Can you even BELIEVE that!!!...

This post was actually written on Tuesday, but have been trying *unsuccessfully* to upload photos since that time. This post has no photos at this time.

Yesterday, we had a family outing (sans Pepper) to the courthouse to support some of our friends.
The court appearance finished up much earlier than we'd thought it would so we had the rest of the day to ourselves, when, out of the blue, it occurred to me that the cattle sales were on! YAY! And they started in just half an hour!! So we quickly went and got a cool drink (it was very hot!) and a quick bite to eat and then headed out to the saleyards.

The cattle sales are only on once every two weeks (as opposed to the calf sales which are on every Wednesday) and I rarely have the opportunity to attend. What a wonderful day we had!!

We are extremely lucky to live where we do. Most of the surrounding properties, and EVERYWHERE in the surrounding areas are very dry/ have no feed for their cattle. We, on the other hand, have a constant water supply and long, green grass. We have not overstocked our property and thus we could potentially do with buying more head (of cattle) at relatively low prices (as everyone else is shedding their herds to keep up with the amount of feed available in their paddocks).

We picked a couple of pens that we really liked, and a couple that 'would do'. The 'would do' pens sold first, so we were able to get an idea of what the sale prices would be like for the rest of the day. Good sized weaners were going for as little as $140-$165 (each) so the day looked VERY promising!! :) Keeping in mind that last Summer we paid around $170 for Emily as a baby, baby calf, and then had to bottle feed her for a few months, which pushes the price right up! (I think we only paid around $80 for Patrick - goes to show, you get what you pay for! LOL)

We then drifted around the pens to make sure we hadnt missed any 'ideal' pens, but Im positive we'd already found them. Husband kept picking ones that were far from not exactly what we were after, but it was good to watch and see what they went for anyway.

We went for another cool drink and then sat over in the bleachers to watch the Live Weight sales for a bit, as there was going to be a little wait until our pens sold. What a welcome relief from the sun! As we hadnt planned on going to the sales, we were in church/court clothes and had no hats! Silly, I know!!

After a bit, we glanced over to the pens to see that they were starting on the row that 'our' pens were in! EEK! So we rushed back over there...and then had to wait another 15 minutes for them to actually start on our first pen.

The first pen was a group of twenty 2-year-old bulls. Brahman. Greys. Very well bred! There was one in particular that I had my eye on - he looked just like Little Grey Bull when he was younger i.e. his full colour hadnt come out yet, but you could see what he'd end up looking like once he'd matured. Michael took a photo of him, so I should grab his phone and download the photo before I post this!

Ok, after trying for DAYS to upload photos of the 2 pens, I have decided to forgo the pictures as my internet is stupid :(

Although I had hinted repeatedly that I 'LOVED' this particular bull (and secretly hoped that Husband would take the hint and go register!) I didnt actually tell Michael to go register because I was stupid and prideful! *GRRRR* Darned pride!!!

The short story is that approximately half the pen went for ONLY $130, and the other half (including my favourite) went for $115!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you even BELIEVE that price???

For comparison, a bag of milk powder costs $106. WHY THE HECK AM I WASTING MY TIME WITH BOTTLE FEEDING???

One bull was sold separately, as he was missing a muscle in his hip. As in, he wasnt mauled by a dingo - there was no scarring, but he was literally missing that muscle. He went for $100. Heck! I could have put him in the freezer for cheaper than the cost of beef these days!

We had a couple of pens before our other favourite pen was selling, so we *wisely* spent it conversing about how silly we were Michael was for not registering! The other pen was a group of 15 heifers/young cows who were of an age to either just be in calf, or would be in calf this coming season. Although I didnt love any of them particularly, they were equally well bred. There was only one crazy in there, but for the cost of them, I would have taken her too, and also dumped her in the freezer! They went for...wait for it...$150 each!!!!! What the??? Again, Can you even BELIEVE that price???

To put it bluntly, we would have tripled our money on these cattle (including the bulls) if we'd bought them and then sold them again within 3 months. And we would have REALLY made some money if we'd held on to them until the *next* wet season. Darned stupid pride!!!

Both pens were by the same breeder so Im desperately trying to track his brand so I can make contact and beg for more of his cattle!!

Suffice it to say, we were incredibly stupid in not registering (or getting the hint and doing it once the bull pen sold, so that we'd be registered in time for the heifers!) so we're praying for no rain for the next 13 days in the hopes that prices will still be rock-bottom in time for the next sale!
(At this point I'd like to add that I've spent the last 6 days praying for no rain so that we could pick up a couple of bargain weaners at the calf sales, but to heck with that when I can get a fully grown, quality bred cow/bull for cheaper!)

Upon leaving the saleyards, I looked up the weather forcast for the coming week...Tuesday = rain, Wednesday = rain, Thursday = rain, Friday = rain...and so on :( Stupid pride!!

Approximately every 10 minutes after leaving the saleyards, either Husband or I would say to the other: I cant even BELIEVE those prices!!!

So although I feel sorry for those Primary Producers that are doing it tough without the rain, and are clearly losing money by sending their stock to market right now...please help us out and pray for no rain for the next 13 days for us!! :)
(Light drizzle would be fine, just no heavy rain!)