The cow and bull killing market was definitely higher this week. Even after we were $3 to $4 per hundredweight higher than last week we still jumped another $4 per hundredweight. The highest cow we sold brought $74 per hundredweight and highest bull brought $99 per hundredweight.
On the feeder futures we have four months that are over $160 per hundredweight, which is August through November. I am surprised at that with the fact of grains being higher. I hear several cattlemen say there isn’t much rhyme or reason with our futures on both feeder and fat cattle and with that in mind it is hard to tell where you stand. And with the packer making $450 per head it is even more frustrating.
Grazing cattle are in very strong demand with a lot of producers buying cattle for grass.
We had quite a lot of bulls today at the sale. Several looked like they had been tested and probably not fertile. Most ranchers are fertility checking their herd bulls after that hard freeze we had a month ago. Some show a brownish look on the bottom part of testicles, which makes you think frozen. Test your bulls!
I heard a preacher say this past week that he is often asked lately why our country is going downhill. And his answer was our country no longer has a fear of God.
At the sale at noon on Tuesday there were several ranchers talking how America is becoming an embarrassment. When President Joe Biden appointed our new health person and he says he is a woman. And we gave $11 million for another country to explore their sexual identity. When you do that you are looking for ways to give away money. Wouldn’t that money have been better spent at home in a number of ways?
I saw where one person posted, “If anyone gets a message from me about canned meat—don’t open it. It is spam.”
Tough times create strong men—strong men create easy times—easy times creates weak men and weak men create tough times.
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
