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June 2024 06/04/24 2:35:00 PM
6-25-24
Just a few short days into summer and it has already turned hot and humid! We have been in the mid 90’s for a few days and it’s held at 85 overnight the last couple of days. The humidity is in the 70% to 90% range, and it’s been nasty today. We received 0.035 inches of rain this morning, that kind of came from nowhere, but just south of town remained dry. We have an even bigger chance this evening, hopefully nothing nasty. The rain and flooding in northwest Iowa and the corners of the other 3 states have been horrible. Crop grounds, businesses and people houses have been destroyed by record flooding in some parts of that area. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those folks. The forecast is calling for a couple 3 days dry after tonight. Then the several days ahead are showing a bigger chance of rain again. Our crops look really goo in this area, with corn starting to tassel already. The hay crop is fantastic with some 2nd cutting happening now. (Mine got wet this morning!)
Saturday was sure warm here. We had a nice run of hogs and the demand was extra strong this sale. The top sows were 12 head that averaged 587lbs, that were the good outside kind, brought $0.95/lb. The fat hogs ranged from $0.65 to $0.80 for some nice outside hogs. The pigs sold at $55.00 for some 52lb pigs and $80.00 for some 82lb pigs. Even big boars were higher, with $0.18 to $0.20 top on the boars, that generally only bring a nickel.
The sheep and goat sale had 640 head of all classes. The 80lb to 100lb lambs were off slightly as the hot weather settled in. The better lambs were bringing $2.00 to $2.30. The light lambs made up a significant part of the sheep run. The market was better on them with feeders them home to have ready for the stronger fall market. The 50lb to 70lb lambs sold from $1.85 to $2.20. The ewes were mostly $0.80 to $1.05 a pound.
The goat market also felt a little lower. The 50lb to 70lb kids sold at $3.20 to $3.40 on the best. Thinner types sold from $2.50 to $3.00 a pound. The nannies were steady at $1.25 to $1.50 on the better end. The big billies held at $2.10 to $2.30 and we did not see many of them last week.
The outside sale had several hedge posts and lots of hay again. The small square bales of bay brought $1.50 to $6.00 with the bulk of them bringing $3.00 to $4.50. The big round bales sold from $30 to $80 per bale. The $80 bales were full size alfalfa and the low end will be very small bales or would have some weeds showing up in it. The 8 bales of wheat straw brought $40. The big square bales sold from $40 to $70 per bale. We sold over 500 big bales again this week.
The hedge post market was fair on older, cut posts that had some very big ones stacked in each pile of 20. They were the kind that were big enough that the neighbors would wonder what in the heck you were doing with something like them!
There were numerous other items outside again this week. There were gates and an ole Nissan truck, and numerous flowers and plants that filled up an hour and a half of the outside sale. There was a big crowd again, even as hot as it was for the outside sale.
The cattle sale had several baby calves. The Holstein and Jersey calves sold from $50 to $400. The lower values were not in the best health. The beef calves sold from $400 to $700, with several of the calves being right off the cow.
The pairs and bred cows had fairly, solid interest. The pairs were mostly 5 years old and short/solid cows that had April born calves. They brought from $3000 to $3300 per pair. The bred cows brought from $2250 to $2400 for ones that were to calve in August. The weigh cows were a bit full as a group but were a buck or two higher. The top cows were at $1.60 and there were a lot of cows in the $1.40’s. The 12 bulls ranged from $1.50 to $1.85. There was a fella that called about one of the bulls earlier in the week. The bull had gotten hurt and was not getting around well at all. He was debating whether to put him down or try to get him sold. I told him to bring him, and we would see if we could get him through the ring. This bull brought over $3000! He was sure glad he saved that bullet.
We are hoping to get some hay and straw made this week. The Jefferson co fair is underway in Fairfield already. Several more will be starting shortly. We are pulling bulls out of the Hereford cows this week and have treated a few sore eyes here and there. The grass is plentiful, but the fescue is nasty. So, we may mow some of it down to get a fresh start.
We are having a feeder sale this coming Saturday, June 29th.
Have a dandy week!
6-17-24
Well, our nice cool, low humidity days have gone on by for now. Temperatures jumped into the 90’s and humidity is 75 percent in the morning. We had a silly, little out of now where shower pass by on Sunday afternoon, that really just made the humidity higher and stopped us from baling some hay! The forecast looks to be hot most of the week. There are a couple days that are showing thirty to sixty percent rain chances, but it’s hard to tell if it will do anything that far out or if it will amount to anything if it does rain.
Saturday was forecast to be in the 90’s, but we stayed under the clouds and did not get over 87 degrees with a nice breeze that kept us comfortable. The hog sale had fat hogs selling up to $0.80. The sows were up to $0.82 and feeder pigs just over a dollar a pound. It looks like this market will hold for the next couple of weeks anyway.
The sheep and goat numbers were steady with over 500 head again this sale. The light lambs continue to lag behind heavier lambs. The lambs under 70lbs sold from $1.70 to $2.10 a pound. The heavier weights mostly sold from $2.20 to $2.50 with the top on some 125lb black face fat lambs. The weigh ewes sold from $0.85 to $1.20 a pound. Kid goats are lower across all weights. The 50 to 60lb kids ranged from $3.30 to $3.60 a pound for meat types. The cull nannies sold at $1.20 to $1.80 a pound and big billies sold from $2.20 to $2.40 per pound.
The outside sale had another large run of hay with 1400 small squares and over 400 big bales. The new crop small square bales of hay brought from $3.00 to $6.50. The top bulk of the small bales of hay were in the $4.00 to $5.00 range. Big square bales sold from $40 to $70 per bale. The round bales sold at $30 to $85, with a solid range of $55 to $65 per able. Philip had a good run of miscellaneous items and a good-sized crowd on hand again.
The cattle sale ended up with 500 head of feeders and cows. The baby calves sold at $400 to $500 on dairy calves and $650 to $900 on beef calves. There weren’t any test cows to speak of. The feeder cattle have good interest for all weights and classes. The three weight steers sold over $4.00 a pound, four weights were up to $4.00 a pound, five weights up to $3.50 a pound, six weights up to $3.18, seven weights up to $2.86 and eight weights up to $2.62. There were only small packages of cattle offered in this sale. The weigh cows sold steady to higher for, I’m guessing, over 10 weeks in a row! The top cows sold for up to $1.55 to $1.60. The better yielding cows sold in the upper $1.40’s and very few cows were under $1.20 this week. The top bulls brought $1.85. The market is good but will continue to be this way and higher over the next couple of months.
We have finished up the first round of hay, except some ole rough pastures that haven’t had anything in them yet. It’s really tall and should be baled so it’s not wasted until the cows go in them. I just don’t like riding the machinery over them! The crops all look very good at this point. Folks are in awe of all the grass in the pastures as well. Most are saying it’s the best, that they remember. I’m not sure of that, but when the last three years are terribly short, it does look good this year.
We have an outstanding her dispersal consigned for this coming Saturday including 20 big, fancy running age black and red cow/calf pairs, 8 bred cows and an Angus bull. We are also expecting a couple other groups of cows as well and those 2 fancy red angus bulls.
Stay cool and have a dandy week!
6-11-24
It’s been a beautiful hay week across our area the past few days. Low humidity, sunshine and a light breeze has made it perfect weather to get hay made. The quantity is really up from the past couple of seasons, with lots of hay making 3 to 4 big bales per acre! Nearly all the crop is in the group and up growing too! Farmers have sure done a great job of getting this year’s crops in the ground, while working around the rains in late April and May.
The forecast has a slight chance of rain again on Thursday, then getting up in to the 90’s for a few days. I’m sure this fella will be wishing for some more 50-degree mornings and 75-degree days! It’s been a treat to start June off so nice.
Saturday had a light run of hogs, normal sheep and goat sale, several cow/calf pairs and bred cows. The hog market is sure solid right now with the sows in the $0.70 range and fat hogs up the $0.80 range again. We have been short on feeder pig numbers for the past couple of weeks. Demand is good with the market, 50lb pigs are up to over a dollar a pound and right at a dollar on the 80lb to 100lb pigs. With corn prices down and hog prices strong, there is sure room for a profit in raising a few hogs again.
The sheep and goat market was steady on 80lb to 100lb lambs and lower on light lambs. The top 100lb lambs made it to $2.50 a pound. The bulk of the 70lb to 90lb lambs would have been from $2.10 to $2.30 and lighter lambs sold from $1.50 to $2.00 a pound. Depending on how fat ewes were, they were steady at $0.70 to $0.80.
The kid goats selling by the head under 40lb were bring $60 to $80 a each. Meat type kids over 40lb brough $2.50 to $3.50 a pound. Cull nannies were from a $1.00 to $1.50 a pound and billies sold from $2.00 to $2.30. A nice consignment of dapple does that were exposed to a dapple bill for 3 weeks brough most $250 to $350 per head.
The outside sale had small bales selling for $3.00 to $6.50. Big bales sold from $60 to $80, unless they were small or in poor condition. I receive numerous calls about the big bale market each week. Folks are putting up hay and are trying to weigh whether to sell now or play the market and wait until winter. The hay market is purely supply and demand driven. With the supply that being built and the short number of cattle, combined with no real drought area that’s looking for hay, I do not see the hay getting higher until those fundamentals chance.
Philip was busy out front with a big run of hedge posts, plants and all kinds of other merchandise. The hedge posts were decent kind, but were cut maybe 5 years ago, so they didn’t have much eye appeal! The flowers and plants stayed steady.
The cattle sale had baby beef calves at $550 to $825. The cow/calf pairs had very good values on the middle-aged cows with March/April calves selling from $3200 to $3450 a pair. A package of aged pairs also brought $3000. The summer bred middle aged cows in the third period brought $2300 to $2600. A small group of 6-8 yr old, second period cows weighing 1200lb brought $2500 each. There was a light run of feeders so there was not much test in most areas. The weigh cows totaled 140 head and were steady to a dollar higher. Most fleshy cows were $1.40 to $1.50. The cutters, light cows or fully types were more in the $1.30 rang. Big bulls brought $1.60 to $1.80 this week, with another Hereford bull totaling $4000, after selling by the pound.
Colby’s machinery consignment sale went off with a good offering and a large crowd! ATV’s, horse trailers and hay equipment was in high demand. Scrap iron was just average. In those sales, it’s always a surprise what someone really wants.
We are looking for a good summer run of feeder cattle for this coming Saturday. We should see a nice run of hay again, as well as, a big outside sale.
Have a dandy week!
6-4-24
Summer feels like it has arrived in southeast Iowa. We have been into the mid 80’s a few days and not as cool through the overnight. The rain showers missed us yesterday but there’s a pretty good chance of rain here this afternoon and into this evening. After that, it appears to get into a little dryer weather pattern for the next 10 days. The crop is planting is the same as finished here now and several hay fields were cut and baled last week. I would think after today there will be mowers running everywhere laying hay down.
This Saturday’s sale had a number of hogs selling to a higher market. The fat hogs topped in the lower $0.80 and heavy sows sold up to $0.75. The feeder pigs weighing 60lbs to 80lbs would bring $1.00 or more a pound. It seems like the market wants to stay on the stronger side now.
The sheep and goat sale had 750 head. Kid goats weighing 50lb to 70lb sold from $3.50 to $4.10 a pound on the quality meat type kids. Nannies were higher at $1.50 to $1.85 a pound. The big billies sold at $2.20 to $2.50 per pound.
The lamb market was a little off from last week, especially lambs under 70lbs. The top lambs were 98lbs and brought $2.45. While the bulk of the 70lb to 85lb lambs were $2.00 to $2.35. The lighter lambs had trouble getting over $1.75 a pound. The ewes were $0.70 to $1.00 and there weren’t many heavy bucks in the sale.
The outside sale had a very large run of new crop big bales. The hay was in good condition and most of the bales were full size. The majority of the bales sold from $60 to $70 per bale, the smaller bales, 4x4’s or string tied bales were $30 to 50 per bale. Triticale and rye bales were $5 to $20 per bale.
Small square bales ranged from $1.50 to $5.00 a bale. There weren’t a whole lot of small bales with the overnight rain holding a lot of folks back from selling small squares. The plants and flowers were plentiful again this week. The hanging baskets were mostly $10 to $25 each. The lumber, gates, posts and all kinds of other merchandise sold to a large crowd that was on hand.
The cattle sale had 450 head this week. Baby calves sold from $500 to $900 and the 250lb calves sold at $1200 a head. The feeder cattle demand was as good as ever with three weight steers up to $4.20, five weight steers up to $3.60 and six weight steers up to $3.15. Heifers were in high demand just as the steers were. The three weight heifers were up to $3.70, four weight heifers up to $3.35 and five weight heifers at $3.05. The topmost six weight heifers ranged from $2.50 to $2.84. The weigh cows were very good on 150 head. The top was $1.56, but many fleshy cows sold at $1.40 to $1.50. Lean cows were generally in the $1.30 range and big bulls sold from $1.60 to $1.85.
The crew hustled around last week and got some hay baled up in good shape. We are still hauling some manure and hoping by this time next week that we are all done with that project for a while. The grass has completely engulfed the cows and heifers in some pastures already. Some pastures need more cows or we will have to manage that tall grass in the weeks ahead.
We have a cow and bull sale next Saturday and Colby’s consignment/machinery sale will be this Wednesday, June 5th at 5pm.
Have a dandy week!
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