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Just a scoop full(Jan. 23)--Feeder cattle numbers for our area have dropped dramatically this past week. Most sales showed good numbers the first week in the new year. Grains had gotten enough higher that most customers were confused as to what to do. Most definitely did not like the price of feeder cattle, but did not like the price they were paying for feed either. With the fat cattle price slipping to the $90 per cwt. level it took the steam out of the whole cattle complex. Our grazing cattle showed a lot more demand starting the week of the 18th. The 500-pound steers weighing a little over that brought up to $122 per cwt. With a lot of these calves already in growing lots the demand for thin cattle to go to grass should start good. I do not like to worry, but our overall economy in the U.S. does deserve some attention with these big banks having trouble--you might say that doesn't affect me--but it could. Hopefully, we will see a change that allows cattlemen to start making money again. Particularly the average cattle feeder. We have to have him in our business to keep it competitive. If we would ever get to where three or four cattle organizations would feed all the cattle--then at that point I do not want to own a sale barn. It would soon become non-competitive. Our winter has not been bad, so far. But I have several wheat fields that are completely bare. It's hard to tell if the wheat is alive or not. But every day is one day closer to spring. The people worried about global warming ought to move further north where it is colder. Or perhaps simply get out of their office in the cold. Or maybe just go on a diet. I personally do not care if it warms up some. Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla. 2/4/08 Date: 1/30/08
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