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March 2025 03/05/25 9:47:00 AM
3-11-25
Boy, spring really arrived here this week! We hit 45 degrees Saturday, 64 degrees Sunday and 73 degrees Monday! That’s a big change in a week from blowing snow 20 degrees last Tuesday! Watch those babies close for respiratory problems! Those babies love the warm sunshine but better check them close and not assume they are well and good as the weather jumps up and down. The forecast looks good until Friday, when we may get into a rain event and possibly some storms into Saturday. The forecast looks like we are safe to take the tank heaters out with lows barely under freezing for the next 10 days!
Saturday’s sale had a really big crowd around here! The hog sale was very lively again this week, with no feeder pigs. The fat hogs sold at $0.75 to $0.85 for locker hogs, but the true fat hog market was at $0.64 to $0.65. The sows sold from $0.70 to $0.75 and a couple over 500lbs and $0.60 to $0.65 under.
The sheep and goat market was sure a good one on almost 500 head. The bottle lambs sold for $25.00 to $65.00 per head and bottle goats sold at $10.00 to #85.00 on a couple boer xbred kids. The 50lb to 60lb meat type kids sold from $4.60 to $4.75 per pound. The 70lb to 90lb kids sold at $2.80 to $3.25. Nannies sold from $1.20 to $1.60 per pound.
The lambs weighing 60lb to 80lb brought $3.35 to $3.75. Heavier lambs brought $2.40 to $2.75. The fat lambs were pretty scare this week with a package at $2.35. Cull ewes ranged from $0.90 to $1.30 per pound. Bucks were in the same range as the ewes.
The outside sale had a nice run of small squares selling higher at $5.00 to $7.00 on the nicer quality and $2.00 to $5.00 on light bales and plain quality. The big bales of hay were steady at $35.00 to $50.00 on the better hay and $20.00 to $35.00 on rougher hay, string tied and smaller bales. The top second cutting alfalfa bales at $65.00. Big square bales ranged from $30.00 on grass to $65.00 on nicer alfalfa. Cornstalks brought $30.00 to $37.00. The straw round bales brought $20.00 to $35.00. Buyers are still mostly local with some loads shipping out up to 100 miles. Several buyers are just purchasing hay to feed right away.
The hedge post market was very steady with better lines at $20.00 to $25.00 and better corners at $35.00 to $50.00. Derek and Colby had a big run of miscellaneous items to work through and a big crowd with them all the way through.
The cattle sale had baby beef calves at $500.00 to $850.00 and dairy calves at $450.00 to $650.00. Several bred cows and a few bred heifers were in for the sale this week. The black heifers bred in the 3rd period were solid at $3250.00 to $3400.00. The nicer 3rd period middle-aged cows were $3000 to $3400.
Cows from 6-8 years old due in the fall were $2400 to $2850. The weigh cow market was dang sure strong with the better cows selling at $1.42 to $1.60. Heiferettes and turnout cows brought at $2.25 top! Cows are worth an awful good check this spring. The unproductive girls and older cows should really be looked at and evaluated to make sure they justify a spot in your pasture. Make sure what your grazing, will return a profit that fits your goals over the next year or cash them in and replace them with ones that will.
As we march on towards the coming summer the popular question I get is, “How long will this market be good?”. Things that enter into that question is, are we really at a high price currently? My answer is, sure, we are higher than we have been, but I am still not convinced that we are at the high. Another question is “How long will it take to replace the cow herd? My answer to that question is, Generational interval on cattle is obviously in our favor. We can’t replace the cow herd in 2-3 years. It will take higher prices for fats and feeders to encourage folks to build cow numbers! Dairy cow herds are low and with milk prices encouraging more production. A higher number of Holstein cows will be getting bred back to Holstein bulls to replace the dairy herd. Those Holstein cows have been raising beef cross calves the past 3 to 5 years. That amount of beef production will need to be compensated for, as we move forward. My answer continues to be the cattle market will stay good for several years into the future. Consumers love beef and are obviously focused on feeding their families a very high quality and satisfying protein source!
We are having a special feeder cattle sale this coming Saturday. Come take a look!
Have a dandy week!
3-4-25
The first week of march arrives with a big rain! We were cold last week but warmed up over the weekend to 63 degrees Sunday! The rain will make it sloppy for a while, but hopefully it will soak in and not run off too much. Sounds like it may rain again tomorrow and might snow northwest of here some. By the weekend we may be back up to 70 degrees! That’s what makes March go by a little easier! We had fertilizer spread on the pasture and hay ground the past few days, so it should do some good with the rain!
Saturday had a big run of everything. The hog sale had almost 400 head. The sows were off but still had an $0.80 top on a 600lb fat sow. The bulk of the 400lb sows were from $0.60 to $0.70. The fat hogs sold from $0.55 to $0.65 this week. The big boars were at $0.18 to $0.20. Feeder pigs were higher selling from $0.60 to $0.65 per head for pigs over 50lbs.
The sheep and goat market was higher also. The 50lb to 70lb lambs sold from $3.40 to $3.60 per pound a few weighing up around 100lbs at $2.10 to $2.35 a pound. Ewes sold from $1.10 to $1.45 per pound. Bottle lambs were $45.00 to $65.00 per head.
The bottle kids goats sold at $5.00 to $20.00 on dairy and $35.00 to $85.00 on boer kids. The 40lb to 60lb kids sold from $3.70 to $4.25. nannies sold from $1.00 to $1.40 per pound. One nice young doe with a newborn nanny kid sold at $160.00 counting noses. A very big crowd here for the morning sale!
The outside sale had a large run of hay. The small squares sold from $2.00 to $6.50. The straw bales sold for $2.50 to $4.00. The hedge posts were in good demand with lines at $5.00 to $25.00 and corners at $15.00 to $55.00. The big round bales were stacked everywhere! The top round bales were some big, tight bales of both grass and alfalfa that brought $50.00 to $65.00. Several stacks of hay sold at $25.00 to $35.00 per bale. The big squares ranged from $25.00 to $70.00 with only 1 lot of fancy alfalfa at $70.00. The wet wrapped wheat, rye and triticale bales at $10.00 to $20.00. Wet wrapped alfalfa brought $30.00. The cornstalk bales brought mostly $30.00 to $40.00. The straw round bales brought $17.50 to $35.00. The market sure is giving producers plenty of opportunities to stock pile some hay for the year at a very low cost. Without question, there will not be as much hay baled in 2025 as there was last year and it will get higher as we go to 2026.
The cattle sale had 1236 head. Baby calves ranged from $600.00 to $950.00. The baby holsteins brought $550.00 to $650.00. The feeder cattle market continues to hold pretty steady. The board has jumped up and down but cash feeders are holding steady to better. Several higher 300lb to lower 400lbstrs and bulls would bring $3.85 to $4.25 per pound. The steers right around 500lb brought $3.40 to $3.60 per pound. The 600lb steers brought $3.15 to $3.35, 745lb steers reached $2.90 and a nice load of red and black yearling steers weighing 878lb brought $268.25. The 300lb heifers were solid at $3.50 to $3.75. The 400lb steers brought $3.10 to $3.455, 500lb heifers topped at $3.15 and 600lb heifers were mostly $2.30 to $2.95. The 700lbs heifers ranged from $2.40 on a big fleshy type to $2.70 on the top end.
The weigh cows were higher with the top cow bringing $1.58. Feeding cows and take homes brought up to $2.10 to $2.30. Bulls topped at $1.75. Every week this market continues to move upward. I would say it is getting about ready to stall out for a few weeks, then charge on, as we get past Mother’s Day or into June. This summer will be a very explosive weigh cow market. Take care of them and have them ready to go!
The 5G crew has sorted up an awesome set of heifers for the coming season. They are maybe more even and docile for this time of year than normal. We are holding steady with what we have been doing the past few years. Customer’s have been calling back with calving reports that are very positive on last years group, so we will probably breed them about the same.
It’s a bred cow special coming up this week. A fancy set of fall bred angus cows bred to Hereford or angus bulls. A group of pairs that will have 200lb plus big calves on them, as well as, several more. Come take a look!
Have a dandy week!
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