Blackfoot Cattle Auction

Record high prices for beef at the auction barn are in a speedy downward spiral. Cattle producers knew it was coming but just didn't know when. Blackfoot Livestock Auction owner Sarah Erb describes what she thinks is going on. “I think it is just an adjustment. We have seen prices at the highest they have been for a long time. We knew it would happen, weren’t sure when. This is usually the time of year when it does start to fall a little bit but it dropped quite drastically, more than we thought it would and it still is, but I think it is going to go back up.” Producer Jennifer Cook keeps a close eye on the market. With all the highs and the lows, we wondered how she would categorize this year? The prices are dropping this year and hopefully they don’t drop too far. Are they below last year’s level? Yes. Definitely below last year’s.” On the flip side of the Cook Ranch with plenty of hay inventory, husband Todd is looking to buy more mother cows to feed off the hay, deliver the new bounty of calves in the spring and improve his herd numbers. “We are up to 70 this year and hopefully by the middle of the winter we will have bought a few more and maybe break that hundred mark.” Buying or selling, auctioneer Lonnie Hatch sums it up best: “The cattle that they bought last spring to go to grass with are not working on today’s market so I don't know what’s going to happen, and I don’t think anybody does.