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April 2021 04/13/21 10:24:00 AM
4-19-2021
Winter has settled back into southeast Iowa! We are expected to see lows in the mid 20’s the next few nights. Flurries and the chance of an inch of snow for the next couple of days. The wind today was sure sharp, I hope that lets up a little. I guess if it blows, will it lessen the frost damage on the ground or would it increase the wind chill and make it worse?? Needless to say, we won’t be planting any corn in this area this week.
Saturday turned into another very busy sale day. The hog sale kicked off a little before 9 and we finished selling cattle a little after 9 p.m. We sold nearly 400 hogs and pigs this week. The sows have started moving lower with a $74 top on the best 600-pound sows, lighter sows sold mostly $66 to 72. Pigs over 75 pounds sold higher, and the lighter pigs sold steady.
The sheep and goat sale bloomed up to 880 head this week. When we started selling hogs, it didn’t seem like it was going to get that busy. When I went outside at 11 to sell and the lines to both chutes were 15 deep to get unloaded, I knew we were having a big run! Sheep and goats sold at stronger prices this week. Lambs from 50 to 80 pounds ranged from $3 to 3.40 a lb. Ewes and bucks were both sides of a dollar a pound. Kid goats less than a week old topped at $170 per head! 20-to-30-pound kids would range from $100 to 150. 50-to-60-pound kids topped at $260 per head and 70-to-90-pound kids were mostly $330 to 390 per head. Big nannies ranged from $240 to 335 per head. A pretty wild market on any kind of sheep or goat this week!
The outside sale was down to one auctioneer again this week as Logan was absent. I was dang sure glad it wasn’t pouring down rain Saturday! Small squares of hay were solid in the $3 to 6 range this week. A few piles of straw brought from $1.50 to 3. Big round bales of grass hay that was net wrapped sold mostly $40 to 67. Wet bales, smaller bales or poor-quality bales got down to $15 to 30. Cornstalks and straw sold from $20 to 30 per bale. A good-sized assortment of misc. merchandise this week and most items found very good interest. The Kuhn disc mower with some gears out of it sold for $2600. A chevy with 380K miles brought $1300, a GMC brought $1150 with 275K miles. 15 green light duty corral panels sold for $100 a piece the first time. The gal bought them went in to settle up thought she bought the whole pile for $100. So, Becky found me when I was just about finished and told me the situation. I walked back over to the pile of 15 green light duty panels and sold them again for $100 to a guy that knew what he was fiving for them. It’s always entertaining to see what the outside sale might bring up!
The cattle sale made it thru without to much effect of lower cattle futures and higher corn market. Baby calves sold from $200 to 400 for beef calves and $75 to 125 for the dairy. Light feeders sold over $2 up to 420 pounds. The top five weight steers brought up to $1.95. Some 636-pound black steers topped at $1.68 and a package of 737-pound black steers sold at $1.55. 46 head of 846-pound black steers brought $1.40. The heifers sold strong as well with some three weights bringing up to $1.80 and four weights topping at $1.28. A pack of 614-pound heifer brought $1.44 and a partial load of 675-pound heifers brought $1.39. A full load of 756-pound heifers brought $1.35. Some open replacement heifers sold for $1200 to 1300 per head. There was a big run of weigh cows that sold steady as the top cows were in the mid $70’s and lots of cows were in the $60’s. Bulls sold mostly $90 to 1.05.
We were shorthanded in the back and the kitchen both this week. Prom downtown and one grandpa visiting grandkids cost four members, while school picnic at Bonaparte took 9 out of our crew. Everybody picked up the slack well and temporary services filled in to get us thru. I think everything is counted out and we survived another week!
The boys were planning on working pairs at Luke’s on Sunday, but after the sale decided to put it off a week to rest up. Cody had already started preparing to feed the Sunday crew, so we hated to disappoint her and waste the food. We all gathered at lunch to relax a minute with family and enjoy the meal.
We did process Hereford pairs at Ted’s today even though he baled out early to help take baby Ellie for her checkup halfway thru! I am hoping to work pairs at my house tomorrow afternoon, maybe it will warm up a little!
Becky took a call Saturday in the middle of the afternoon that I had bulls out north of town. Well, I figured there was no crop around they couldn’t do much harm where they went. I’ll be darned if they didn’t waller a darn turkey blind and the folks were not liking it! So, Colby volunteered (or was drafted) to go put them in. Ruffled feathers weren’t as bad when he got there as they were over the phone and he put them away. I patched the turkey hunters fence on Sunday and turned the bulls back out, hoping turkey season is over before they journey out again!
We have a few cows and pairs a well as a light run of feeder cattle lining up for this Saturday. I have no idea what to think the morning sale will be like but have to assume another good-sized run of hogs, sheep & goats.
Have a Dandy Week!
4-12-2021
We have been thru some awfully nice April weather reaching 80° earlier last week! Then the wind blew up some rain leaving an inch Thursday and 2 more inched on Saturday. The temperatures have cooled off to the 30’s at night and low 50’s in the afternoon. The rest of the week looks about the same with highs up to 60 a couple of times and more sunshine but cooling down to the low 40’s at night. The rain really soaked things up again. It will be at least 4 to 6 days before field work starts again. There is some corn planted around and some beans! We got lucky with good help and got some seeding put in before the rain started. The grass is going to town and will really explode on the next good warm up.
Saturday was a nasty wet swampy day all day long! It started in about 6:30 a.m. and it rained until after midnight! We had water running thru the barn, making it very difficult to move sheep and goats. Even the hogs didn’t want to cross some of the waterways! It was a mess, but the crew held steady and mastered getting everything thru. It was surprising at how much stock came in Saturday. We sold over 400 hogs, 500 sheep & goats and 650 cattle.
The hog market was steady with heavy sows showing some weakness. Fat hogs sold from $65 to 72. The sows topped at $80, with most of the heavy sows bringing $77 to 79. Light sows sold mostly $65 to 72. Pigs sold from 75¢ to well over a dollar a lb. on some 30-pound pigs. More pigs were going home to feed than going as roasters out of this sale.
The sheep and goat markets were really fast this week. A couple of baby kids sold for $100 a piece! 40-to-60-pound kids sold from $200 to 255 per head on the meat type boer kids. 80-to-90-pound kids topped at $335. Billies were mostly $400 to 535 and the top doe brought $600! 50-to-70-pound lambs jumped back over $3 to a $3.20 per lb. top. Weigh up ewes ranged from $90 to 1.09 and bucks sold for $95 to 1.02 a lb. Remember sheep and goats are not traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and market competition has never slowed thru the whole pandemic! It is an amazing market to watch!
The hay sale was WET! Small squares were in very short supply with only four stacks selling from $3 to 5.50. Big round bales were plentiful with right at 400 bales and the market was steady to higher. The top bales were selling at $60 to 65 and very little hay under $40. Corn stalk bales have slide back to just $15 to 20 a bale. Logan and Matt sold the rest of the outside sale and I went to dry out! A gooseneck trailer brought $950; the brush cutter only brought $250. I think that was a bargain. Lumber sold very strong and not many hedge posts to test value this week.
The cattle sale had 20 baby calves to lead off with to a packed house of buyers. Dairy calves were $85 to 150 and beef calves brought $200 to 400. Bred cows and pairs were the feature this week. Heifer pairs lead off the cow sale with all five groups selling from $2200 to 2300. Fall bred cows made up a large portion of the cow sale. Interest was sure solid on each group of those cows bringing $1300 to 1600 for cows that were 5 to 8 years old due after September 1st. Cows sold to buyers from all three states in our area this week. Feeders were light but sure had strong interest with light heifers up to $1.70 and a good group of 710-pound steers at $1.54. weigh cows and bulls were higher on over 200 head this week. The bulk of the cows sold from $6 to 74. Bulls sold mostly $1.00 to 1.07 on the good yielding kind.
I spent a couple of busy days in Kansas City last week for our Hereford Spring Board meetings. It was good to have all twelve board members together in person and not on ZOOM! We had a full agenda both days including a decision on where to hold the National show and sale. There was great conversation and lots of relevant information showed amongst the board members. Ager good conversation it was decided to go to Oklahoma City for the 2022 show and sale. I look forward to both shows, Denver and OKC and the discussion we will take up next year to see where the 2023 shows and sale will be held. We were out for supper in Kansas City at Piropos and the Hereford House. Bother places were busy and had very awesome food! I ate way too much at both spots.
The boys are busy this week getting heifers set up, working pairs to get kicked out and moving fall cows to grass. We did stop and have Sunday evening supper with my sister and brother-in-law from New Mexico at my Mom’s. All three granddaughters were on hand to put all kinds of life in the house. Ted & Rachelle had a baby girl, Ellie, on March 30. They are doing great. We can truly see the circle of life in our family now.
A good feeder sale shaping up for this week expecting 1000 head.
Have a Dandy Week!
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