Full-Service Cattle Sales & Marketing serving the Fallon, Nevada and Outlying Areas.

SALE EVERY WEDNESDAY

Begins at 12:00

Why do 400 to 450 lb calves bring the same and sometimes more $$$$$ per head than the big stout fancy 550 to 650 lb calves? Because the fat market is always WAY higher in April. Why is it higher in April? When you ask that question, the answer is always that April is spring and it warms up so people go out in the backyard and fire up the barbecue. That may be part of it but it’s hard for me to believe that a few more people grilling could cause fats to go up $10 in one month. I think it has much more to do with the time of year most people calve and the fact that those calves are too big to go back to grass. Consequently, they hit the feedlot in October and November as six weights. Then after a long winter on expensive feed they hit the fat market in June the same time as 70% to 80% of the rest of the calves born annually in the US. But a calf weighing 400 in November can go to California grass or Kansas wheat, then it will weigh 650 by spring and 850 by November. 150 days on feed and you have an April fat. So as a producer, maybe it’s time to stop competing with the neighbor to see who has the heaviest calves in November. Maybe its time to calve a little later, get by feeding less hay, stop fighting mother nature’s elements during calving season. It’s possible you could ship more live calves equaling the same amount of total pounds shipped, but do it with less input cost, less sleepless nights and still get the same dollars per head as the neighbor with the 600 pound frozen eared bob-tailed calves. Or you can do it like me and buy a summer ranch and all your big calf problems will be solved!! But in all seriousness, step back and take a look at the market, the trends, and how hard you work to raise a big heavy calf ready for market in November. If your ranching operation allows, consider aiming for a 450 to 500 pounder in January, and use the scour infested calving barn for storage and put the heat lamps in your dog kennel.

Jack Payne, Owner/Operator

Have a great day and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Random Cowboy Quotes

• “Don’t squat with your spurs on.”
• “The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.”
• “It don’t take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.””
• “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne
• “There never was a horse that couldn’t be rode; Never was a cowboy who couldn’t be throwed.”
• “You live in hell? HA! I ride him everyday.”
• “Grass is for bulls, what do you ride?”
• “A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” — Shane
• “Talk slowly, think quickly.”
• “Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.”
• “Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.”