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 and Knoxville, Iowa.
After extremely cold temperatures virtually halted the movement of cattle in Oklahoma, Hale reports that although numbers were down, prices were up. Forty-three hundred cattle were sold compared to 11,000 head a year ago. With wheat pasture cattle coming off of the fields, Hale expects upcoming sales to experience much larger runs.
The prices of all classes of cattle were the big news of the week, though. “They called it from $2 to $20 higher,” Hale said. “We had crossbred, colored-up steers selling extremely well, then of course, we saw some front-end. We are starting to see some guys buy heifers to breed. We had some good, six hundred sixty-four pound black heifers bring right at three-bucks. Everything, whether they were weaned or un-weaned, light or big or whatever, has lots of demand.”
He also mentioned five-weight steers that brought $3.70-$3.75 and five-fifty-weight steers that brought $3.79. Six-weight cattle brought $3.30 – $3.40.
Western Livestock Commission celebrated 30 years of business. Hale said, “It seems like it went in the blink of an eye. Everybody did a great job putting all of that together. It’s been a true blessing. I’ve had lots of people help us along the way and come on board with us. It’s been a great time. We have a lot of great customers, memories, and people coming by visiting. It’s just a fun time to be in business.”
Hale’s sons run sale barns across the state and in Iowa, and as time has passed Hale says that not much has changed otherwise except there are few cattle to sell now than when he started in 1995. “The main way of doing business is still the same,” he said. “Everybody wants to be treated fairly and honestly and upfront the best you can, and we try to do that every week, every day at the sale. We try to treat people like we want to be treated. Honestly, we fall short sometimes, no doubt, but that is not the intention.”
He expects 1,800 to 2,000 head, including lots of nice yearlings, to sell at Comanche today. Woodward also expects a number of good yearlings tomorrow. He expects numbers to return to normal in Oklahoma City’s sale on Monday.
Hale can be contacted at 940-631-2333. Check out more about the marketing options that Western offers by clicking here.
