With the bombing of Iran this has raised the price of gas and oil and also put some fear in traders and some cattlemen for the unknown of what to expect. But when you have a dictator from Iran that has openly said Death to America then if you do not think he would gladly nuke the United States with a nuclear bomb then I will have to tell you that you are very naive.
One man said at breakfast, “Well I thought he said gas was going to be cheap. I don’t want high gas, but I will gladly deal with gas prices higher hopefully for only a short time rather than have that evil dictator on this earth.”
Our market had already fallen hard last Friday and some before with war in Iran. But workers at the JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, represented by UFCW local 7, have authorized a strike with a potential walkout possible as soon as March 16.
Thus on Monday feeder futures opened $7 per hundredweight lower with fat cattle futures mostly $4 cwt lower. Last week cattle auctions were definitely lower with some auction $5 to $10 cwt cheaper and another $20 and more. However, some correction might be healthy for the majority of cattlemen as most buyers were buying calves and feeders at a very high level,
Often those going into the feedlot were looking at $150 per head loss unless the market gets better, and a few grazing steers bringing $3,000 per head I wondered what they thought the upside potential profit could be? You better not owe a lot of money to the bank and your pasture bill better already been paid or you better buy you a red ink pen.
My mother-in-law came over for dinner and said, “Why does your dog keep looking at me?” I said, “Because you are using his plate.”
A man brings his best buddy home for dinner unannounced at 7:30 p.m. after work. His wife begins screaming at him and his friend sits and listens. She said, “My hair and make-up are not done. The house is a mess, the dishes are in the sink. and I can’t be bothered with cooking tonight. Why did you bring him home?”
The husband said, “Well he was thinking about getting married and I thought he should see what married life is all about.”
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 and grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
