What a business we are in. There are so many variables, and one main factor is the weather. We are so dependent on moisture.
This year reminds us of that factor. With a huge dry area not just over one state but several states for quite some time. Thus we have a shortage of hay also affecting our grain prices, which is good for the farmer on prices but the farmer can’t raise as much either.
With so many cows being sold this past year our cow numbers are as short as I can remember possibly since I opened the sale barn. At Woodward we most always have 500 cows and sometimes 1,000. But for the two weeks in a row we were under 200 head.
I have said it before but the packer appears to be buying the heavy bred cows for slaughter to get the blood out of the unborn calf for experimental use. They also salvage the meat of the cow. This, along with dry weather, has increased the harvest of extra cows. It is also going to be interesting in the calf and feeder market. A large number of calves are already in feedlots. We most always have a big push for grazing cattle whenever the Flint Hills area stock their grass. Some say parts of them are already buying for grass but I’m sure there will be plenty of demand when we get back to March and April.
From August 2023 and later on the future cattle are well over $200 per hundredweight. I think not only cow numbers will be in short supply but also calves and feeders.
After owning the sale barn for the past 23 years I wanted to tell all my customers if I have failed to offend you be patient—I will get to you soon.
A friend of mine, Lance, had an appointment with the doctor on Oklahoma City last week. He thought everything was set up but after he drove 180 miles they informed him, “Oh, we are sorry but I guess the doctor hadn’t sent all their information over so you will need to come back.”
Lance is a pretty big guy. He said about himself, “I guess I just fell through the cracks.” But then he said, “I think if I had fallen between the cracks I am quite sure I would have broken a few boards in the process, also.”
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.
