Cattle Market Trends with Bob Rodenberger: High-Yielding Cows Maintain Value Despite Challenges

Listen to KC Sheperd talk with Bob Rodenberger about the latest in the cattle markets.

KC Sheperd, Farm Director, is back talking with Bob Rodenberger, a Stockman Oklahoma Livestock Marketing partner, as he gives the latest on the cattle markets.

Bob reported that the market had been steady, with some pressure on the calf market due to quality issues. Despite this, the overall market remained good, with high-yielding cows still selling for $1.25 – $1.35. Light calves weighing below 600 pounds are still in high demand.

“People are starting to get farming on their minds, and this hot weather has been tough on the health of all these calves, right now,” Rodenberger said. “The cool weather we have coming up will be a relief for everyone.”

He said that the fat market is under pressure, too, with fat cattle in the low eighties. The feeder index has come down to the low forties, but it is all typical for the time of year and was a larger margin in 2023.

He said that the Oklahoma City sales will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for Labor Day, but sales for the rest of the week won’t change.

“We had a nice run yesterday at Apache, with a little over two thousand,” he said. “We had a lot of cows – about 450. I thought we had sold a lot of cows, but we are starting to see people cull quicker. We had several sets of 20 – 30 head. People went through and preg-checked their cows – they were short-bred cows or cows that were open.”

 He added that pond water is already an issue, and some people are having to haul water so they are thinning herds before they get into a worse situation.

Verified by MonsterInsights