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Just a scoop full(Aug. 6)--Fat cattle are being priced higher with some getting optimistic that we should get close to a dollar a pound this week. It is so hard to climb back higher once we fall back, as we quickly lose confidence and start dwelling on the negative. Fat cattle numbers are less in Kansas this week. Either packers or retailers put a lot of extra money in their pocket when we willingly let fat cattle slip from $102 per cwt. to $94 per cwt., in two weeks. That $8 per cwt. amounts to $100 per head, let alone the fact that we wouldn't be trying to get a dollar a pound this week. I'm not saying we should never go lower on fat cattle. And I don't mind taking less if there is a legitimate reason. The only way we will get fat cattle to these higher levels is for sellers to toughen up, or else these weaker fat cattle sellers will simply run out of cattle. It's too bad in the fat cattle world that we do not have a godfather who would look after our interests and vocally speak out and advise fat cattle sellers each week. Our whole cattle complex hinges on these individuals or smaller corporations to be able to market these cattle at a level that they can stay in business. Then we keep lots of feeder cattle buyers still competing for these feeder cattle instead of three or four. I don't mind these three or four big outfits feeding a large number of cattle as long as we have got others competing with them. If we get down to three or four feeding all the feeder cattle, then at that point I will step aside and let someone else run this sale barn. At that point, I feel it will be very noncompetitive for feeders and will carry down to the cow-calf man immediately. That would be misery. Now we still have a very competitive feeder and calf market. Let's fight to keep it that way. Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla.d 8/18/08 Date: 8/13/08
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