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Bulls selling for top dollar at Angus auction

Black Angus bulls went for big dollars at an auction at the Calnash Ag Event Centre last week.
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Potential buyers watch as bid-taker Andrew Reeleder looks for a top bid Wednesday

Black Angus bulls went for big dollars at an auction at the Calnash Ag Event Centre last week.

Harold and Dorothy Reich, who live and farm close to Bashaw area, held their annual auction at the ag centre Wednesday, March 18 with one Angus bull selling for $11,000.

Their son Kolton Kasur was working the auction and he has never seen prices like this for cattle. “It seems to be all the sales that I’ve been to this year have been up $2,000 to $3,000 per bull,” said Kasur.

The Reich bulls are bred for their size and ability to bring a bigger animal into the herd, he explained. Ranchers looking to put extra weight into their calves in the fall usually look for these types of bulls at a sale.

“A lot of guys want that big, thick body with lots of volume and whatnot, so that it’s going to be able to pass that on to his calves,” said Kasur.

When the calves go to market a producer should expect more money for their animals as they are bought based on their weight. With global demand for beef growing and producers still catching up, buyers are willing to pay good money for the animals.

“Cattle numbers in general are down,” said Kasur.

Several years ago many producers sold their business, which has also helped create the demand. “Now there’s just not the numbers there in the countryside to produce the beef demand that there is in the world.”

Kasur said he noticed the upswing in prices last spring and they have continued to grow ever since. “Hopefully it’s here to stay.”

He is pleased to see ranchers and producers, who decided to stick it out with the industry, receiving some reward for their patience and efforts.

The average sale price at the auction was $7,923 with prices mostly in the $7,000 to $8,000 range. Kasur is also diversifying into Simmental cows at his K Three Ranch.