• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Saw Jinglebob's Country Today...

High Plains

Well-known member
I went to Hoff's bull sale today and drove many miles to do so. Looking at the map, one can discern that northwestern SD has few folks in attendance at the polls on voting day, but I was impressed with the wide open country. Talk about grass and hills, nothing much besides that. Driving north out of Belle Fourche I saw a thin cow with a bad prolapse that was surely beyond repair. She'd been hurting for awhile and was worse for the wear. Wondered who was supposed to be checking those cows? Lots of time to think while on the road. I also passed at least five vehicles waiting on the highway for the schoolbus to come by. I had to laugh out loud at that one, as I remember my folks would never concede to give my brother and I a ride to the bus stop. :( Those were some cold mornings.

The Scotch Cap sale went well. I was impressed with the muscle and rib shape on many of the bull calves. These would be the "Jason" kind of cattle. Sure, some where too big, but not as big as I would have thought, based on previous posts on this board. I'm not looking to open up another argument here, just coughing up my thoughts. I don't care if an outift feeds cows or not, those cows are bound to earn their keep in the northwest corner of SD. Tough Country!
 

Jinglebob

Well-known member
Actually, if you went north of Belle and across towards Bison, you were closer to Tap's country. You would have driven right by his house, if you made it to the cut across from Buffalo to Bison.

I'm south and east of there. Matter of fact, I'm about straight south of Hoff's about 70 miles.

Sure is some neat country up there on the Moreau and Grand rivers.

Wish you'd have given me a call, I'd of put the coffe or tea pot on for you. :D

Maybe if you had stopped in, I wouldn't have cut my finger, TWICE, while working on this saddle. I have just got to learn to quit bein' so dang clumsy. 'Course, if I wasn't hittin' the bottle so hard these days, maybe I'd be better off too! :shock:


:wink:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Bottle of grape pop, that is. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Tap

Well-known member
Yep, Jinglebob was probably right. You were closer to me High Plains. If you were straight north of Belle F. and saw pine trees off to your west, then you were right past my mailbox. The country between here and Belle has dang few yardlights. It is mostly summer country. It would be hard to compare that to the area that Hoff's are in. It rains over there and grows lots of feed (relatively speaking) compared to us and points south of here. We are not farming country, and that is fine with me.

The good Lord blessed us with at least 3 inches of light topsoil. :wink:

High Plains, be thankful you didn't have to cross that gumbo country N. of Belle Fourche in the team and wagon days. They prayed for no moisture when they went thru in those days. That gumbo can ball up so big that a cows feet get as big as a dinner plate when they have good rains. But lately that hasn't been much of a problem. :)
 

Jinglebob

Well-known member
Tap said:
Yep, Jinglebob was probably right. You were closer to me High Plains. If you were straight north of Belle F. and saw pine trees off to your west, then you were right past my mailbox. The country between here and Belle has dang few yardlights. It is mostly summer country. It would be hard to compare that to the area that Hoff's are in. It rains over there and grows lots of feed (relatively speaking) compared to us and points south of here. We are not farming country, and that is fine with me.

The good Lord blessed us with at least 3 inches of light topsoil. :wink:

High Plains, be thankful you didn't have to cross that gumbo country N. of Belle Fourche in the team and wagon days. They prayed for no moisture when they went thru in those days. That gumbo can ball up so big that a cows feet get as big as a dinner plate when they have good rains. But lately that hasn't been much of a problem. :)

We've got some of that gumbo ground off to the west of us about 12 to 15 miles. I've seen cattle, after a wet spring, with hooves as big as Tap is talking about and balls hanging from their tails, the size of softballs.

"Course, usually it's dry enough that it ain't much of a problem! :shock:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I heard tales of the oldtimers who didn't understand what that gumbo would be like after the rains when the sun come out, driving wagons until the spokes pulled loose from the hubs of the wagons.

Ah the gumbo. You stick to it when it's dry and it'll stick to you when it's wet! :lol:
 

High Plains

Well-known member
Well I guess I've learned a whole lot in a day's time. Now that I have swapped notes with the natives! I kind of feel like a gunsel for not attempting to meet up with any of the Ranchers folks on my tour. I prolly drove past you, Jinglebob, while heading south on the Bixby Road. Darnit, I even had some extra time on my hands. Drove right by Tap too, but the sale started early at 9:00. Oh well, I figure I'll find my way back up here again before long.

I did notice the difference in country between the Belle area and north compared to the Bison area. Didn't see any farm ground until I got east of Buffalo.

I met up with a part-time rancher yesterday in Belle (500 hd. and part-time?). He was thinking about owning his cattle through the feedlot. We looked at his carcass data and talked about the positives and negatives of trying to feed 'em in the ensuing years. One thing was certain, his cattle would post some significant carcass premums. I got pretty excited. Wish I had some money to buy part of his calves and get 'em placed in a feedyard. He took his money and ran this year, which was a good plan with the corn price being where it is today.

Next time I'm through the country I'll try to be more neighborly. :cry:
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
How did the sale go?

And Tap, do you have any idea whose cow is standing by the road prolapsed?
That sounds awful...the owner needs notified, IMO.
 

High Plains

Well-known member
The sale went well, FH. I wouldn't want to try to guess the average, since there were so many cattle selling. The good cows were typically higher than $3500 and there weren't a whole lot of them below that number. The real good cows were obviously quite a bit higher. Anywhere from $7,000 to $20,000. The high selling cow went for $110,000, but there weren't any more in that neighborhood. Quite a handful in the $25,000 range. Again, lots of cows meant lots of prices.

Back to that prolapsed cow, all I could see was grass and more grass so I sure wouldn't have known who to try to talk to about her. Couldn't see any home places in that general neck of the woods. I'm sure any houses were tucked away over the hills. She wasn't going to make it, just needed somebody to help her with the making a clean exit.
 

Tap

Well-known member
I would probably know the people that owned the cow, but I sure wouldn't know where it was at. If you saw a fair amount of grass, it makes me think it is up our way (compared to south of here), but I do not think it is our cow.

I am not going that way real soon, so I guess I will hope someone else sees her.

I heard by the grapevine today, that the sale yesterday averaged around 6000$. I think it grossed about 5 mil.
 

srd65

Well-known member
I heard by the grapevine today, that the sale yesterday averaged around 6000$. I think it grossed about 5 mil.


The average announced at the end of the sale was 340 lots averaged at $8760 for a total of $2,977,035. There were close to or right around 800 head total on the sale. The management firm that managed the sale likes to list the cow as lot 1, her calf as lot 1A and the bred heifer out of her as lot 1B. With a set of ET calves you could have up several flush brothers that would be listed as lot 2A thru 2F or something like that. Therefor there are, in some cases, several individual animals that make up one lot.

However, if you use a number of, say 800 head, the average per head would be around $3720. That is still pretty dam impressive.
 

High Plains

Well-known member
Gotta love those sale managers. :roll: Not saying they're not necessary nor that there aren't some real good and honest folks in that line of work. We've got a good 'un on Ranchers. But some of these guys just make a person ill.
 
Top