BUYING BULLS THIS SPRING!!!

[Muttley]

Where's everybody going to buy there bulls this spring?

I see by the Western Producer that there's damn near a sale on every street corner this spring, and the bulls for sale pages are just getting bigger.
I had a call this week from a central Ab. purebred breeder wanting to know if I could help move some of his bulls in Sk., say's the moisture is good where he is at but that ranchers and farmers are going to take it easy till they see the grass and hay growing.

Where I am at it is much the same thinking. A good chunk of my regular customers downsized the last couple of years and will be slowly going back into their cows. I have a few operations that the people are a little older and they said that's enough, no more cows or at least not as many.

I took most of my bulls to the Sk. test centre at Lipton, Sk. this winter. It's going to cost me more for feed but I hope they will sell more east of me than I usually do.

[tgh]

The purebred breeders here in Southern Alberta sure seemed to have culled harder than normal this season. Number of bulls for sale is down but the quality of animals is way up. The breeders are all very, very cautious or so it seems to me.
Part of my business is getting bulls ready for sales and I still go all the same breeders as a year ago but there's 40% less bulls for me to work on at each breeder.

[tgh]

Buying/selling bulls this spring is going to be an interesting experience - while I am a small breeder (25 cows), I retained only 4 bulls,half of the number that I normally do (cost of feed and concern over the market for 2003). Many of the breeders in my area, north of Edmonton have culled similiarly - 50% to 60% of the number of bulls over a normal year.

The cull of bulls by the commercial cowman in the area was very heavy due to feed concerns .......... but the mild weather in November, December and January appears to have helped maintain the cow numbers at about 85% to 90% of last spring. So there are lots of cows out there who are in need of service sires.

In mid January I placed ads ...... since then I have been contacted by a number of prospective buyers ........ interest and foot traffic at the Bull Congress in Camrose was high. However some things certainly gave me pause ........ several were looking for a yearling for $1400 and one other a two year old for $2500. When I informed them that my bulls were $2000 plus as yearlings, they just expressed disbelief! I provided them with the names of several other breeders in the area (one of who thanked me not to forward inquiries such as those to him again).
There has been no action to this point, the commercial guy for the most part appears to be willing to wait, trying to see what the market will be like and how the spring is going to shape up. A few sales that I have heard of have been very good. But at this point, I have to say that patience and determination are the operative words, but I am quessing that late March is when the action will occur in this are of the prairies.

[cswilson]

WAs just at the Fraser salke in Brooks on Monday-the low birth angus bulls were in big demand-I bought twelve bulls altogether on order. Bid to 4000 plus on ten or more but didn't get them.
This was an all rancher crowd- the good bulls will sell very well and the poorer bulls just won't trade.

[cswilson]

Interestingly, the trend is the same up here, the front end of sales have been strong, while the end of sales have been weak ......... but I do not feel yet that the majority of the commercial industry has stepped into function of procuring service sire , the cold weather, uncertainity with respect to the upcoming growing conditions and probably cash all factor into the equation.
A number of individuals who sell traditionally off farm are indicating that sales and inquiries have all continued to be slow and if any are of the tirekicking variety, but they all see a demand which is being held back and anticipate this to translate into action by mid-April to early May.
It wil be interesting to see if this comes true, or if there will be lots of bulls moving to slaughter.
CJC