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- selling cattle on Mondays and Tuesdays. They also operate the livestock auction markets in Woodward, Comanche and Knoxville, Iowa.
Yesterday was the next-to-last sale for Western Livestock Auctions before the holiday season, and more than 13,000 head were sold at it, compared to 8,400 a year ago.
“I think it was the biggest sale we have had this year,” Hale said. “As good as this market has been for the last four weeks, we have pulled some of these cattle forward. There is a lot of wheat out there, but there are still some areas that don’t have wheat. I think those guys saw those prices and decided to take it.”
The overall market was a bit lower than it has been, but not by much. Hale believes some of the buyers grew weary of the higher prices seen over the past three weeks and pulled back some. In addition, the special Angus sale last week gave them a chance at higher quality cattle which may have made this week’s look lesser in comparison.
“I had some good seven-weight yearling steers that brought a lot of money – up in the sixties, which is still good on the better-quality kind,” Hale said. “The calf deal is still real good on a good one. They called it three to seven lower and the calves eight to ten, but those cattle still dollar-out a tremendous amount of money. It is still an extremely good market.”
The sale on Monday, December 16 will be the last sale until January, and Hale expects more big numbers to sell, then. Click the listen bar at the top of the page to listen to the complete conversation.
Hale can be contacted at 940-631-2333. Check out more about the marketing options that Western offers by clicking here.
