Ron Hays is talking again with Superior Livestock President Danny Jones, who says that 2024 has been a tremendous year for both Superior and for the cattle industry. This is the second in a two-part conversation with Jones. Yesterday, he was discussing the success Superior Livestock has seen in 2024. Today, he anticipates another great year in 2025 beginning with the January 8-10 Bellringer Sale.
According to Jones, the timing of the Bellringer is key to its success as the health of the cattle is superior at that time, most calves are weaned and yearlings have been backgrounded. Some cattle are sold off of wheat on contracts to be delivered anytime from March-May.
“It’s a great time for marketing cattle in January,” he said. “This year in particular, as we look at 2025, and these record prices that we are seeing, it is really important – in our minds – to put your cattle in front of everyone, because it is really easy to leave five or fifteen hundred dollars on the table that you didn’t know was there until you have a robust price discovery.”
Before COVID, the Bellringer had historically been held in Denver coinciding with the National Western Stock Show; however, when Denver forced the Stock Show to cancel in 2020, and Oklahoma City stepped in and started Cattlemen’s Congress, Superior moved the Bellringer to Oklahoma City which has proven to be a real success.
“A lot of people come to both,” Jones shared. “Several of our sellers visit Cattlemen’s Congress and some of those attending Cattlemen’s Congress come to the sale. We see people come and go that want to come check the sale out while they are in town.”
After some 2024 sales outgrew their time slots, in 2025, Jones plans to spread them out over more days. “There are two opportunities this year – one in February and one in June – that are multi-day sales, similar to our summer sales,” he said. “We are expanding the Corn Belt Classic and we are going to have the High Plains Classic geared toward wheat cattle. Then, in the summer, we will have our usual big summer sales, but we are trying to provide more of those multiday opportunities to take the pressure off of our bi-weekly sales.”
Beef on dairy cattle have been a hot topic of late, and Superior Livestock sees the advantage in the reduction in feed consumption and bunk space used. “They finish a little faster; they are a little more efficient, and the end experience for the consumer is better, so we see it as a benefit all the way around,” Jones said.
For more information about sales or marketing with Superior Livestock, visit the website.
Looking ahead, Jones predicts two or three more years of good prices for the cow-calf producer providing an opportunity to grow equity. He warned to be cautious of accepting too little for cattle because supplies are tight, and to get them in front of everyone to gain the highest prices possible.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
