Happy New Year and welcome to 2025! The year is starting with a bang. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a yearolder or maybe just I’m getting more disorganized, but it seems like my world is spinning like a merry-go-round and I’m barely hanging on. If you are in the cattle business, which most of you are if you’re reading this column, I thinkthis year is going to be very rewarding. I was watching a video the other night of some calves selling on Superior Video Auction that were located in Nevada. They were black, steer calves, with an average weight of 310 lbs. Theybrought $5.54 per pound which is $1,714 per head. Now, I understand that some of the highest prices of the yearalways take place from January through March, and I know that all our calves won’t bring $5.54 a pound, but if youcan’t get a little bit excited about what your calves might bring this year, then I guess you just can’t be excited!

You might be wondering why I’m starting off the New Year talking about being excited. Well, to tell you the truth,it’s time for the cow/calf producers to up their ante on what good bulls and replacement females are going to cost. Weare going into the annual period when commercial producers will soon be testing their bulls and turning them out. If you need a replacement bull, don’t be fooled into thinking you are going to get one for $2,000. That would have been several years ago and if you are keeping up with the packer bull market, they are bringing $1.45-$1.62 per pound. So, if you have a 2,000 lbs. bull that is in good flesh, that’s $2,900-$5,200. So, what’s my point? Splurge a little. Even though you’ve never purchased a $7,500 bull in your life…try it, you might like the difference in your next calf crop.The same thing comes into play when it comes to buying replacement females.

We are all taught to buy things for the least amount of money. But we are also taught to buy quality products that willlast a long time and, in this case, produce a quality product that will make more money. And that’s exactly my point. Try to look into the future.  Eventually, producers will have to start replacing their depleting herds. When this happens, quality replacement heifers will be bringing an even larger premium. In fact, I believe they will soon be bringing morethan our steer prices. Let me ask you this. Do you really think you will receive top prices for mediocre quality calves?I don’t think so. But what if you have invested in better-quality bulls and maybe some better-quality females? It’s a no-brainer and you too can capitalize on your investments because you are selling calves for more than you’ve ever witnessed.

In the next few months there will be some outstanding cattle sales coming up, including many top-quality production sales and of course the San Antonio & Houston Stock Show Sales. In this issue of Southern Livestock, we will behighlighting the bulls and females that will be selling on Feb. 12th. We are once again proud to be co-managing this salealong with Anthony Mihalski for the 34th time and just like in years past, the quality runs exceptionally deep in the bullsand females representing 47 ranches from across Texas that will be participating in this year’s sale. I know a lot of people look forward to this annual issue and spend lots of time looking at the pictures of the cattle…kind of like the Sears Christmas catalog that we used to get when I was a kid. This year is no exception, the

quality is deep and we look forward to representing these producers on Feb.12th. By the way, if you are unable to make it tothe sale but want to watch it online and bid, go to DV Auction and sign up. 

Remember, if you have any questions about the cattle consigned to the sale or how to attend, please contact us and wewill be more than happy to help you the best way we can. It’s exciting times in the cattle business and we hope to see youin San Antonio on Wednesday, Feb. 12th at the San Antonio All Breed Sale.