As August gets ready to turn into September, there is not a lot of difference noted in the current yearling and stocker market compared to a year ago. The final sale for August a year ago at Oklahoma National Stockyards saw the market coming off of a bullish Cattle on Feed report and farmers had ample moisture to work with in regard to planting wheat pasture. Fast forward to this week and producers are in the midst of a more bearish marketplace, with some moisture across the state broken up by pockets of drought. With calf markets between $3-6 lower and yearling prices mostly steady to maybe a few dollars higher compared to last year, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says the first thing producers need to keep in mind is the seasonality of cattle markets around this time of year.
“Typically, from where we find ourselves now, we would look for these weaned calf prices to drop to an October low and we are maybe kind of starting that,” he said. “So, producers may want to think about whether they’re marketing a little bit ahead of that or if they’re used to the seasonal pattern and normally weaning by then, selling calves in that October low.”
Right now, is also the time of year for producers to be thinking about whether or not they will attempt to establish wheat pasture for grazing. Peel says considerations are still being made as to whether or not there is much potential for wheat pastures in the Southern Great Plains, but generally he says conditions look favorable. As producers make those considerations, Peel adds one to the list for them to think about. He advises markets be closely monitored over the next several weeks to determine what signals are being sent relevant to what kind of market animals, what size in particular, are coming into demand and might offer the best opportunity.
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