Yes, our area is still dry and everyday I look at the weather forecast to see if the meteorologists are giving us a better chance for moisture in the near future. Weathermen are the only ones who can miss consistently and still get paid well.
Normally they get the chance of wind right even if they don’t get the rainfall prediction right. But the weathermen don’t have the final say so—God does.
Last week a seller sold three loads of home-raised steers and heifers. On my way home I took his check to him. Before I handed it to him I asked him how much he thought they brought per head. He said, “I don’t know.” And I said, “Well, make a guess.” He said, “Well, maybe the steers would have brought $1,300 per head.”
I told him his steers averaged $1,535 per head. They weighed 500 to 850 pounds and probably averaged 760 pounds. And his heifers averaged $1,335 and were lighter.
Anyway, it is a very good market. He said, “Well, I sorted off some heifers to keep for cows,” and added, “I don’t know whether I should keep them if they are that high.”
I told him that probably by fall a bred heifer will be worth at least $1,700 to $1,800 and calved out as pairs probably worth $2,500 to $3,000.
What our area needs more than anything else is a good rain. The wheat is trying to green up and a little bit of cheat or wintergrass is showing up in some of the pastures. However, you cannot believe how many grass pastures are extremely short looking like there is nothing to eat. So please pray for rain in our area and north and west of here also.
The first time I saw a dry erase board I said that is remarkable.
Here is a little poem for seniors and no it is not for me. It is for you.
“Another year has passed. And we’re a little older. Last summer felt hotter and winter seems much colder. There was a time not long ago when life was quite a blast. Now I fully understand about living in the past. We used to go to weddings, football games and lunches. Now we go to funeral homes and afterward funeral brunches. We used to go dining and couldn’t get our fill. Now we ask for doggy bags, come home and take a pill. We used to often travel to places near and far. Now we get sore butts from riding in the car. We used to go to the nightclubs and drink a little booze. Now we stay home at night and watch the evening news. That my friend is how life is and how my tale is told. So enjoy each day and live it up before you are too danged old.”
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.
