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Just a scoop full
(Oct. 3)--What an interesting year so far. Wheat prices have rallied to unbelievable prices, while corn has stayed at moderate levels. In the last several months feeder cattle have led the way as far as price. Most cattle feeders have bet heavily on a much better fat cattle market. It has gotten some better, but it still will have to improve more to allow any profit in these feeders that have been purchased. The feeder cattle showing up at the auction have been a lot thinner than normal--mostly because of the excess rains we received early and in the middle of the year. All in all it's been a good year. With wheat reaching these higher prices, I hear a lot of talk of farmers either not planning on pasturing cattle on wheat, or simply stocking the wheat at lower levels. This probably means there will not be as many feeder cattle available in March, as a lot will already be in the feedlot. Now with four boys in our house and the youngest--just being there for three weeks--it is definitely never dull. I didn't really think the older two were paying that much attention to what I was saying. However, they were listening a lot more than I thought. Both of the older ones like to give orders to the younger two, like: "Chew with your mouth closed. Don't drink all your milk." Or when nobody wants to sit in the middle they like to holler loudly "Get in." I've even noticed that at the sale barn when we hire a new employee. They perk right up and are quick to establish the pecking order to the new employee. I took all four boys fishing last Sunday. The younger two have been calling me 'Cowboy' a lot ever since I went to visit them--the first time I met them. When the youngest got back to the baby-sitter after school the next day, he told her "Cowboy is a poor fisherman." The 7-year-old immediately hollered, "No he isn't, he's a good fisherman." Like I said earlier--it is never dull. Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla. Date: 10/10/07
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