies brought $2.20 to 2.40 a lb. A fancy consignment of Boer cross nannies and a buck or two coming Sept 24th. Two fancy Suffolk ram lambs are consigned for this Saturday. Watch the website for updates on the upcoming sales.
The outside sale was loaded with hay and a large run of misc. for Logan to work thru. The hay market has small squares from $3.00 to 7.50. Wheat straw brought from $4.00 to 4.50. Big round bales sold from $55 to 65 on old crop net wrapped small bales. The better-quality grass net wrapped hay sold from $75 to 95. Not much for alfalfa bales in the big bales. Big square sold from $45 to 75 on mostly grass mix. This week’s sale had a better sample of rounds and squares with over 500 bales. The misc. items included hedge posts, used tin, an ole bobsled, calf shelter, tools, mums, and a few pups again. The crowd was very large for that portion of the sale and Col. Logan worked thru it very professionally again this week.
The cattle sale was primarily some kind of a cow sale with breds, pairs or weigh ups. The cows returning home had more interest than any time in the past couple of months. There was active bidding on fall pairs, fall breds and even a few spring breds. The market sure wasn’t high, but active bidding was a welcome sight. Pairs ranged from $1300 to 1750 while better fall bred cows were mostly from $1300 to 1500. Spring bred 5 & 6 year old black cows brought $1200. Weigh up cows were $2 to 3 lower with a few cows at a dollar but way more in the $80’s. Bulls sold at $1.00 to 1.18 this week. We sold 250 cows in the weigh up sale this week. I am not sure what we will have to sell next year!
A big week last week as we put silage up last week. The boys started at Ted’s at Troy and filled the bunker up as full as we have had it for several years. We planted every other row of corn and forage sorghum, and it made a very nice pile of feed. The chopper arrived in Keosauqua before dark Monday and opened up the corn field. We had corn planted separate from the sorghum down there this year. The corn was sure surprisingly good for as dry as we have been in the late summer. By Thursday morning the crew had packed in over 200 loads of silage in the bunker at that site. It added up way better than I was expecting, even have a field of corn left that we can shell. The boys had lunch at the sale barn and then got Curt & Lauren’s chopped after lunch. Those guys can sure make feed in a hurry. In less than a week, they were able to get feed put up that will last us all year long. We are very thankful there was enough out there to fill up and always thankful to get finished up. Hope to have the drill running tomorrow putting rye back on everywhere we chopped.
The airplane is finally back from annual inspection! So, we jumped in and went to Springfield MO to look at some cows, I wanted to see a month ago. It was good to be flying but the cows did not fit this time! Lauren went to Wichita KS to see a friend after the sale a week ago Saturday evening. I had planned on going to New Mexico to see my sister and look at some Hereford cattle at the end of last week but that got rearranged. Savannah wanted to go to Scott City KS, so Ben dropped her on Monday at noon, then brought Savannah, Lauren, and Lucy home Monday night. They all had a great trip. Ben came home and shelled corn the rest of the week. It worked out great for everybody.
A special feeder cattle sale coming up this Saturday expecting to have 600 to 800 head.
Have a Dandy Week!
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