Cattle customers from Arkansas said they had received from 2 to 3 inches of rain from the tropical storm hitting the Gulf Coast. On Monday parts of Oklahoma City were flooding while our area had been receiving some nice rains earlier but definitely could use some rain now to be able to plant wheat.
Last week fat cattle brought $105 to $106 per hundredweight with reports of $104 this week. This week’s CattleFax show list is 11,500 smaller than last week at 276,400 head. Last week’s total slaughter was 654,000 head, which is running the same as a year ago.
Taiwan is dropping age restrictions on cattle, which could allow more competition with Brazil’s exports to Taiwan.
United States slaughter weights are 28 pounds larger than a year ago.
Feeder prices have dropped a little from two weeks ago but thank goodness they are a lot better than it was during the start of COVID-19.
I adopted all four of my boys and I felt like one of them this past week needed a lift so I sent him a card of a whole herd of colts with a note. I wrote, “Just like these horses you were needing a home and God said pick out that little sorrel stud. That little horse was full of energy and loved to run. Lots of people wanted to buy this new horse I had but I said, ‘No, he’s not for sale.’ This little sorrel horse seemed to be everyone’s favorite. My dad took a special liking to this sorrel horse and loved just watching him and my mom would always bring that horse something special to eat, making sure that horse knew he was loved. She would pet him and comb his mane. No, this horse is not for sale no matter what the price is.”
I had sent a picture of these horses to a friend and also what I wrote underneath. And I can’t be good all time so I told this friend that he was also in that picture. I said to him that he was that bay gelding in the back—the crippled one with a sway back and the teeth wore down so he couldn’t eat grass and his mane was so tangled you couldn’t comb it but other than that he was fine.
He texted me back and said, “At least you are feeling good.”
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
