Area cattlemen gearing up for year-end sale

This Saturday should mark the final sale of 1998 at the Stratton sales yard and indications are the year will end on a high note.
Peter Spuzak, president of the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association, said yesterday he’s expecting almost 1,000 head of cattle to move through the auction ring this weekend, matching the numbers at the yearling sale there earlier this month.
“It’s mostly a calf sale,” he noted. “The calves are looking better this year. They seem to be a bit heavier.”
Spuzak said a lot of people who sold their yearlings Sept. 5 now will be looking for calves to raise over the winter. And he’s expecting the prices to be good Saturday.
“There’s a considerable amount [of farmers] looking for calves,” he remarked, noting a large number of people with the Feeders’ Finance Co-op were looking to buy at this sale.
“I’m sending all the calves I can from my herd,” he added.
Meanwhile, Spuzak said he heard a lot of positive comments from producers and buyers alike at the last sale in Stratton–and those warm feelings seem to have carried over to this one.
And because the beef market hasn’t really fluctuated in the past month, he said people seem eager to sell.
“Everybody is upbeat and in a good mood about things,” Spuzak said. “The prices are holding out good–it’s a steady market with no room for doom and gloom.
“There’s going to be strength in the calf market and there seems to be some good calves in the district,” he added. “It should be a good sale.”