Drovers: Weaking Demand for Replacement Females

Dovers, Greg Henderson :

While the first two months of the year produced significant gains for both feeder cattle and fed cattle, demand for replacement females was steady to weaker. The overall female trend since Thanksgiving has been lower, though recent demand for higher quality bred heifers has been good. With the winter months nearing a close, the market test on bred cows and pairs was seasonably light. Regardless of class, buyers continued to seek the better quality cows to go back to the country.

Open heifers lost the most ground in February, closing $13 per cwt lower than January. A young, 1,000-lb. open cow cost about $800 last month, compared to $1,100 a year ago.

Bred heifers averaged $1,162 per head in Drovers nation-wide auction summary during February, $50 less than January and $76 lower than December. Young and middle-aged bred cows averaged $10 per head higher in February and $82 above October’s average. Aged, bred females declined $82 per head in the Drovers auction survey. Overall, bred females sold for about $480 less than a year ago.

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Source: Drovers