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August 2024 08/14/24 1:41:00 PM
8-27-24
August is working on proving it can still be hot and humid in southeast Iowa this time of year! We are in the middle 90’s the past 3 days and indexes up to the 105-108 degrees. Tis dang sure hot and humid now. The forecast looks like this should be the last really nasty day with highs in the upper 80’s heading into the rest of the week. There is a 50% chance of a shower over night that may help to cool us off some.
Saturday was hot for sale day and a really, big run of livestock. The hog sale started early, selling a big run of stock unloading early Saturday morning. The crew was unloading stock shortly after 6 am already and the line got really slow about 11 o’clock until at least 2pm, as folks were still trying to get unloaded while others were trying to get loaded up. There were 400 hogs in the run this week. Fat hogs fell of to $40.00 to $50.00 with a group of Herefords topping at $60.00. The sows came way off of the summer high all the way down to $65.00 on the good 550lb fat sows. The lighter weights ranged from $40.00 to $55.00. The big boars sold at $10.00 to $20.00. We sold hogs until 10:45am and had 800 head of sheep and goats lined up.
The pens were tight, the crew was frustrated, customers were getting impatient, and we did what we have to do and that’s to keep going. So, we had to get creative, keep moving stock along and helping customers the best we possible can. It was a good thing the market was active and got stronger as we moved along through the run. The lamb market was mostly $2.50 to 43.00 for 60lb to 80lb, thin lambs sell lower than lambs that are fat. Lambs over 100lb to 140lb sold from $1.45 to $2.00. The ewes were at $0.80 to $1.30 and a package that was thin sold at $0.30. The 50lb to 70lb kids brought $2.50 to $3.10 a pound. The heavier kids were mostly at $2.35 to $2.75 for meat types. The big billies were at $1.40 to $2.25, and nannies were $0.90 to $1.50 a pound.
The cattle sale had 100 cattle in it, mostly cows. Baby calves sold from $500 to $800 while Holsteins sold at $250 to $400. A couple nice groups of middle aged and older pairs sold from $3300 to $3450. The weigh cow market was steady on 220 head this week. Pound cows come in from several miles around, 80 to 100 head is sure not uncommon anymore. The top cow was $1.60 with several nice fat cows bringing $1.50 to $1.55. Lean cows topped at $1.52 with the bulk around $1.40. Top bulls were at $1.89, with most at $1.70 to $1.80. We finished up at 8:15pm. The crew was exhausted to say the least. The second shift, which is really the first shift, plus one spent until midnight, one o’clock loading trucks and getting everything counted and moved to hay and water.
On Sunday Rachelle and I went on the Iowa Hereford tour. We started at Bluegrass, IA at 8:30am at the Diamond P Ranch. Scott Powell and family are raising Herefords and baldie cattle. They market 50 head a year as quarter, half and whole beef to their local trade. They just started in 2020 and already have developed a fast-growing beef business.
The second stop was the Jack Rife family near Wilton, IA. Longtime family breeders of Herefords since the early 1900’s. Lots of memorabilia were laid out under a tent in the front yard including a newsletter that my mom printed back in the 80’s.
Lunch was in a new machine shed at Jackson Herefords near Mechanicsville, IA. Boy it was hot in there! It was a good lunch followed by a short meeting and we were back outside looking at a good set of cattle. There was a son of GO King E33 on display and he was doing a nice job.
The last stop was up to Bernard, IA to Three Hills Herefords and Mr. Dave Morehead’s operation. Three Hills is a breeder of L1 Hereford cattle, using mostly Cooper, Holden and Van Newkirk’s genetics. There was beautiful scenery up that way and a great set of cattle. David also runs a PRCA rodeo company and even finds time to do some coon hunting with a grandson or two. It was a great stop with a class operation. We were home by 9 o’clock and enjoyed the day.
The crew left to load out at the sale barn were busy most of the day and would just have assumed ole dad would have stayed around on Sunday to help load out.
We have a regular sale this coming week.
Have a dandy week!
8-21-24
We have had a couple half inch rains over the past week and even a shirt wetter this morning early! Temperatures have remained in the low to mid 80’s the past week making middle august really, comfortable in southeast Iowa! The forecast looks to get up into the 90’s closer to the weekend and early next week. There looks like another chance of showers on Saturday afternoon or evening so everyone will scramble to get this pretty hay baled up before then!
Saturday was a gorgeous day for a sale, only getting up to 82 degrees for a high. The hog sale kicked off with a stronger sow market. Big sows topped at $88.00 to $91.00 and heavy butchers and light sows were $75.00 to $85.00. The fat market was $65.00 to $75.00 for the hogs under 315lbs, and light/rough hogs sold at $30.00 to $50.00.
The sheep and goat market was steady across all weights and classes. Lambs weighing 50lb to 90lb were closer together in price now at $1.80 to $2.20 a pound. The pound ewes sold from $0.55 to $0.90 per pound. Kid goats weighing 50lb to 70lb ranged from $2.50 to $2.90 a pound for good fleshy, meat type goats. Nannies sold at $0.80 to $1.25 per pound and big billies were mostly $1.70 to $1.90 a pound.
The outside sale had a very light run of small square bales bringing $2.00 to $5.00 a bale. The big square bales of hay sold from $30.00 to $60.00 and the round bales ranged from $30.00 to $57.50. The miscellaneous items included most everything you could imagine. The hand tools, gates, fencing materials, feeders and even a table and chairs. Colby has been doing the auction chores for us after Philip departed and is catching on well.
The cattle sale this week had an awful nice run of cattle. The weather was great, the cattle were the best and Chicago wanted to upset the apple cart on Friday again! The light cattle were sure unaffected by all the scuttle in the board of trade. The four weight steers topped at $357.50, the five weight steers were still $3.15 to $3.20 and six weight steers hit $3.00. The big cattle sold at above break even margins. The seven weight steers brought up to $2.66, eight weight steers sold at $248.75, 941lb steers sold at $242.25 and a group of fancy steers loading 1035lb brought $235.00.
The heifers sold good also with the 3 weight heifers selling up to $3.25. The four weights brought up to $3.12, five weights up to $3.15, six weights up to $2.70. There were several 750lb to 825lb heifers that brought $2.35 to $2.43.
The weigh cow market had another nice run of cows and bulls totaling right at 100 head. The cow beef stepped up $5.00 this week. The top end cows still sold at $1.50 to $1.50. The majority of the cows sold in the $1.40’s. The bulls brought from $1.50 to $1.85.
The crew did a good job moving stock through all day long, with a few sticking around to help load out and get everything moved to hay and water. The trucks loaded until midnight and started again at 6 o’clock Sunday morning and by 10 o'clock we were caught up. It takes a good number of crew to get through the sale and we are sure thankful for ours, however frustrating they can be at times!
We have a sheep and goat special this week and a fancy group of cow/calf pairs.
Have a dandy week!
8-14-24
The past week has remained really nice for August in Iowa. The highs in the low to mid 70’s and lows in the 50’s. Last week was dry. This week we had 4 tenths of rain on Saturday night and it’s raining here again this morning. The forecast looks like another chance of showers and temperatures going back into the middle 80’s by the weekend. The forecast is mostly dry, however for the next week. We are sure fortunate to be this green and lush in August!
Saturday was a beautiful day and there was a large crow around for the whole day. The hog market was sure higher on Saturday. Fat hogs sold from $64.00 to $68.0 with $70.00 on the top Hereford hogs. The big sows were in high demand and brought up to $82.00 and $83.00 for a high. The big boars were also up to $20.00. There were only a few pigs this week weighing 49lbs brought $52.00 per head.
The sheep and goat sale had 450 head. There were a few fair lambs in the run bringing $1.795 to $1.80 a pound. The lighter lambs brought $1.40 to $1.60 a pound and the better, fleshy type lambs brought $2.10 to $2.25 a pound. The ewes mostly $0.80 to $1.15 a pound. There were 40 head of little hair ewes that were likely open that brought $120 per head.
The goat market was $2.50 to $300 on the best boer kids, many of them had been to a fair somewhere. Nannies were $0.80 to $1.35 and billies brought $1.50 to $1.85 a pound.
The outside sale had a sampling of small square bales and a big run of big bales. The small bales sold from $3.00 to $7.00, there were a couple piles that brought $1.00. The big bale hay market was $40.00 to $55.00 on he better net wrapped hay. One pile of oat hay brought $32.50 in a net wrapped bale. Several folks following along with the market but only a few trying to buy an quantity at this time.
Cattle sale had a few baby calves that sold from $500 to $800 on the beef calves. We had an awful nice sample of cow/calf pairs and fall bred cows in the sale. Pairs were solid at $2900 to $3400, depending on size and age. Bred cows were from $2300 to $2900 for decent middle aged 3rd period cows. The weigh cows were steady again on 140 head. For the past several years the pound cow market trends lower after labor day, so keep that in mid if you want to cull some cows in the next couple of months.
The girls have sold out of the first half of the sweet corn patch and are just starting to pick on the second planting. If you need some sweet corn, come see Layne and Hattie this weekend! We were going to run up to the fair this morning, but the rain shut us down. (We had plenty to do anyway!)
We had a good hay week last week making 3rd cutting alfalfa hay. We need a break in the rain to get another cutting of hay put up. We are getting short of barn space now! We are sure thankful for that kind of a problem.
The 5G heifers have one more group to pregnancy checked this summer and that will happen Thursday morning this week! The percentage of AI bred heifers is running ahead of normal and the percentage of bred heifers is running right on the same as the past 5 years. The heifers have had a good summer on grass and sure look awesome as we move into fall.
We went to northwest Iowa yester for a feedyard visit. The crop is sure stunning up there as well! Cattle have had a nice summer avoiding most of the heat and sprinkles. The closeouts continue to show profit, and the cost of gain is declining coming into fall. The attitude remains cautiously optimistic as they market fats and find replacements to keep pens full.
This week’s sale will have several outstanding yearlings in the run. Phil Peitz reputation steers are the best cattle to be offered throughout the Midwest! Come take a look at all the fancy cattle in for this week’s sale.
Have a dandy week!
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