04/27/2026
We loaded the highest price fat cattle I have ever sold today, in the rain and fog! They grossed over 4000 dollars per head, and the check will be fun to look at and hold. BUT as yearlings, they cost me 3135 dollars per head. We had hauling costs to get them home. We had feed costs of 350 dollars in each of them. We fed and bedded them for 4 months every day, so about 50 dollars per head in yardage. We got Livestock Risk Protection coverage on them for 59 dollars per head(it is actually twice that per head, but I only insure half of them) to lock in a price floor on them and any upside we do receive in the cash price. Interest of 46 dollars a head. Misc. Costs of 57 dollars a head(put the hauling home in here and no charge for hauling them to the packer(normally would have been at least 30 dollars a head)was the deal, and so how did we do? Amazingly, we made money, BUT we didn't lose any cattle to death. We have other groups coming that will not be so kind to us, most likely, and know that the market will not go up forever. But here is to uncharted territory in this cattle market and luck! We have about 25% of our corn planted, and this rain was beautiful and perfect, thank you, Lord🙏 Coteau Hills Cattlemen Association South Dakota Cattlemen's AssociationUnited Soybean BoardAmerican Soybean AssociationSD SoybeanSouth Dakota Corn@
