Calves round up strong prices in Stratton

Ken Johnston
Editor

“It was a perfect sale!”
That was the best way Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association President Tom Morrish could describe their calf sale over the weekend.
They had 1,070 head move through the sales barn and leave for new homes as far away as South Dakota. Morrish, who sold some of his own calves said, “Prices were very good. I am very happy with what I received for mine.” That sentiment was echoed throughout the sales barn with many local producers happy with the prices they received.
Prices went as high as $1.72 per pound and averaged in the $1.35 range. “That is about 10-15¢ higher than other markets have been getting in the area,” said Morrish Monday. That higher price was mainly on steers. Heifers tended to match or were slightly higher than Winnipeg prices.
Morrish said that the RRCA likes to have about 1,000 head at a sale. “That is big enough to draw buyers in and not too big that we get congestion in the yard.” He noted that the sale was over by about 5 p.m. and often if they have more than 1,300 head the sales can go much later and producers pay for that with lower prices.
The weather also cooperated dropping little or no rain leading up to and during the sale. That meant the pens were dry and cattle came in looking clean. Morrish also said that the warm fall also allowed the calves to gain good weights which made them look even better. “A guy told me once that this whole thing is just a fashion show. If cattle look bad it can mean 5¢ less per pound.”
Morrish said the average weight of the calves at Saturday’s sale was about 5-600 lbs. Based on an average price of $1.35 and an average wt. of 500 lbs. and 1,070 head about three quarters of a million dollars changed hands in Stratton Saturday.
“It was a very positive sale and I feel pretty good about it,” said Morrish.
The Top of the Line sale which was originally scheduled for this October 19th, has been rescheduled for November 2nd due to scheduling conflicts.