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, Waurika, and Knoxville, Iowa.
The Oklahoma National Stockyards ran about 5,200 head through its gates yesterday, despite continued widespread muddy conditions across the state. This compares to 4,100 head at this time last year.
“The market was good,” Hale shared. “I think the quality kept it down some, but the front-end green yearlings looked higher to me.”
The unusually wet spring has made getting cattle out of the pastures a little more challenging, but grass is so plentiful that complaints are rare.
This week’s Crop Progress report showed pasture and range conditions in Oklahoma to be 46 percent good to excellent, Texas’s to be 54 percent good to excellent, and Kansas’s pasture and range conditions were rated 54 percent good to excellent. Each of them is an improvement from the previous week.
Hale expects a solid 1,500 – 1,700 head at the Waurika auction today. He highlighted the fifty or sixty young pairs consigned to sell in Woodward, which would be good to turn out on lush pastures to gain. With grass plentiful, he expects good markets to continue.
He said that sellers are pleased, but buyers using LRP still don’t have much to worry about because the futures markets are still holding well.
“Everybody is making money, and that always puts them in better humor,” he said.
Hale can be contacted at 940-631-2333. Check out more about the marketing options that Western offers by clicking here.
