The first part of the week some regions south and east of us got from a half an inch to an inch and a half of rain. Most people in my area got less than a quarter of an inch.
Hopefully this is a start and maybe we can start to get out of this drought. It’s quite a year with hay being hard to find and then you might not want to ask how much they are going to want for it—that is if you really want to keep your cows. Just have your hired hand fill in the amount on your check—not your wife or you will probably be selling your cows.
The true hard yearling cattle are still in short supply and bring a very good amount. Last week our steer calves were $8 to $12 per hundredweight higher and heifer calves were $4 to $8 per hundredweight higher. Feeders were several dollars higher, too.
Our cow numbers were finally under 1,000 head for the first week in nine weeks. So perhaps the biggest part of the cow slaughter has already gone to market. But time will tell as it is hard to out-guess the public. If we can get moisture, young cows or bred heifers could be in very strong demand because of the many cows that have already been sold.
The cattle on feed report recently came out with on feed showing 99% and placements were at 96% and marketing was at 104%. With lots of cows sold over several states we all definitely be shorter on numbers.
I am told one young girl that hangs around the sale barn south of Oklahoma City has a lamb that follows her everywhere. It acts like a dog and will climb the stairs in the arena wherever she goes. Naturally her little sister wanted an animal, too. So she got a chicken and took it everywhere she went.
The girl was very young I thought they said she was age 3. She told her mother that she had thought of a name for her chicken. Now if you have hung around a sale barn a lot you will soon realize there are a lot of good people there but there are several ornery guys there too that like to play jokes.
Her mother said, “What do you want to name your chicken?” And she said, “Mother Clucker.” Her mother immediately said, “No, we are not naming your chicken that. Let me help you think of a better name.”
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.
