KC Sheperd, Farm Director, is back talking with Bob Rodenberger, a partner with Stockman Oklahoma Livestock Marketing, as he gives the latest on the cattle markets.
“We started it out the first of the week with just a little under 10, 000, which would be normal this time of year,” Rodenberger said. “Normally bigger than that, but what we are starting to see is early wheat pasture runs.”
There is a tremendous demand for light cattle replacement, Rodenberger said, and the killing cow market is good.
“I really thought our cow numbers would drop way off,” Rodenberger said. “Three hundred and fifty to 400 cows at Apache- that is bigger than average for this time of year.”
Rodenberger also said cattle weights are lower than a year ago.
“A lot of the producers are still coming in with good weight, but where they run two head, they have got one head, or where they run three head, they got two head,” Rodenberger said.
It is hard to find good cows right now, Rodenberger said, but the demand for those cows is not very high in areas of the state suffering from drought.
“There are a lot of precautionary things our producers have to look at,” Rodenberger said.
