40 Years & Counting
Since 1982, the Sandhills Cattle Association has been hosting this contest, which makes this year our 40th year! Thank you for choosing to help us continue this tradition and be a part of the contest this year at Cottonwood Feeders near Stuart, Nebraska. We have a total of 128 calves entered in the contest this year; 82 steers and 46 heifers entered from 23 different owners. We had four owners who have generously donated steers to the Steers for Students program as well (indicated with an * before their quantity entered)!
Entries
Business/Ranch | Contact Name | City | # of Calves Entered |
Atkinson Livestock | Wes Kilmurry | Atkinson | *3 |
Bestol Masek Ranch | Dave & Brenda Masek | Purdum | 3 |
Blackford Ranch | Matt & Kristina Blackford | Thedford | *4 |
Cast Cattle Co | Jeremy & Brooke Cast | Ansley | 2 |
Circle M Ranch | Brock & Chelsie Moreland | Merriman | 12 |
E Bar D Land & Cattle | Dustin Eide | Valentine | 10 |
Embree Livestock | Josh & Rachel Embree | Long Valley, SD | 3 |
Flying D Ranch | Martin & Bree DeNaeyer | Seneca | 5 |
Johns Cattle | Frank Johns | Hemingford | 9 |
Larry O'Kief Ranch | Larry O'Kief | Wood Lake | 1 |
Licking Ranch | Wayne & Terri Licking | Thedford | 5 |
MF Ranch | Lori Bammerlin | Manhattan, KS | 2 |
MF Ranch | Denny Bammerlin | Winner, SD | 13 |
Milldale Ranch | Shaun Loughery | Stapleton | 7 |
Mundorf Ranch | Mark Mundorf | Wood Lake | 2 |
Nielsen Ranch | Greg & Jolee Nielsen | Gordon | *2 |
Steve Moreland Estate | Carol Moreland | Merriman | 12 |
Swanson Ranch | Gary Swanson | Valentine | 6 |
Triangle J Ranch | Darby & Annette Line | Miller | 6 |
Valentine Livestock | Greg Arendt | Valentine | 4 |
Walking X Ranch | Craig & Katie O'Kief | Wood Lake | *6 |
Williams & Martin LLC | Kevin Martin | Ainsworth | 6 |
Zero Hereford Ranch | David & Linda Smedra | Miller | 5 |
​ | ​ | Total Calves | 128 |
Beginning Values
On November 30, 2021, we traveled to Cottonwood Feeders to gather the beginning weights and establish beginning values. We utilize the Nebraska Weekly Summary from the Nebraska USDA (see below) to establish beginning values of the calves according to that week’s summary. The contest calls for calves to be entered at a base weight of 600 pounds, so we adjust beginning values using 600 pounds as a base weight. We then determine slides based on the values established in this report.
This year, our heifers were base-priced at $157.08 per hundredweight ($/cwt) or $942.48 per head per 600-pound heifer, with a 2¢ slide per hundred pounds over base weight, and 12¢ slide per hundred pounds under base weight.
Steers were based at $175.17 per cwt or $1,051.02 per head for a 600-pound steer, with a 3.75¢ slide per hundred pounds over base weight, and a 16.5¢ slide per hundred pounds under base weight.
Beginning Weights
Beginning weights gathered on November 30th showed heifers averaging 580 pounds, steers averaging 659 pounds, and the pen averaging 625 pounds. When we look at our five-year historical data, we can see that our entry weights have steadily increased over time (shown by the linear lines).
Weights by Phenotype
Based solely on phenotype and reported breeds, we ran a report to look at beginning weights based on ‘breed.’ This is by no means scientific and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Breed Based on Phenotype | Quantity | 11/30/21 Ave Weight | Ave Beginning Value |
Piedmontese | 1 | 584 | $928.60 |
Charolais | 27 | 607 | $1,022.30 |
Red Angus | 14 | 620 | $1,066.00 |
Black Angus | 66 | 623 | $1,068.10 |
Hereford | 5 | 639 | $1,129.20 |
Simmental | 15 | 716 | $1,170.50 |
Grant Total | 128 | 630 | $1,071.50 |
We are scheduled to run the calves back through for reimplant on March 10, 2022.
Printable Report Below
Comments