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July 2023 07/05/23 11:20:00 AM
7-25-2023
July this year is going to end pretty hot! The forecast is to be in the upper 90’s to 100 towards the end of the week here. We have been very lucky all summer to miss the heat and be cooled down in the nights. The subsoil moisture is gone, and plants have been living on dew and some sprinkles. I would guess by the week the grass will be brown around here again. Hopefully it will only last these last few days of July then be gone for this year!
Saturday was warm up to 90 in the afternoon. We did keep some air moving and it sure made it tolerable. The hog sale had over 200 head and still not much of a feeder pig selection. One group of 134-pound Berk & Duroc outside pigs brought $80 head. Fat hogs were mostly $62 to 70 a lb. Sows ranged from $45 to 54. Big boars were still $3 to 5 a lb.
The sheep and goat sale had right at 500 head. The market is steady to slightly better this week. Kid goats topped at just over $4.00 a lb. for the first time in several months! The bulk of the goats sold at $3.35 to 3.50 a lb. Nannies were mostly $1.10 to 1.30 a lb. Lambs weighing from 50 to 75 pounds were mostly $1.60 to 2.20. Heavier lambs were at $1.70 to 2.10 a lb. Ewes brought $50 to 70 a lb. and big buck were at $1.00 to 1.20 a lb.
The hay market was steady on small bales with a $4 to 8.50 range. Big rounds topped at $130 on two bales of second cutting alfalfa. Most of the rounds were $95 to 120. String tied or small bales were $75 to 90. First cutting alfalfa wet wrapped brought $60. Straw round bales were $40 to 55 on mostly 4X5 bales of net wrapped wheat straw. Just a bit small quantity of big bales in the sale this week compared to last week.
The cattle sale had baby Holstein calves ranging from $125 to 200 and beef calves from $300 to 450. A handful of feeders sold to very good demand. The weigh cows were sure the bulk of the run and are still rolling along at high demand. Several cows brought $1.25 to 1.35 this week. Even stifled up lean cows could bring a $1.00! The bulls sold from $92 on a very thin weak suspect bull to mostly $1.30 to 1.44. The product continues to move good, and demand remains solid as we head towards the start of school next month.
Last Friday was our first round of pregnancy checking on heifers. I always go into this procedure with limited expectations and hope I am pleasantly surprised. Well, this season is starting off as usual with 80 head checked we are at 13% open. I really had my hopes up after the first 60 head, when we were at 10%, but the last 20 head really disappointed me. They were mostly the top end on the best grass, always on mineral, never doctored anything and there were 5 open out of that 20. I cannot explain the difference in conception in breeding heifers. We have more to go, so I am still hopeful we can get under 10% open!
I hope to chop a patch of sorghum sudan grass this week and Luke has some beautiful third cutting alfalfa to put in small squares.
The Van Buren Co fair just wrapped up. Luke’s ranch rodeo team ended up with first place. They took first place a week ago at Scotland Co and landed first at Leon IA Saturday night! The highlight of the fair was Miss Layne Hannah showing Roxy on Sunday at the open show. She has that 415-pound Angus heifer broke to death. She came marching in the show ring with Roxy by herself with the biggest, brightest grin on her face! She was sure having a big time and Roxy played her part the best!
I am looking for a full-time barn man. This place gets a lot of hours! I need someone that can take good care of customer’s stock, be respectful to folks coming and going. They will help load & unload livestock counting both ways! Keep the sale yard clean and ready for service as well as load & unload hay! If you have an interest, give me a call!
With the baby coming in the kitchen within the next month, we could use help in there.
A regular sale this week, come early to beat the heat!
A special feeder calf sale August 5th and a special breeding sheep & goat sale August 12th
Have a Dandy Week!
7-18-2023
The temperatures have been pretty good the past week and two nice showers passed thru here! It rained on Wednesday and again on Monday. The grass is improving for sure. The alfalfa and corn have really responded nice. The girl’s sweet corn looks extremely good and should have the first picking ready in about 10 days! The forecast looks to end July off with hot and dry days. I sure hope the moisture we have received will get us on over the hump to chopping time.
Saturday was a regular sale with a steady hog market. Fat hogs topped at $75 with the bulk at $65 to 70 a lb. Several 4-H hogs are making their way to the sale barn after the fairs have finished up. Sows were pretty much $35 to 40. Not much for feeder pigs again this week.
The sheep and goat market showed slight improvement on 450 head. Lambs weighing from 50 to 80 pounds were mostly $1.55 to 1.80 a lb. A very nice set of 97-pound lambs brought $1.70. Ewes were mostly $40 to 60. Kid goats ranged from $2.50 to $3.30 a lb. for Boer cross kids and $1.80 to 2.20 for the dairy type kids. Nannies were in the $1.00 to 1.25 range. Billies brought $2.00 a lb. weighing over 100 pounds. Solid interest this week in the feeder lambs going back to be fed at the farm. Col. Logan Wells was back to help with the sale this week as Jimmy’s middle son Calvin got married on Saturday. To me, Saturday stills seems like a bad day of the week to have a wedding!
The outside sale had small square bales at $3.00 to 8.00 and rounds mainly from $100 to 140. String tied and smaller bales did slip under $100. Net wrapped new wheat straw was very solid at $47.50 to 55 per bale. Another great run of misc. items out front and a very large crowd.
The cattle sale had baby calves at $125 to 200 for dairy and $250 to 500 for the beef calves. The feeder calf market was steady with a light run. Weigh cows were sure solid with $1.34 top and most cows over $1.00 a lb. Big bulls topped at $1.42 a lb.
I went to Madison WI early last Wednesday morning to attend the Jr National Hereford show. Truly a one-of-a-kind class act cattle show. There were close to 900 kids exhibiting 1500 plus animals from 38 states and Canada! It is the largest of all the breeds Jr. Heifer shows in the states and I think the world. Leadership activities and several contests highlighting the youth of the cattle business take place early in the week. Showmanship was held Tuesday, bred and owned females, steers and bulls were shown Wednesday. Thursday and Friday wrapped up the open Horned and Polled Heifer shows. It is an awesome display of young people and great Hereford cattle. I believe I attended my first one in about 1975. They were good even then, but this show is really on top of the world today! Ben and Ashley picked me up at the Madison airport about 3:30 and we buzzed around a couple of thunderstorms and was home checking cows at 5 p.m.!
Colby has a Ranch Rodeo Thursday in Keosauqua at the Van Buren Co. Fair. Come check out the great entertainment.
A regular sale this Saturday
Have a Dandy Week!
7-11-2023
We have had a beautiful early July week! We had another shower on Saturday night that sure freshened things up. We have been mostly summer like with a couple of days getting into the 90’s, but the rest of the week has been in the upper 70’s to lower 80’s. The nights are still cooling down to the upper 50’s and lower 60’s, which makes for awfully nice evenings and early mornings! The forecast is calling for showers tonight into Wednesday and cooler into the end of the week.
Saturday had a decent run of hogs with fat hogs selling $62 to 68. Sows were mostly $47 to 43 when weighing over 500 pounds with lighter sows at $25 to 30. No pigs again in this sale.
The sheep and goat sale had 425 head. The market is sure in a summer slump right now. Kid goats topped at $2.75 a lb. but the majority of the market kids were $2.25 to 2.50. A single or two replacement doe or billy reach over $4.00 a lb. Nannies were mainly $60 to 1.00 a lb. and billies were at $1.50 to 1.70 a lb. Several light lambs in the run under 70 pounds and sold from $1.15 to 1.42. A fancy group of 84-pound lambs brought $1.50. Ewes were $35 to 60 and bucks were $1.20 to 1.30 a lb.
The outside sale had a bigger run of big round and big square bales. Most of the round bales sold from $85 to 120 per bale. Big round net wrapped straw bales were $47 to 60. A small square bale run was short with the rain keeping many back at home. The market was $5 to 7. Philip had a very large run of all kinds of items this week. It lasted two hours and they moved right along. A good crowd stayed all afternoon.
The cattle sale was heavy with cows. Baby calves were mostly $85 to200 on dairy types and $250 to 400 on beef calves. There were a couple of packages of middle-aged lighter weight cow calf pairs that sold for $2050 to 2300. First trimester red cows, that were middle aged and averaged 1200 pounds brought $1385 per head. Weigh cows made up a sizable portion of the head count again this week. The market is beginning to move a little higher as cow numbers continue to shrink in other parts of the country. We may still take a run at my $1.50 prediction from last winter!
We managed to get some more hay up this week and are sure thankful for that. Calves are doing well with just a little pinkeye and foot rot bugging a little. Cows have calmed down since we received some rain and my phone sure quieted down this past week. Only a Corriente bull out at the roping pen this week!
I am going to Madison, WI in the morning to attend the Hereford Jr National show. 2000 entries from 38 states with over 800 exhibitors! It will be an incredible event to see this year!
A regular sale this week..
Layne and Hattie’s sweet corn is tasseling and setting on ears. Get your orders in as it will go fast!
Have a Dandy Week!
7-4-2023
This week prayers were answered as we receive 2 to 2.5 inches of rain! Wow, it was incredible timing for the corn crop here as we are just coming into pollination. The grass may need some more but the respite we received was just a true blessing across a large area. There were areas that had severe wind damage to crop, power lines, trees and even some buildings were tore up. We did not receive any of that, just three very nice rains. It is hot and very humid now and more rain is forecast for Wednesday and Saturday again. I had mowed some nice second cutting alfalfa hay and we finally baled it yesterday after a week on the ground and thru the showers! We need to mow some more but I am about half gun shy now! All thru the first cutting I didn’t even look at a forecast and made beautiful hay. It looks like I better pay attention better for a while now.
Saturday’s sale had a steady hog market at $60 to 62.50 for fat hogs, sows at $37 to 40 and feeder pigs were scarce.
The sheep and goat market was lower after the ethnic holiday. Kid goats ranged from $2.20 to 3.00 a lb. Lambs weighing 50 to 70 pounds sold at $1.20 to 1.35 a lb., while lambs over 100 pounds were $1.60 to 1.80 a lb. It sure looks like a very good opportunity to buy feeder kids and lambs to have ready for early winter when the market makes another strong move.
The outside sale had a good run of hay and straw again. Small squares of hay were $3.50 to 6.00 on average quality with the better hay bringing $7.00 to 8.50 per bale. Big round bales sold at $75 for some smaller lighter bales to $185 top. I would say our average was $130 to 140 per bale for this sale. Big round new crop wheat straw brought $60. Hay is coming from as far out at 60 to 70 miles and going out 200 to 250 miles away this week. Philip got $2200 out of the cattle chute and $1500 out of the hoop shed. A big crowd here once again for all the goodies out front!
The cattle sale had baby beef calves selling $250 to 500. Light weight bull calves 250 pounds brought $800 per head. 361-pound bull calves right off the cow brought $3.20 a lb.; 458-pound bull calves were at 2.80 and some 550-pound bulls at $2.66 a lb. Heifers weighing 330 pounds brought $2.80; 480-pound heifers brought $2.52; 610-pound heifers; and 738-pound heifers were at $2.10 a lb. Weigh cows were sure steady with the top yielding cows at $1.20 to 1.28 a lb. the bulk of the cows were sure bringing $98 to 1.10 a lb. Bulls sold at $1.25 to 1.38 a lb. if they were healthy and sound. This time of year, nature can be hard on bulls!
The sale was over by 4:00 which is for sure as early as we have been done in over six months! I left about 7 to check some cattle for a neighbor that was in an accident on Friday. When I finished, I called Ron Carter to give him an update on chores. He had just taken a call that there were cows out up south of Libertyville, so I told him I would head that way. I pulled in the property and couldn’t see anything out, I pulled around behind a bin to survey a bigger area and spotted the small herd headed west on a cornfield beanfield line about a quarter of a mile west of my position. I tried calling but Red Angus cows don’t have as good of hearing as Hereford cows do! So, I went towards the pasture they had been in to see if I could find a place where they had set themselves free! Nothing obvious at the end I started on. Carter showed up and I gave him the update. We decided to go farther to look for where they had come out, so we could formulate a strategy to get them back. Sure enough we found an old fence mashed down that had let them go on a free grazing trip. We headed back out and divided up to go around to the next road west to get ahead of them, we found a field that had recently had the rye harvested off it and got permission to go across it. We looked all over west of where I had last seen them and could not find a trace. Well, it was cornfield to the north, beanfield to the south and we had seen all the bean field. You guessed it, we figured they went to the corn field. It was getting closer to dark, so we decided to give up until daylight and headed back towards my car. Just as we are about to pull in where the car is at, the herd was ready to walk out on the highway! So, I got out and Carter went ahead and called them a little and they went all the way back around the building site and walked right int the pasture gate. That was sure the best outcome possible at 9 p.m. for us! We patched up the fence and I headed home. As I pulled up the road towards our driveway, I spied another herd drifting a half mile north. Well crud, so I turned in and grabbed my feed truck and went out and jingled them right back home. It took a while, but I finally found a panel knocked over in the lot. It all worked out pretty easily as I have sure been a part of much worse cases!
I hope you all enjoyed the July 4th holiday.
Regular sale this Saturday!
Have a Dandy Week!
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