Justin Angell

Wow, what a month to be a seller! Spring 2026 has started out with the hottest calf sales in history. Although not confirmed, I’ve heard from more than one source that on several different occasions in different locations, order buyer’s buying cards have actually burst into flames. I’ve also read that Brinks security transportation service is expanding into grazing calf hauling. But the most astounding thing that I’ve heard is after selling calves and paying all bills many Cowboys are actually making enough money to completely pay off bank notes!

(Reviewing my article, out loud, Miss Kelly says under her breath, ”paying off notes? Really? Must be everybody but you.” I just smile and think to myself… You just wait smarty-pants.)

If the mail doesn’t fail, hopefully you all get this in time to see the advertising for the F&T High Noon Cow Sale February 3rd. Besides bred cows, bred heifers and spring pairs, we will have a tremendous selection of 3-in-1 pairs. Cattle markets should be good for at least another year; so with these bred females, you will have the opportunity to sell at least two calves at very high prices. After that, we’ll have to reevaluate our position. A lot more positive outcomes than negative looking down the road.

With the conversion of the food pyramid, beef is back to the top where it belongs.  This alone could generate enough extra beef demand to consume everything we produce for years at an elevated price.

I will take this opportunity after that rousing peptalk to bring a note of caution to the conversation. These elevated prices, I see in my own operation and in others, a loosening of the frugal belt. A little bit of extra everything often does have some return on investment, but there will be a day when we will all have to bear down again.

Just briefly, I wanted to draw something to everyone’s attention that I have not seen mentioned anywhere else. The Mexican border is still closed. That is a problem because I see history repeating itself. Sometime in the 70s, we had the soybean embargo and the response from the world was Brazil. Before that, Brazil was just a Third World country, but after we became an unreliable supplier, China predominantly moved their demand toward a new ag startup called Brazil. If we don’t start letting those Mexican cattle in, I can foresee a feedlot infrastructure being developed south of the border. Selling high-quality beef to the world is a lot more profitable than selling corn to feed lots in Mexico.

Tiptoeing into a subject I’m not real comfortable with, especially in Northeast Missouri/Western Illinois, is cow size. Watching the pound cow sale has been eye-opening for me. I’m sure salvage day for jumbo cows is a good day, but I’m thinking 1800 to 2300 pound fat cows eat enough extra feed to consume the equivalent of one calf they’ve raised. I will admit the genetic potential of these cow’s progeny can fully be expressed now because there’s no carcass weight limit. Average carcass weight in the United States is almost 1000 pounds! I believe we’re all safe and good for a few more years, but at some point when we start talking about profitability, fertility is number one and limiting input cost is number two in many cowherd profitability studies.

I’ve always tried to put information in my articles that both entertain and educate, but my main priority is trying to put information in these articles that will make you money. One other thing I’ve noticed watching DV Auction and the sale in Palmyra is the high number of cows that go through the ring without being pregnancy tested. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and with the way the markets are, if you have a cow that you are finished with, you might add hundreds of dollars of value by pregging, because if she is bred, I guarantee you there’s about five people that are gonna want to try her… I’ll be one of them. This includes cows that are cranky, semi blind or kind of crippled. If those cows are second or third period, somebody is going to buy them to take home to get one more calf. If a beautiful, but a little bit thin, five year-old third period trophy cow immaculately struts into the ring without a story, I would be very anxious, wondering why she’s there and wondering why anybody would be selling that cow… something must be terribly wrong?

A decent old cow that comes into the ring with long toes on one back foot, a blue eye and a little bit cranky… I could buy with confidence because I know why she’s there. Now that I think about it, when I married Kelly and she has two blue eyes, two flat feet and is often pre-coffee cranky. She was fine after I got her home, a true bargain. So just like bringing a good home, this marriage has worked out great…. until maybe she reads this.

Pregnancy test all your cows unless they are huge jumbo kill cows or for sure open.

For those of you who would like to contribute to Dr. Lehenbauer‘s retirement fund directly, I will be taking cash donations every Tuesday on the steps going into the ring. I’ll be sure he gets most of it. People often ask me what the plan should be for 2026. I thought the grass cattle were too high for two years, but both years they have made a tremendous amount of money. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?

The safer bet for grazing as always will be cows and pairs. Take the High Noon Cow Sale coming up for example. How about some optimistic hillbilly math! A four-year-old first period cow could be valued at $3200. A 400 pound calf could be valued at $2000. Logic says the pair should be worth $5200, but look at this. By the time grass gets here, a 400 pound calf will be gaining 2 pounds a day with a value of four dollars per pound.

75 days X 2 pounds per day X $4 equals $600 increase in value for the calf, plus another $200 as the cow moves from 1st to 2nd period. My point is that at $6000 a pair, those 3 in 1 pairs are not $800 too high. They are only 75 days too high. When the grass comes, it will be positive, especially compared to the grass growing up and falling over, or where she had more unneeded hay being baled. By the way, I know there is expense to get them to grass, but in true cowboy optimistic hillbilly fashion, I’m not counting interest, hay that is going to rot if I don’t feed it to something or my labor.

Remember, I work for the seller and I’m being optimistic.

The cattle market is fantastic, everybody I talk to is happy and the sun is shining on a brisk clear winter morning. I could ramble on, but everything else I have to say about the market at all time highs you see and hear every day, so I won’t beat that dead horse.

All I can say is we deal with uncertainty every day and that’s part of the job. No matter what, don’t let them steal the joy of these profitable moments. The countdown has begun. We’re only 70 days to grass!

So that’s all I’ve got for this month. I hope to see you at the auction!