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October 17, 2011

S

Soapweed

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
16,264
Location
northern Nebraska Sandhills
Gotpairsinoffameadowlastevening.jpg

Got pairs in off a meadow last evening
Thecowsrecognizedthesoundofthefeedpickup.jpg

Kosmo and Peach were horseback, but the cows recognized the sound of the feed pickup
Andcamerunningtoseewhatgoodiesmightbe.jpg

And came running to see if there were any goodies available
Theyshowedquiteabitofenthusiasm.jpg

They showed quite a bit of enthusiasm.
Corrallingthepairsthismorning.jpg

Corralling the pairs this morning
Withourallfamilycrew.jpg

With our all-family crew
Fumblingwithawire.jpg

Fumbling with a wire
Readytoletcowsoutthegate.jpg

Ready to let cows out the gate
Andholdthecalvesback.jpg

And hold the calves back
Beefonthehoof.jpg

Beef on the hoof
Theoneinthemiddleshowsevidenceofonelastsuck.jpg

The one in the middle shows evidence of one last suck
Mother.jpg

Mother
Daughter.jpg

Daughter
Mygirls.jpg

My girls
Capturedcalves.jpg

Captured calves
Onelastsipofthejug.jpg

One last sip of the jug
Blackhidedcattle.jpg

Black hided steer calves
Whoopsmaybethisisupsidedown.jpg

Whoops, this may be upside down.
Yepitwas.jpg

Yep, it was.
Thebuyerbroughtdoughnuts.jpg

The buyer brought doughnuts.
Evidenceofasuccessfultransaction.jpg

The grins are evidence of a successful transaction. These calves were sold about a month and a half ago. Base weight was 600 pounds,
with an eight cent per pound slide in the buyer's favor. The price was $150 per cwt, with the trucks weighed in Valentine and weighed back
after a 55 mile haul, with a two percent pencil shrink. The calves weighed better than expected, and averaged 665 pounds after the two
percent shrink. The slide took effect bringing the price to $144.80 per cwt. The calves brought $962.48 each, and there was no expense of
commission, trucking, EID, or age and source verification. Of course, brand inspection and the beef check-off were the seller's responsibility.
They may have sold better at a sale barn with today's market, but at the time I thought a bird in the hand might be worth two in the bush.
There is no need to go to a casino to satisfy a gambling urge if you are in the cattle business. :? :wink:
Sparkysgrinningwarmfriendlybuddy.jpg

Sparky's warm friendly buddy
 
Congratulations on great weight, and a great sale! :nod: :tiphat:
Those calves looked really, really good, Soapweed and family!

And you are right, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!!!
We've always sold to country order buyers, never have we
taken calves to the sale ring.

So now you'll start sorting up for the sale ring with the rest,
am I correct?
Good luck with those, too!!!
 
Nice pictures as usual. That was a great sale for sure! You'd never hear of prices like that out here, what with how far everything is trucked. The calves looked great.

I like Sparkys stove, and why was Sunflower upside down?
 
Nicky said:
Nice pictures as usual. That was a great sale for sure! You'd never hear of prices like that out here, what with how far everything is trucked. The calves looked great.

I like Sparkys stove, and why was Sunflower upside down?
Click to expand...

She is still young and fun-loving, and it provided comic relief from standing in the corral amongst the cattle. :wink:
 
Cows and calves looked great. So nice your crew is all family, makes it all that much better! Looks like you could use that stove, looks chilly out there.
 
Can I ask what made you go direct, since you have traditionally gone through Valentine? If it were me it would have been awful hard to turn the bid down that you got, and I am sure that is why you did it.
 
BRG said:
Can I ask what made you go direct, since you have traditionally gone through Valentine? If it were me it would have been awful hard to turn the bid down that you got, and I am sure that is why you did it.
Click to expand...

:gag:


soap,
Nice job all the way around... You did very well....
 
If I was a cattle buyer the main reason I would want to buy direct is that I am thinking the cattle will cost me more if I wait. It doesn't always work that way as some times during the fall runs the price gets weaker. Also not exposing the cattle to the sale ring would cut down on some stress and exposure to other catlle. Do you ever buy direct BRG or do you always buy your cattle through the ring.
 
Big Swede said:
If I was a cattle buyer the main reason I would want to buy direct is that I am thinking the cattle will cost me more if I wait. It doesn't always work that way as some times during the fall runs the price gets weaker. Also not exposing the cattle to the sale ring would cut down on some stress and exposure to other catlle. Do you ever buy direct BRG or do you always buy your cattle through the ring.
Click to expand...

We do both, whatever our customer wants to do. But I do think it is usually better to go through an auction of some sort for a couple reasons. 1. If a buyer gets them bought at X amount, he usually has a little left on the table. Not always, but usually. 2. Soap already has the reputation to get top $, but for the guys who don't, selling privately doesn't build a reputation like an auction will. Reputation is very important when selling your calves.
 
Fantastic set of calves, congrats on a great weight and sale :D . I'm sure the cows were enthusiastic to get into the corrals to get rid of those big boys! Now we all get to start all over again.
 
BRG said:
Can I ask what made you go direct, since you have traditionally gone through Valentine? If it were me it would have been awful hard to turn the bid down that you got, and I am sure that is why you did it.
Click to expand...

Yes, it seemed like an outstanding bid at the time. I am guessing that about seven years out of ten it would pay to contract calves for fall delivery sometime in August. This year, prices have jumped during the fall selling season, but usually a multitude of calves hitting the market at weaning time tends to lower the prices.

There seems to be a scarcity of cattle available this fall, which has made prices rise dramatically. I do have a knack for missing the super hot markets when making these all important decisions, :? :roll: but it is always challenging to try to outguess upcoming circumstances. I figured that by contracting some of the calves, I'd have a "bird in the hand" and could still speculate on our lighter calves at the auction.

When in Valentine yesterday to weigh the calves that were delivered, I did stop by Valentine Livestock to consign 100 head of approximately 580-600 pound calves to be sold on the October 27th sale. This will give a chance to get some competition on the bidding, but undoubtedly weighing conditions won't be as much in our favor, and the commission/trucking takes out another big bite. Life is just one big gamble. When a feller kicks the ever-lovin' bucket, all the monopoly pieces go back in the box anyway. To my knowledge there has never yet been a U-Haul trailer full of trinkets, junk, and other worldly possessions ever hooked to the back of a hearse. :wink:
 

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