Red heifer nets $26,000 | Auctioneer says the short supply of quality cattle may have pushed up prices to average $11,852 per head
REGINA — A Black Angus bull that wowed the crowds at Northlands Farmfair in Edmonton and Canadian Western Agribition sold for $62,000 at Agribition’s Power and Perfection Angus sale Nov. 28.
The consignment event was the last in the lineup of sales showcased at Agribition each year.
Remitall F Prospector 110Z was supreme bull at Farmfair in Edmonton in early November and went on to become supreme champion at Agribition. Bred by Gary and Richard Latimer of Remitall Farms of Olds, Alta., this two-year-old was owned with partner Brendyn Elliot of Willow Springs Black Angus in British Columbia.
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“He went for more than I thought he would,” Richard Latimer admitted after the sale.
However, he also believed the champion bull was probably worth at least that much.
Clint Smith of Breed Creek Angus in Mankota, Sask., was the successful bidder after fierce bidding at the start of the sale.
Sired by SAV Prodigy 8101, Prospector is a home raised bull that already has 25 calves on the ground with more to come this winter.
Coming out of that same sale was another strong bull entry for a black youngster from Wiwa Creek Angus of Rush Lake, Sask. It was named Wiwa Creek Monarch 13’13, for which Cecil and Brenda Mantei of Estevan, Sask., paid $21,000.
A strong offering of females was also auctioned.
A red heifer born in January of this year sold for $26,000 to Rolling Hills Simmental and Angus of Belle Center, Ohio. Named Red Rainbow Lark 2B, it was consigned by Rainbow Red Angus of Cherhill, Alta.
A black heifer also born in January sold for $20,000 to a syndicate including Canadian Donors, Deeg Simmental of Strathmore, Alta., Reay’s Unlimited of Durham, Ont., and Rust Mountainview Ranch of Mercer, North Dakota.
It was the entry of Jennifer Jones’s Ponderosa Ranch of Lloydminster, Sask.
The live cattle sale totalled $361,350 to average $11,852.
Auctioneer Brent Carey of Stavely, Alta., who works purebred and commercial events, said he has never witnessed what is going on with this fall’s markets.
“We’re in a short supply and the cattle are worth something,” he said.
“I have seen Hereford heifers sell at $4,000, I have seen black heifers sell at $3,900, I’ve seen red heifers sell at $3,900.”
Breeding cows sell for $2,800 to $3,500.
Producers are buying packages of females, and most of them are staying in Canada to work as replacements. However, he said he didn’t know if that means expansion, considering that many producers are pushing 60.
“This probably would have happened to us in 2003 and 2004, but now we have got to the point where worldwide, the supply of cattle is way, way down, the lowest level since the early ’50s,” he said.
“It is going to be interesting to see if there is going to be a rebuild or there isn’t. Lots of guys got out and the age of the cow owner is not very young anymore.”
