- A Word from Travis -

 

 

December 5, 2023

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At the sale yesterday cows traded 68 to 88. The big price spread due to weigh conditions and the condition of the cows. Sold a nice package of 580 lbs strs they brought 245 the little bros brought 293 at 470. Yearling cattle took the biggest hit of the lower futures markets. 800 lbs open hfrs floated around 170. While still a great feeder market it is noticeably lower.
Many reasons for the decline in the feeder markets: Futures markets falling, Exports down, Imports up, On feed reports that show more cattle on feed. All of these negatives are effecting the attitude of the market. After all a market is contagious, while climbing everyone wants in, can't get enough. Its hard not to think about these things when it's all around us. Some positive things: Still great demand for Beef, the associations, we are all apart of, are coming together to support a common goal. There are some good things coming that need our attention and support. M Cool may be gaining some traction. So many things to be positive about. Stay in there. Good things are just around the corner if not already here.
"Cows for Christmas" bred special on Monday December 11, come down and do some Christmas shopping. Right next to 600 will sell. A consignment list is up on the Web at BearPawLive. Thanks for your Business. Merry Marketing. God Bless.

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November 28, 2023

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Cow market was steady yesterday. 70 to 85 caught most of the cows. Heiferetts 115 to 137 mostly 1000# plus heifers. Just a few more sale before the end of the year. Next week, Dec 4, will be a regular cattle sale. Then on Monday December 11 will be a regular sale along with our annual bred cow sale. Then the last sale of the year will be Dec 18 this will be a Feeder special along with a regular cattle sale.

The Bred Cow Line Up:

30 hd of true F1 cross BWF bred hfrs synched and AI'd for 4/1

50 hd of black angus bred hfrs synched and AI'd for 4/1

150 hd of black angus bred hfrs 3/20 front end of 300.

44 hd of black angus one raising NO BRAND bred 3 yr old.

50 hd of super nice 3 to 5 yr old cows bred for March 10

75 hd of 4 to 6 year old cows bred for March 20. All blk cows.

135 hd of smaller consignments of solid mouth and short term cows. Raised and developed by professional cattlemen and women who not only pay attention to genetics but to the function and "do ability" of their herds.

All cows will be preg checked and aged at the sale barn prior to sale. Cows will be sorted into like groups. Sale will be live and we will take your bids at the sale or over the net on LMA auctions. You can buy with confidence with a crew that has brought you cow sales for over 30 years. Thanks for your business, merry marketing and God Bless.

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November 15, 2023

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Good Morning, Nice sale Monday, cows were maybe a touch lower mostly 70 to 85. Young cows were mixed 95 to 140. Calves and yearlings were following the theme the last couple weeks, while still trading well, sold lower. 900 to 1000 lbs open heifers 178 to 188. 650 to 700 lbs str calves 225 to 241. Topped the light calves at 313 on some 4 weight strs. Next sale will be on Monday November 20, I expect 300 weigh ups. Sales every Monday through Dec 18.

Looking Ahead we have a bred cow special on Monday December 11. We are getting a super line up of heifers and cows for the sale with right around 400 on the list. Including gentics from up and down the hi line from ranchers who use bulls from Milk River Bull Test group, Clear Creek Angus, Bowles J5, Klingaman Red Angus, FBA, Bar 9 Ranch, MY Angus, Nissen Angus, Olson Charolais and many more. Ranch tested cows raised and cared for by professional cattle men and woman in the area.

Then on December 18 we are making some plans for a weaned calf special. This will be the Last sale of the Year. Wow, just over 30 days away. Merry marketing and God Bless.

Oh yeah, Go Cats, or is it, Go Griz!

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November 7, 2023

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Good Morning Montana! Another nice sale at Bear Paw Live yesterday. The cow market I would call mixed. Big, smooth, cows carrying some condition were steady 82 to 90. Your average and thin cows were lower, 68 to 80. Heiferetts and young cows were dollars better topped them out on 30 hd weighing 938 at 177! Most bringing 125 to 160 depending on quality and size. Calf market was steady, a dandy set of steer calves weighing 620 dollared out at $1550 per hd while the heifers were just shy of $1400. Light calves were mixed with the top end selling really well, while the odds and sorts were mixed. $200 to $300 caught most of the calves.

We are getting ready for our Anniversary sale on Monday. I have a few sets of calves consigned along with a couple loads of dry cows, this is going to be a good one. We have been part of the cattle industry for 34 years, starting back in 1989, I was 8. Truly a family business. I am blessed to be part of an Ag community and raising my kids where we are rooting for one another. If I don't see you at a sale hopefully we can catch up at a game, or maybe a wrestling tournament. Be sure to stop by the yards on Monday even if you won't have cattle in the sale. Lunch, coffee, good cattle and a few familiar faces will be there. Thank all of you for support and trust in us with your paychecks. Merry marketing and God Bless.

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October 30, 2023

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Short sale for us on Monday. Cow market was maybe 2 to 3 lower on all cows. We did sell one load of 550 lbs strs they brought 273. Many of the feeders scheduled for yesterday were moved to the November 6th sale. If you enjoy watching good cattle and visiting with your neighbor for an afternoon come down to a sale.

Our anniversary sale will be on Monday November 13. Independence Bank will come and provide a lunch, we will have a good time selling quality cattle. If you have a little time to stop in, Dexter and Karla will be coming on 34 years of owning and operating Bear Paw Livestock. If you don't have time for lunch the coffee is always on along with a batch of popcorn. Thank you all for your continued support. Merry Marketing, and God Bless.

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October 25, 2023

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With fall run in full swing we sold 700 hd on Monday. The bright side of the cattle complex was the cow market on Monday. Steady money on cows mostly 78 to 92. Heiferetts maybe a touch lower with the bigger groups having the most interest. Although the calf market Monday was noticeably lower, calves traded relatively well with the mid 5 weight strs still trading at 1360 to 1450 per hd. While their half sisters brought mostly 1150 to 1225 per hd. Light calves under 350 took the biggest hit of the day, but still trading right around 1000 per hd.

The calf market was effected by multiple negative things on Monday. First, a futures market that has been falling for a week with losses near or over 20 dollars on some months. And a feed report that was not favorable to higher or even steady markets. And last, the weather pattern that has moved into the area was not bringing out the local crowd. All in all we sold good cattle to a fairly active group of buyers. 5 different feeder buyers were in the seats along with 4 cow buyers. Thank you for all your business, merry marketing and God Bless.

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October 18, 2023

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700 hd on Monday, good markets, good cattle, better people. We had a great time marketing cattle from the area. On the cow side of the cow side of things market was steady. Young cows up to 147 mostly 115 to 130. Older end of cows 67 to 97. Calf side of things 550 lbs strs 276. 460 lbs strs 313. Odds and sorts were lower but still traded very well with 340 to 420 lbs hfrs still bringing 950 to 1050 per hd.
It looks like another good line up of cattle for Monday if the weather holds for us. Several split loads of calves on the books along with 5 loads of cows. We have been busy chasing cows and kids around but always have time to talk cattle with you. Thanks for all your business, merry marketing, and God Bless.

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October 11, 2023

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We are getting a nice line up of calves and yearlings for or feeder special on the the 16. Remember we still sell cattle by the lbs to the highest bidder. Price only goes up at auction and you get paid for all the weight brought to town. With cattle prices where it is important to also think about shrink and minimizing that when marketing livestock. I recently visited with a local who had hauled open hfrs to one of our sales and hauled the strs to one 175 miles away. He weighed all cattle before shipping and out of curiosity I asked hime what his results were. heifers hauled to BPL day of sale shrink close to 5% Steers hauled night before sale 175 mile shrink next to 10%. With calves and yearling over $2.00 and cows in the .80 the hidden cost of shrink can really eat into your bottom line. If you have cattle to market give us a call lets discuss marketing options. Thanks for your business, merry marketing and God Bless.

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October 10, 2023

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We had a nice run of cattle yesterday. The yearling market was down a touch yesterday, Most of the open hfrs brought from 215 to 224. Cows also saw a seasonal down trend with the biggest hit to old thin cows. Most cows 80 to 98. Bulls 92 to 112.

It sure has been a nice start to the fall, and we have had some nice sales with fantastic prices. Remember we take cattle in Saturday and Sunday starting at 12. Our sales don't start until

12:00 on Monday. We will take cattle all day on Monday but must be in at the yards at least 2 hrs before dark so the proper pre sale work can be done. A call to let us know if you will be late is appreciated.

We have some really nice groups of calves lining up for our feeder specials. Also the dry cows will start showing up in the comming weeks. A call in to let us know will allow us to call the right people to effectively market your livestock.

Thanks for your business and trust in us when choosing a marketing agency. Merry Marketing and God Bless.

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September 12, 2023

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We had a great sale yesterday. Thanks to all the consignors we ended up chasing 600 hd across the scale. The cattle market was crazy good on Monday. Cows were steady with 3 weeks ago. Mostly 90 to 105. Thin wet bagged cows were 65 to 85. Bulls were lower with the top bull bringing 117. Yearlings were on FIRE. A few highlights: 750 lbs strs $260. 945 lbs opens $219.  885 lbs strs $240. There were instances of quality and kind price differences second sorts and odd yearlings were lower than their counterparts. Thanks for your business. Merry Marketing. God Bless.

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August 31, 2023

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No Sale this coming Monday. We will back on September 11 with a yearling special along with our regular sale. Just over 300 on the list so far. This Friday is also the deadline for the NLVA final sale of the summer. If you haven't marketed your calves in an auction setting this would be the year to show case your livestock. The auction way where prices only go up.

We will have sales weekly through September, featuring yearling cattle. Thank you all for your business.

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August 22, 2023

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Nice little run of cattle on Monday. Cows were steady 95 to 105. Bulls steady 114 to 130. No sale for the next two Mondays. We will Be back with a yearling special on September 11. Early consignments total just over 250 head.

Yesterday was also the first day of Northern Live video auction. calf market seems steady to a touch higher in some cases. A short load of steer calves from the chinook area sold at 281.5 at 580 lbs. There will be one more video sale for the year in September.

If you have cattle to market give us a call we offer multiple ways of marketing cattle. Direct sales, Video Sales, and Live auctions.

We are always ready to talk cattle. Thanks for all you business, merry marketing and God Bless.

To all the kids out there have a great first day of school. Moms don't worry kids are going do to great. Wether it is your first or your 12th first day of school I know it hits you different then us Dads out there. You are doing great. Kids will be home soon.