KC Sheperd, Farm Director, had the chance to visit with Bob Rodenberger, A partner with Stockman Oklahoma Livestock Marketing. Stockman has locations in Oklahoma City and Apache. Rodenberger talks about the current cattle market and highlights positives in the industry in the future.
“We operate in Oklahoma City on the stockyards under Stockman Oklahoma on Mondays and Tuesdays at the stockyards, and then we have got our auction market there at Apache, which is on Thursdays, and we sell everything on that day,” Rodenberger said. “We also have our own video auction every Wednesday at 10 o’clock at Apache.”
Rodenberger said their customers in the Apache area and all over are tackling the problem of having water and some grass but no hay.
“Our smaller operators depend on hay all the time, and they will probably be overstocked when we have got good rainfall, but they always get through with buying extra hay, and now there is no hay available for them,” Rodenberger said. “Now, right there immediately, most of them have got water and are out of grass and no hay, so we are seeing a lot of cows come to town that we normally wouldn’t see.”
Rodenberger said they haven’t seen too many young cows come to town yet and mostly see older cows that should have been culled a few years ago to be sold.
“I have had very few just complete dispersals because of the drought, Rodenberger said. “Most of them are holding onto half their cow crop.”
In Texas especially, Rodenberger said producers are out of water, grass, and hay.
“I am seeing some of those completely disperse out,” Rodenberger said.
Many full-time ranchers, Rodenberger said, are holding out to see what the upcoming chance of rain will do. In 2011 and 2012, when ranchers were liquidating their cow herds due to the drought, Rodenberger said the market did not turn around until the end of 2013 and 2014.
“We are seeing this market get higher in the middle of the drought,” Rodenberger said. “Even though we are having to sell cows and calves, the market is in their favor, and they are blessed with that opportunity.”
Rodenberger said the cow market three weeks ago took a tremendous beating, but we have put all that back on in three weeks.
“Timing was just bad luck on all of us three weeks ago, but we have got buyers coming to us from Minnesota buying cows to go back up there for grass, we have got people buying cows that they will put back on feed in Canada to kill in Canada,” Rodenberger said. “I mean, we have gotten tremendous support from outside buyers now that we normally do not have.”
Rodenberger talked more about the scarcity of hay in Oklahoma.
“In our immediate area, if you got on the phone, I don’t know where you could find hay right now in Oklahoma,” Rodenberger said.
With opportunities for rain coming up in the next few weeks, Rodenberger said it will be helpful to those who are entirely grazed down and don’t have any hay.
“If we get moisture right and timing right, some of these people who still have their calves can kick their calves back out on wheat,” Rodenberger said.
One positive in the market right now, Rodenberger said, is that even though many producers are having to sell calves a few months early, they are receiving a pretty hefty premium for those calves. Rodenberger added that cattle producers enjoy the benefits of a premium-based market, and there are plenty of positives in the industry now and in the future despite the drought.
Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to KC Sheperd and Bob Rodenberger talking about ways he is encouraging producers to stay positive and more insights on today’s cattle market.
