Keosauqua Sales Co. Inc

 
December 2023  12/05/23 5:01:00 PM



12-18-2023
        We received a half inch of rain Friday night through Saturday.  It sure got sloppy around here again, but we are thankful for the rain for sure.   We were fairly warm, up into the 50’s a few days last week, but there was a brisk wind and 27 this morning!  The forecast looks good for the rest of this week with mild temperatures back into the 50’s.  Some rain is in the forecast as we get through Friday into Christmas time.   It sure has been a very nice fall as I still have cows grazing on old grass that are not getting any supplemental feed!
        Saturday filled up with a big run of livestock and outside merchandise.   The hog sale ran 475 head through.  Sows were mostly $35 to 37.50 on the heavier weights and $27 to 35 on the lighter ones.  Feeder pigs weighing around 100 to 110 pounds sold for $65 to 73 per head.   50 pound pigs sold at $18 per head.
        The sheep and goat sale had 720 head Saturday.  The market was steady and heavy numbers across the country will prevent any more upward trend in the short term.   50 pound lambs topped at $3.15 to 3.25 a lb.  mostly were in the $2.52 to 2.60 and thin ones were back under $2.00 a lb.   80 pound lambs topped at $2.62 with most at $2.20 to 2.35 a lb.   Ewes were higher with most at $85 to 1.00 a lb.   Kid goats were $2.30 to 2.60 a lb. for the nicer fat kind weighing from 50 to 80 pounds.   Nannies ranged from $85 to 1.00 and big billies were at $1.60 to 2.00 a lb.   There were a couple groups of bred does selling at $200 to 260 per head.
        The outside sale was damp and sloppy under foot, but a great crowd gathered up for everything we had to sell.  Small squares sold from $4.50 to 9.00.  Straw was mostly $5 to 7 per bale.  Big round bales topped at $165 for some good sized grass hay bales.   Better hay was mostly $110 to 135.  Coarse hay with soybeans & foxtail sold at $50 for the low end.  Corn stalk bales were $40 to 45.  Big square bales of hay sold from $75 to 100 and big square bales of straw sold for $20 to 30 per bale.   The Toyota truck brought $4250.  Hedge posts sold good at $35 to 37.50 for 10 foot nice straight posts.   All kinds of items from new skid loader attachments to gates, panels and a pickup load of items that my auctioneer cousin and partner had gathered up made for a couple hours of selling out front.
        The cattle market was really good with fats lower and futures so up and down.   Light weight steers sold up to $3.15 and even some five weight steers were up to $3.12 a lb.   Lighter 600 pound steers brought up to $2.50 and two fancy groups of 675 pound steers were at $2.48.  765 pound steers brought $2.36 a lb.  It was one of those sales that seemed to get stronger all afternoon!  Weigh cows topped at $1.01.  Lean cows sold from $75 to 90 and bulls were at $1.00 to 1.20 for the bulk of them.   The numbers are slowing down with only 140 head of cows and bulls.
        Saturday was my 60th birthday.  There were some monkeys in the crowd that were thinking singing happy birthday to me should take precedence over me selling cattle.   However, when I helped those monkeys understand that from the vantage point of the block, I would be in a position to selling cattle not sing!  The girls came through Sunday for lunch and birthday cake.   It was a lot nicer having those little gals sing than the old guys trying to rile me up on Saturday!  The first 60 years have sure been good to me.  I am so thankful for my health and family.  I am very thankful for all the many people we have been involved with around the market for over 35 years.   There have sure been some changes over the time, but the market continues to operate with all kinds of fantastic customers on all sides of this business!  I have truly enjoyed the market over the past years.   The challenge every week of keeping good competition is what I like the most!  
        This Saturday we are only selling hay and outside merchandise.  With trucks and plants shut down on Monday and Tuesday I didn’t want to have Becky doing chores all week!
        A nice run of bred heifers, cows, and feeders for the next sale Dec 30th.
        Merry Christmas to Everyone!!
 
Have a Dandy Week!


12-12-2023
        Well, the past week has really flown by!  Three sales in seven days make us hustle pretty hard to keep the stock moving and get the barn back in shape between sales!  The boys working together great to pull it all off is a significant piece of us being able to get it all done.  We were lucky that the last weigh cows from a week ago loaded out Monday evening as the crew was finishing cleaning and re bedding the pens.   By noon Tuesday they had moved all the heifers in for the Wednesday sale.  We stopped traffic a few minutes two times on Tuesday when driving heifers in from the farm just east of the barn.   225 head came in the first drive and 240 in the second drive.   The heifers handled good with seven guys and gals on horses walking them in.  It was chilly in the low 30’s and spitting a little moisture as they brought them in.  The boys sorted all afternoon and with Jordan and Cody’s help we were able to make everything comfortable for the night.
        Sale day warmed up nice and gave us a very pretty day.  Ted, Colby, and I sorted Hereford heifers pairs up and penned them first thing.   Luke, Justin, and the crew sorted and penned the 5G heifers the rest of the way.   By 1:00 we were under way with the Hereford sale.  After some introductions, Layne helped me lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.  She is really good at it and leads her class daily!   This year I started the sale with our fall born bull crop, ten head of the best out of that group.   The bulls sold from $4000 to 8250 for a $5925 average.   Eight of the ten bulls were sold to commercial breeders in the area.   Two bulls went to Hereford producers. The Hereford bred heifers averaged $2865 with a $5000 top.  With Col Cody Lowderman doing the auctioneering, it doesn’t take much over an hour to sell 75 lots.  A big thank you to everyone involved in the Hereford sale.
        The 5G sale had a great crowd on hand looking for top quality bred heifers.  Layne helped me again lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and we lead off with 140 second calf Angus heifers due March 1st to 30th with bull calves out of our Hereford bulls.  The whole group averaged $3022.  The bred heifers were right behind them with the black white face group averaging $2835 and the entire bred heifer sale averaging $2702.  The boys had them ready and producers, looking to sell a set of ’24 born calves for more dollars, were in gear to do business.   The heifers sold into five states this year as well as a host of repeat customers.  On behalf of our family, we want to thank everyone for the support of our program and wish everyone all the best with this outstanding group!
        We loaded the last of the heifers out Friday afternoon as we were filling up for Saturday again.  The hog sale saw over 300 head in again this week.  Sows were soft at $35 to 43.  Fat hogs were mostly $48 with a few Berkshire & Herefords up to $62.  Feeder pigs were mostly 55 to 65 cents a pound.
        The sheep and goat sale had 650 head.  The market was pretty steady again this week.   Kids weighing 50 to 65 pounds ranged from $3.00 to 3.50 a lb.   The heavier weights were $2.40 to 2.00 a lb.   Nannies sold from $70 to a few at $1.25 a lb.  Big billies were solid at $2.00 to 2.25 a lb.   Lambs topped at $3.25 on a group that weighed 63 pounds, the bulk of the lambs were $2.00 to 2.60 a lb.   Heavier weights brought $1.80 to 2.15 a lb.   Cull ewes sold from $70 to 1.00 a lb.  and big bucks ranged from $90 to 1.25 a lb.
        The outside sale was loaded with hay stalks and misc. items.  Small square bales sold from $4.50 to 8.00.  Some hay had received close to a half an inch of rain on it over night before the sale.  Big round bales of hay were $120 to 150 on the better quality and $85 to 110 on average quality.   Corn stalk round bales were lower at $32. To 42.50 this week.  Big square bales were mostly $75 to 120.
        The cattle sale had 560 head of feeders and cows together.   Baby calves were steady at $250 to 450 on beef calves and $100 to 200 on dairy.   Ten head of red white face heifers due in March to Angus bulls brought $2450 and the Angus heifers due the sale time brought $2200.   Running age bred cows were from $1400 to 2000.  A couple of packages of middle-aged fall pairs sold from $2000 to 2600.  Feeder cattle were softer on softer kind!   Weigh cows and bulls were fully steady.  Cows topped at $1.07 and bulls at $1.22 a lb.
        As we head into the holiday, we are not going to sell livestock on Dec 23rd.   We will have a normal outside sale.   Plants and trucks are not running until Tuesday after Christmas so it will not work to have a sale where we can’t get stock moved.   We thank you for working with us over the Christmas holiday.   We will have a very good sale Dec 30th featuring some bred females again.
        A special feeder cattle sale this Saturday.
 
Have a Dandy Week!


12-4-23
 
         Well, we had our second snow event of the year late Saturday night.  It was a very wet sloppy type of snow. The snow combined with the rain over the weekend, we received a total of an ich of precipitation. The ground was very dry, and it will soak in relatively fast I think, but it was pretty sloppy around here on Saturday. The forecast looks to have more sunshine with the coming week. The temps look to be in the upper 50’s this coming weekend, which we will really appreciate.
         Saturday had a big crowd and a nice run of all classes of livestock. The hog market was easier on sows and fat hogs, but higher on pigs. The best fat hogs were at $55.00, with most at $48.00-52.00. Big sows topped at only $43.00 with the bulk at $38.00-40.00 and light sows were in the lower $30.00 range. A really good set of 105 pigs with the average wt of 80lb sold at $67.00 per head.
         Sheep and goat market was steady on 430 head. The 60lb lambs had the most demand, selling at $2.20 to $2.40 a pound. Heavier lambs sold from $1.75 to $2.05. The ewes were 55-85 cents. Kid goats hung there at $3.00-$3.50 for the top 50-60 lbs. The heavier weights at $2.50 to $3.00 for the boer cross kids. Nannies sold from $75.00 to $120.00 this week. Big Billys ranged from $1.85 to $2.50. A package of hair ewes with lambs at side were not very popular at $37.50 per nose. It’s hard to understand that market as we move into winter.
         Outside market had a few small squares selling from $5.00-$9.00. The rain and snow made for a short run of bales. Big bales continued to hold demand with the better hay $100-$140 and smaller bales or less desired hat from $50-$90. Big squares from $60 on a foxtail mix to $110 on Alfalfa.
         The cattle sale had just under 1000 head this week. The past couple of weeks CME volatility had consignors very nervous. As it turned out, the market remained very strong across all classes.
         The four weight steers topped at $3.00-$3.42 a pound. The five weight steers hit $297.50 and the heavier five weight steers at $2.85, while the 750lb steers were at $2.40 and a package of 835lb steers brought $2.37. Four weight heifers were at $2.50 to $2.70. The five weights were at $2.50 and the six weights were over $2.40. A package of fleshy heifers at 750lb brought $2.08.
         Weigh cows were fairly steady with lean cows at $75.00-$85.00 and a couple higher yielding cows were up to $1.00 on fleshy cows and $87.00 on the full cows. Bulls were mostly $1.10 to $1.20.
         The damp, chilly, sloppy conditions combined with a severe labor shortage had the crew ready to be done Saturday night. Several loads made it out Saturday afternoon and evening, which made Sunday a little more manageable.
         As we clean up today and get ready for our Hereford and Commercial heifer sale Wednesday this week, the crew will be very busy.  We are thankful for some fair weather to get through this week. The pens at the farm are all full of sale heifers and already half of next year’s heifer crop. I bought another load of little heifers to stick on top of them that came in Sunday. We are fortunate enough offer our very best females to the public. It sure makes for a long week, but it is sure a week we look forward to all year!
         We sure want to invite anyone that has time to come and be a part of either or both sales this week. We are very proud of this year’s offering. As the national cow herd shrinks up this year, the fundamentals of being in the cow business look even brighter over the next few years! Make sure you are in the right position to capitalizes on the coming beef market by owning the factory!!

Have a dandy week!
 
Copyright DTN. All rights reserved. Disclaimer.
Powered By DTN