Sale day

[Aaron]

Time to try my luck on 7 cows and 27 calves today. They say she may be a barn burner of a sale. Buyers are hot and heavy for good cattle here.

www.dlms.ca - under 'Rainy River Cattlemen's Association' - my pen #'s are 317, 106 and 108 in the catalog.
Sale starts at 8:30 this morning and will probably run till 6 or 7 tonight. 1476 head sell.

Some fancy bred SimmxRA heifers and cows sell at 1:00, so should give everyone an honest idea of what they are worth here. I think $1500, but how much more I don't know. Judging by quality, they should be at least 2k.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Last one here wasn't that great, I wasn't there to see what kinda quality though

Sale Summary
654 head 593lb average 143.0 cents per lb average Gross Return $848/head
385 steers ($149.0 @ 608lbs), 216 heifers ($136.0 @ 573lbs), 53 bulls and stags ($123.0 @ 564lbs)
162 unvaccinated cattle sold for 127.0 cents per lb at 560lbs for a gross return of $711
492 vaccinated cattle sold for 147.0 cents per lb at 603lbs for a gross return of $886

 

[Aaron]

Well, cows were:

$.6950 @ 1420 lbs
$.73 @ 1592 lbs on 4 head
$.7050 @ 1315 lbs
$.74 @ 1270 lbs

Steer calves were $2.04 @ 391 lbs on 11 head, I bought them back - my price was $2.30

Another package of steers was $1.80 @ 476 lbs on 13 head. I bought them back - my price was $2.15

Let one bloater steer go for $1.84 @ 435 lbs and two heifers (a dink and a crazy) go for $1.61 @ 407 lbs.

Just finished hauling steers home. Lots of happy mamas. Wasn't terribly happy with the sale for all the hype. Prices were a good 20 cents back from where they were expected to be. Definitely a buyer's market for here.

 

[farmerjan]

Would give anything to see steers at 1.80 to 2.00 a lb here in Va.. There is talk that it's going to go down even more now that the Argentine beef is here. And the latest price on milk is going down again on the average of 1.50 a hundred weight and there are going to be some farmers that are just going to say enough and get out. There is one farm selling out that I test and talk of several that are really in hard financial straits and this lower milk price will put some out after the first of the year. 2 years ago you couldn't buy a holstein bull calf for under $400 and last week they were back to bringing $50-$75 a head. Saw several hostein steers only bring $.50 lb on friday and beef feeders were in the $1.10 to 1.30 range overall. Heifers were in the $.80 to .95 range for all sizes. It looks like a rough row to hoe for a long time.

 

[True Grit Farms]

It's better there than here, I'm sure your smiling all the way to the bank. Thanks for the honest report Aaron.

 

[Nesikep]

Don't forget he's quoting canadian dollar.. which is 75 cents US... Not as rosy as it might initially sound.

I'm always weary of when they say "It'll be a great sale".. because they don't say who it'll be great for!
In early september my 5wts were $1.70, and 4 wts were $1.65... 8 wts (I had none) were $1.85
A couple weeks later it all turned around, with the prices pretty much reversed (to where they usually sit as far as weights)

 

[Aaron]

2.04 would be 1.52 US and 1.80 would be 1.34 US today.

Top end fancy bred heifers and good fall cow/calf pairs were $1800 or $1345 US.

Bottom end bred heifers were 1200 or about $900 US.

 

[farmerjan]

Thanks for the conversion. Still and all, that's in the neighborhood of .25-.30 more per pound than what we are seeing here and the uneasiness that it could still go down more. Most cow/calf pairs I am seeing here, and there haven't been alot, are in the neighborhood of 1000 to 1200 so you are still ahead of us. We would have made over $100+ per head more on our 420 lb.steers if we'd gotten the 1.50 rather than the 1.20 we sold for privately. Good thing is, they are gone, potential sale next year if they do okay for him and he seems happy so far; we still have pasture left and weather has been warmer than normal, although getting dry, so there haven't been any serious demands for feeding. We are planning to keep the heifers for awhile now, because we have feed, and maybe put some pounds on them and look at it again in a month or two. There are so many talking about doing the same that I am afraid there will be a glut of heifers down the road...plus we keep getting heifer calves born...but better a live heifer than a dead bull as I keep telling my son. A holstein grafted on a cow will barely pay for her yearly upkeep with the way those prices have fallen. At least a beef heifer calf will pay for the cow for the year.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Sold mixed color 6 wt. May born steers for U$S 1.20, and bought back 3 and 4 wts. at the same sale. Corn here is coming out wet and priced at $2.45/bushel after drying... Makes one wonder about ag inflation.

Do you think Rainy River bred prices are high considering kill prices?

 

[Aaron]

Sold mixed color 6 wt. May born steers for U$S 1.20, and bought back 3 and 4 wts. at the same sale. Corn here is coming out wet and priced at $2.45/bushel after drying... Makes one wonder about ag inflation.

Do you think Rainy River bred prices are high considering kill prices?

Very much so. I talked to several guys interested in buying breds and their limit was $1400 CDN ($1045 US) tops. Only guys going higher were Mennonites with no limit to the bank account and a new guy, originally from town, that I went to school with - would like to have some cows for his 160 acre play pen with 'horsies'.