I don’t think I have ever seen the wheat grow like it has these past six weeks, particularly where it looked like we were not going to have any fall wheat pasture. Now you can see some fields that are very lush.
At the end of November, the United States closed the Mexico border due to the New World screwworm. It has been around for 80 years and was eradicated in the 1960s, but it is back in Mexico. The U.S. was expected to import 1.5 million head of cattle this year. If this remains closed until the end of the year, this could reduce that total by 300,000 head or a decline of 18% in annual imports.
Some cattle feeders are thinking we could see $2 a pound for fat cattle, while others are not that optimistic. Add $10 per hundredweight to the market, and we are there.
With some of the prices I have seen this past week, they had better hope that we have a very good market. I saw a group of black heifers weaned with shots that weighed 433 pounds and brought $360 per hundredweight. Just in case your calculator doesn’t work, that is $1,558 per head. I saw 82 black heifers off the cow that weighed 532 pounds that brought $318 per hundredweight. That is $1,691.76 per head.
Maybe I am lucky that I have quite a few lightweight cattle already bought, or better yet maybe I am lucky that I have several fields that were too dry early and finally got rain there so the wheat isn’t big enough to graze.
I had one friend say the other day—”There will never be another bad day.” I looked at him to assume he was teasing, but, no, he was not. I said, “Oh yeah, there will be another bad day.” He said, “You think so?”
I guess he doesn’t have a very good memory as that last big loss took several years to make it back. Never ever think it can’t go down. If that’s the case, you either aren’t going to live very long, or you are fixing to get an education. Enjoy the good times, but remember God put that lump on your shoulders (your head) to use.
Remember, kindness is the one thing that you never have to take back.
If you want a dog that can tell time, get you a watch dog.
I was driving down the interstate the other day, and a whole herd of wild pigs was crossing the road. I called 911. The dispatcher asked, “What is the problem?” I said, “They are trying to hog the road.”
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the view of High Plains Journal. Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
