No cattle

Thursday I drove to Missoula to attend their weekly livestock auction. I hadn't heard from Dan so I trusted he was going to be there.

The auction started at 10 am. I was still stiff and sore from yesterday's work hauling hay bales so I was moving a little slow in the morning.

It is 120 miles to Missoula, or a little over two hours due to the mainly two lane road twisting around Flathead Lake and through mountainous areas. The traffic didn't help matters as I got stuck behind a truck hauling a tractor, a truck hauling construction equipment, trucks hauling dirt, trucks hauling a large load of potting soil, and a truck pulling an RV trailer - and other slow pokes. Between the many stretches of 'no passing' zones, and then oncoming traffic that popped up whenever the 'no passing' zone was over, I often had to drive 10 miles under the 65 mph speed limit.

What annoys me though is the people who drive under the speed limit until there is a two lane section where people can pass. Then they speed up to 5 mph over the speed limit only to slow down to less than the speed limit once the passing zone is over. If it were up to me I would ban those people from driving.

At least the weather was nice as the sky was clear and the Swan, then the Mission Mountain Ranges were covered in snow and pretty to look at.

I arrived at the auction a little after 10 am. As the auction usually starts with the slaughter cows and bulls, I took time to go through the holding pens to see what cattle there was. The selection was poor. There were maybe 200 to 300 cattle total, and few feeder cattle. If I were to get some feeder cattle I would have to piece a herd together from ones and twos and fours at a time.

Inside I found Dan. He brought two bulls to sell. It turns out he drove down this morning. The family member who needed a ride Wednesday night changed his mind at the last minute and didn't tell Dan until late. It was a mess and Dan almost didn't come down today because of it. Dan did well selling his bulls.

I never bought any cattle. The feeder cattle that came through were mostly bull calves and I had no desire to band and castrate them. Or they were so-so quality. There were three nice red Angus heifers, but the goal is to get steers. Or if I get heifers (like last year) get them of a very similar weight and look, something hard to do when buying three here, and several there, and four there, etc.

It seems as if the ranchers are holding their cattle back a few more weeks until it is closer to grass growing. Or closer in the Bitterroot (SW Montana) where the grass is ready soon than NW Montana. Another incentive for them to wait to sell is that the market is going higher each week.

Over the lunch break Dan and I walked through the holding pens as Dan hadn't a chance to do so earlier. I met a rancher from the Bitterroot who told me he planned to bring eight 500+ lb black steers in two weeks. Just what I am looking for.

So... it looks like I'll be going down to Missoula again in a few weeks. Hopefully there will be a larger selection of feeder cattle and I can get what I want. And here I worked like a dog the day before to get the hay moved before getting any cattle.

During the drive home I was able to appreciate more the snow covered mountains as I wasn't in such a hurry. The view from Polson across the length of Flathead Lake with the snow capped mountains of the Whitefish Range and Glacier Park was gorgeous.

After I got home I fixed my barn door as I was able to get the wheel back in its track. I also planted some of my nursery trees. This was my replacement order that Four Seasons nursery sent me late last Fall after telling me they would sent the order this Spring. I ended up tossing over half the trees as they did not look like they made it through the winter. *sigh*