From the Barns — Foglesong: Markets head up

Astoria, Ill.

We are well into February and the worst part of winter seems to have been back around Halloween. Aside from muddy cow pens, the winter has been pretty good so far, mild enough to make you think something bad is still around the corner. Only time will tell, but 60 days from now we will be calving on green grass, planting corn and all the other spring things.

It’s been a great winter for feeding cattle and they have done well. I’ve noticed that last fall’s lice treatment is playing out and some bare spots are showing on some of the feeding cattle. A wholesale spray treatment will be on the agenda for the next warmish day.

The markets have been jittery over the coronavirus and other factors, but according to the folks at Cattle Fax at the Cattle Industry Convention, they should move modestly higher. I’m always bullish, so I hope they are right. With grass fever on the horizon, it looks like the feeder market is headed higher, as well. Maybe it will bring the fat market along for the ride. A rising tide floats all boats.

Linda and I took a couple of days to attend the Cattle Convention in San Antonio. We came across a few new products at the trade show and will report on their effectiveness after we have a chance to test them. Sustainability seemed to be the theme I heard repeated many times by the various speakers at the conference.

While virtually everybody has their own definition for “sustainability,” how consumers view it may be the only definition that matters. Ultimately, those consumers and their willingness to buy our products will determine whether or not our operations are sustainable. However, making those consumers understand all we do and how we do it will, in my opinion, help to shape their buying decisions and our very livelihoods.

We have just one set of calves left to wean and that will be done this week. One of our biggest questions now is whether to go straight on feed with all our 2019 calves or slow grow them on silage and grass and target next spring’s higher market. Weighing time, interest and cash flow takes a lot of figuring, but is worth the exercise. We have quite a bit of seeding to get done if we ever get any frost to work with, so I guess I’m hoping for a little more cold weather. I expect we will just deal with whatever comes along.