low sale barn count--bad sign?

[tncattle]

One of my local sale barns that runs consistently 400-700 head weekly only had 93 head last week. A fluke or a sign of the times?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Fluke.

 

[M5farm]

our numbers appear normal



Dothan Livestock Market

Report Date: January 21, 2013
Receipts this Week 950
Receipts last Week 1,151

 

[Dave]

Mostly fluke. Could be weather. For us this is the slow time of the year so it would be down some anyway.

 

[Sir Loin]

Dave,

Historically in my area ( SE Tenn. ) the first two weeks in Jan have a low head count.
This year these two weeks show a head count of around 600 while the norm for the rest of the year is around a 1,000 Head, except for the sale just prior to or just after a holiday, which also show a slightly lower head count.
SL.

 

[LimoX]

Historically in my area ( SE Tenn. ) the first two weeks in Jan have a low head count.

Spot On! Most people wait after the first couples weeks in Jan. to see what the markets are going to do and where they are going to settle at.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Historically in my area ( SE Tenn. ) the first two weeks in Jan have a low head count.

Spot On! Most people wait after the first couples weeks in Jan. to see what the markets are going to do and where they are going to settle at.

and to wait and see how much money they lost in taxes... :roll: :help:

 

[highgrit]

Lots of buyers at the sale today. Sold one old cow and a few bred first calf heifers and some bred heifers. Everything sold good and the bred first calf heifers went real high. Hopefully they will raise a better calf for them. I left my ear tags in them with my farm name on them?? Don't know if that was smart or not, but they were some nice stock.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Must be a fluke, around here the only time they get that low is in bad weather. And we allways have more the last few sales of the year and the first sales of the year.

 

[jachwhit]

I assume you're talking about Dickson two weeks ago. The reason the had so few was because of the weather. And if you look at the market reports, 100 - 300 hd is average for this time of year.

 

[bse]

im with jachwhit we had about 5 inches of rain Mon and Tues if i remember right dont think anyone wanted to get cattle up on those days for the sale on Tues.

 

[LimoX]

That's hasn't been a problem out here for a while! Working in the rain that is!

 

[ALACOWMAN]

man from TN. told me this week that it wont pick back up till march.... that a buyer told him with the high corn prices and calf prices this time of year, the price of the calf is the easiest to control until things green back up... so alot might be holding on to em

 

[jrdyer42]

Tncattle, are you talking about cookevilles sale on the 15th? If so, yes, it was like a wasteland. I have never seen it that empty.

 

[Limomike]

I would say it was a bad sign for the stockyard owner THAT day!

 

[chippie]

The prices are good here. I sold a 4 month old heifer that crawled fences. She weighed 455 and brought $164 per 100#. I was a happy camper.

 

[SRBeef]

Our local sale barn, Bloomington Livestock Exchange (Bloomington WI) had a feeder sale on Jan 11th with 3,239 head sold!

http://www.bloomingtonlivestock.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=74

They have another feeder sale going on today. It will be interesting to see today's volume and prices.

Bloomington is a first-class place to do business as a seller, and I presume as a buyer.

I believe as good beef breed cattle become harder and harder to come by with the US beef herd at 1950's size, the good, honest sale barns will attract what sellers there are and along with them quality buyers.

Jim