Lots of things always seem to happen this time of the year…cattle sales, upcoming deadlines for PRF insurance renewals, opening day of deer season, football games, and of course, Halloween. Now, I hate to be the one that delivers the bad news, but Thanksgiving is only 28 days away and Christmas is 53 days, followed by New Years and the cycle just continues.

I would like to think that this past year has been interesting and unique compared to the last ten years, primarily because of two reasons. Personally, I don’t ever recall a year when the cattle business had the best of both worlds — above normal rainfall and a very strong market. For you operators in South Texas, Southwest Texas and far West Texas, this statement does not apply because I know it was extremely in your regions. But for the most part, Texas cattle ranchers have had a great year. So good in fact, if you’ve been a rancher for over ten years and you didn’t make a profit, you might want to consider quitting immediately!

So far this fall, the bull and replacement female sales have been simply incredible. There are still a lot of bull and replacement sales that will be happening in the next four to five weeks and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be very successful, as well. I would say that most of the bull sales have been averaging about $2,000-$5,000 more per head this year and $2,000-$3,000 more per head for top quality cow/calf pairs, bred and open heifers. I personally think this is a good sign. It means that producers are still cautious and willing to spend some of their good fortunes on replenishing their bull power and cow herds but not going crazy to do so. I don’t think their conservative buying is due to the extreme market as it is the possibility of another drought. And for good reason, if you have been reading Brian Bledoe’s weather report published here in Southern Livestock Standard, then you know that he is expecting a drier fall and winter for South Texas, Southwest Texas and far West Texas again. Maybe that means we need to be a little more cautious but let’s also remember that most of us have a large inventory of hay that can surely help us get through this crisis until later next year.

Like I said at the beginning of my column, Thanksgiving is only 27 days away and we all know that we’ve been blessed this year with abundant rainfall and a great calf market. If you haven’t already thanked the Lord for what he has allowed you to have, I encourage you to think about it this Thanksgiving and what this special day is all about…giving thanks and the opportunity to live in this great country!