On Tuesdays, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays visits with Ben Hale of Western Livestock Auctions as he talks about the latest in the markets and more. Established in 1995, Western has grown into a multi-generational family-owned and operated business and stands as a symbol of tradition, excellence, and a deep-rooted passion for the cattle industry. Western Livestock Auctions operates the Western Livestock Commission Firm, which sells cattle on Mondays and Tuesdays. They also operate the livestock auction markets in Woodward, Comanche, Waurika, and Knoxville, Iowa.
Hale said this week’s trade at Oklahoma National Stockyards remained active despite slightly smaller receipts. He said yearling cattle sold on mostly steady to stronger money, with some weight classes performing even better than expected. “I kind of thought the yearlings were a little better, really,” Hale said. He specifically pointed to the six-weight-to-high-six-weight cattle approaching seven weights as a standout class. “The six to high six weight tight seven weight yearling deal was a lot better yesterday.” Even with the strong market, Hale admitted feeder cattle remain expensive to buy. “We were trying to buy some feeder cattle, and it was sure expensive to do.”
The calf market has been one of the biggest surprises in recent weeks, showing another sharp jump in prices. “The calf deal is kind of the surpriser… that deal was 5 to 20 higher last week and about that again this week,” he said. Demand for grazing cattle remains extremely aggressive. “They are very active on them grazing cattle.” He added that heavier calves, carried more substance this week. “Those bigger from six to 680 weight, they were lots stouter too yesterday,” he said.
Improved pasture conditions from recent rainfall appear to be helping fuel buyer demand. At the same time, tight inventories continue to support higher prices because fewer cattle are moving through the system. “Still not a lot of them moving around,” Hale explained. That limited supply is forcing buyers to become more aggressive when cattle become available. “Some guys wanting to get some inventory,” he said. Hale also pointed to favorable futures and workable margins as reasons buyers are willing to stay active. “The futures are out there in front, they tie some of it off, and like the margins they got, so going ahead and doing it.”
Despite strong market fundamentals, Hale acknowledged the cattle market remains unusually volatile. “We’re just in a market we’ve just never ever seen, as far as I can remember,” he said. He reflected on the repeated swings over the past year. “It just complete run up, and then we’ve had sell off, come back, sell off, come back.” Those sharp movements have created uncertainty, but confidence keeps returning as supplies remain historically tight. “There’s a little bit of uncertainty, but then they kind of get confidence back in it,” Hale said.
One of the biggest long-term questions in the cattle industry is whether herd rebuilding has begun through heifer retention. Hale said there are signs that some producers are beginning to rebuild, though not in a major way. “We’ve talked about it a little bit,” he said. He noted that Western Livestock has purchased breeding heifers for several customers this year. “We’ve bought several heifers over the last year for different guys.” Most of those purchases have been moderate-sized groups rather than large-scale herd expansion. “No big deals… 50 to 60 head deals,” Hale said. Even so, he noted how unusual that activity is. “We really hadn’t bought any heifers for people to breed since about 2015.” That makes this year stand out. “This year we’ve bought several heifers… to go back to country,” he said.
Looking ahead, Hale said Western Livestock remains busy across its auction locations. He expected around 2,000 head at the Waurika Livestock Auction sale. “Gonna have 2,000 today at Waurika,” he said, adding, “Gonna have a nice run of calves and yearlings.” There will be no sale this week at Comanche Livestock Auction, but activity continues at Woodward Livestock Auction, where cow sales and several loads of yearlings are scheduled. “We got several loads of yearlings for Thursday at Woodward,” Hale said.
Hale can be contacted at 940-631-2333. Check out more about the marketing options that Western offers by clicking here.
