Something is Brewing

[CreekAngus]

Today I watched the Thomas Bull sale out of Baker City Oregon and I've noticed a trend out west. Bull prices are down, way down. The top end at Thomas was only $6,000 and I've seen this at several auctions out here, which includes Montana. Cow men and ladies are not paying high dollars for working bulls right now in the west. Either the market is saturated and can not sustain more Angus Bulls or the commercial cow man is getting ready for some real hard times. I'm not which it is, but it doesn't bode well for the seed stock folks.

 

[Redgully]

Same here in Australia, the bull sales are way down and not selling many bulls at all. But we know it is due to the drought in North East Australia followed by the floods. Here in the West a lot of concern about what is going to happen to live export.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Fertilizer time around the corner... but,Lower Calf prices have a large bearing on that, for the commercial man.,they'll hang on too those older Bulls till the prices come up...take 3 to 4 calves to replace a bull ...But a thinking man..""not me""but a thinking man, could cash in on some good genetic while their in a lull.....

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Gird your loins.

 

[Son of Butch]

Not to worry... ag reports will include SAV America and reported prices will be up for the year.

 

[davemk1]

Are you paying attn to cow prices?

 

[jehosofat]

Not to worry... ag reports will include SAV America and reported prices will be up for the year.

Good stuff right there. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

How did the heifers sell?

 

[W.B.]

Today I watched the Thomas Bull sale out of Baker City Oregon and I've noticed a trend out west. Bull prices are down, way down. The top end at Thomas was only $6,000 and I've seen this at several auctions out here, which includes Montana. Cow men and ladies are not paying high dollars for working bulls right now in the west. Either the market is saturated and can not sustain more Angus Bulls or the commercial cow man is getting ready for some real hard times. I'm not which it is, but it doesn't bode well for the seed stock folks.

Commercial cattlemen spend more for bulls when they have more. Not the greatest of times in the commercial sector as the equity drawdown continues.

 

[Rydero]

Attended a local bull sale last weekend and didn't see low prices or lack of buyer interest even though we had a drought last summer. High was over $10,000, quite a few went for $7000+ Average maybe $5500+. Not Angus. I've been hearing lots of talk of too many Angus cattle. Buyers apparently want the obvious crossbreeds - tans, red and black white face. Honestly I've been a little confused hearing all the Angus talk on here, it may be different in Canada but most producers around here seem to use Angus mainly for heifers not cows. Next weekend will tell. Same number of Angus bulls selling here as Charolais last weekend.

 

[CattleMan1920]

Fancy black steers are getting hammered at Blue Grass Stockyards. Heard buyers are looking for anything but Angus, doesn't matter what it is, just as long as it's devoid of Angus genetics.

Angus is finished! LOL. Better load up the trailer with Longhorns while they are cheap.

Markets go up and down. Smart people are using low prices to expand their operations.

It will never cease to amaze me how many humans on this planet prefer to buy high and sell low.

I knew a guy in the Angus business that would panic at the first drop in prices, then he was full of greed when they rose. I felt sorry for him, he was stressed out all the time.

 

[CattleMan1920]

Today I watched the Thomas Bull sale out of Baker City Oregon and I've noticed a trend out west. Bull prices are down, way down. The top end at Thomas was only $6,000 and I've seen this at several auctions out here, which includes Montana. Cow men and ladies are not paying high dollars for working bulls right now in the west. Either the market is saturated and can not sustain more Angus Bulls or the commercial cow man is getting ready for some real hard times. I'm not which it is, but it doesn't bode well for the seed stock folks.

Commercial cattlemen spend more for bulls when they have more. Not the greatest of times in the commercial sector as the equity drawdown continues.

That's more like it.

Considering that if one buys a bull TODAY, he breeds cows and heifers over the next two months. Calves come in 2020. Low and behold, market goes up in 2020, then again in 2021, one wishes they had not bought a cheap bull, but bought the good one. This is a story as old as time.

Bulls are necessary for most operations, they aren't something that should be skimped on. Just like a good pair of boots, a cheap pair will destroy your feet. Same with a bull, a cheap bull will cheapen your herd.

 

[Aaron]

Prices at the bull sales have been up an down like yo-yo's in Western Canada this year. A lot of sale averages on bulls are down $1k from last year, but commercial and purebred heifer prices are not only holding steady, but are way up in some case. At the Hereford sale where I got my bull, average open commercial Hereford heifer price was almost $500 more than last year at almost $2100 a head. The purebred heifers were steady at $3100.

 

[Rydero]

Prices at the bull sales have been up an down like yo-yo's in Western Canada this year. A lot of sale averages on bulls are down $1k from last year, but commercial and purebred heifer prices are not only holding steady, but are way up in some case. At the Hereford sale where I got my bull, average open commercial Hereford heifer price was almost $500 more than last year at almost $2100 a head. The purebred heifers were steady at $3100.

Wow $2100 is incredible for open heifers. I'm really interested to see what the next sale brings. The breeder is selling 50 bulls and some bred heifers as well.

 

[CreekAngus]

How did the heifers sell?

Didn't hang in there long enough to see. This seems to be a year of extremes a 1.5 million dollar bull and the top bulls at many sales going for far less than just last year.

 

[Rydero]

How did the heifers sell?

Didn't hang in there long enough to see. This seems to be a year of extremes a 1.5 million dollar bull and the top bulls at many sales going for far less than just last year.

Maybe it just shows how disconnected that is from the commercial reality.

 

[Dave]

How did the heifers sell?

I left the sale before the heifers sold. I did turn on Superior when I got home and caught the last dozen or so heifers. They were $2,000 to $2,500. Most were pairs with young calves. The exception was the last one to sell she sold for $3,400.

 

[Chocolate Cow2]

Barry Flinchbaugh was on the radio a few days ago talking about farm policy, the tariffs, etc. He said 'over the past 5 years, farm income has dropped 50%'.

 

[Dave]

We will have to wait for the results to come out to see who bought the high dollar bulls. But to me the crowd looked to be mostly commercial cattlemen and cowboys. Not the smaller registered breeders looking to buy a herd sire. I heard the auctioneer saying this one would make a herd sire and the bids wouldn't go up. There seemed to be a lot of resistance by the commercial guys to go over $5,000. And there were a lot of real good bulls. Why pay more than that when you can buy the next bull which is just as good for that same money or maybe less.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

How did the heifers sell?

I left the sale before the heifers sold. I did turn on Superior when I got home and caught the last dozen or so heifers. They were $2,000 to $2,500. Most were pairs with young calves. The exception was the last one to sell she sold for $3,400.

That doesn't seem too bad, I wanted to go but my work schedule changed.