Fall Feeder Futures

[Stocker Steve]

Looks like new money is pushing the feeder futures up. Have you pre sold your 2020 calves, or are you riding the corona confusion? :cowboy:

 

[Dave]

I see that most of the board is off a tick this morning. But it is early on a Monday morning. I don't know anyone who has sold 2020 calves yet. But I do have two neighbors who sell on Superior at the Winnemucca sale. That should be happening this week. Interestingly I have sat at that sale and watched. All the buyers have their computer on in front of them and as the futures market goes up or down during the day so does the price of feeders.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Know one guy who sold calves this spring, betting on a continued downward corona spiral. I asked him if he locked in a profit, and I got a funny look back. I doubt if he knew what his break even was.

 

[Dave]

I watched a little of Superior today. Steer calves out of Texas and Oklahoma weighing in the 5's were on the up side of $1.50.

 

[jltrent]

The bad part of all of this are prices in the stores. Unreal the difference in producer price compared to retail. Not many things I would think would have that much spread even China junk.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Because they can...

 

[Dave]

I watched the neighbors calves sell on Superior. Without giving too many details. About $1.60 for mid 5 weight weaned steers with heifers selling about 15 cents back. I looked up what spayed heifers sold for. A number of lots from Nebraska, Montana, and the Dakotas brought about 6 cents over what we contracted ours for. I was going dang we left money on the table. Then I saw a bunch sold in Idaho about an hour and a half east of here. They got 7 cents less than what we contracted for. Now I fell good about what we got.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Thanks Dave. Where to most of your calves go for finishing?

 

[Dave]

Thanks Dave. Where to most of your calves go for finishing?

I am assuming that they go to Idaho. A lot of feedlots over there. In the PNW where ever you find potato processing plants you will find feedlots (Moses Lake and Pasco WA, Boardman OR, Nampa ID). There is a fair amount of waste off the potatoes which is fed to the cattle. I know that the young man here who did the arrangement for the contracting worked for years at one of the biggest feedlots. I would suspect that they are headed there but I don't know for sure.