Holy cow! Wyoming and Montana bull sales up 30% from a year ago

The trend in high cattle prices continues, as bull sales in the Wyoming-Montana region are up roughly 30% from a year ago. “The sales are all up this year, anywhere you look,” said Kurt Kangas, regional manager for the American Angus Association who oversees cattle sales in Montana and Wyoming. The numbers are especially impressive because last year was also an extraordinarily good bull season.

“Every bull sale in the region has seen an increase this year,” Kangas said, adding that most bulls are selling anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 more than they did last year. Driving the prices is a tight supply combined with a big appetite for beef. As producers rebuild their herds, genetics are also becoming increasingly important.

Two Wyoming cattle companies hosted bull sales within the past week. The Sinclair Cattle Company held its spring sale on Saturday in Buffalo, selling 135 yearling bulls for an average of $7,655—an increase of about $1,200 from last year’s average price. In Glenrock on March 27, Lisco & M Diamond Angus sold 111 yearling bulls at an average cost of $10,623, an all-time record. Last year’s March sale averaged $7,168.

“It went really good,” said Brad Boner, a co-owner of Lisco & M Diamond Angus. “The quality bulls brought in maybe a little more than expected, but overall the sale was what we expected, right on track with this region and the 30% increase in prices.”

The primary buyers at bull sales are local producers, commercial cattlemen and semen stud companies. Bull semen is known in the cattle industry as “white gold,” because it allows elite genetics to be rapidly disseminated. Bulls that sell for the highest dollar amount typically go to semen companies. The Western Ag Network reported that a bull recently sold for $180,000 to a genetics company in Texas.

While bulls have typically been selling to commercial breeders for between $6,000 and $15,000, Kangas said some commercial producers will pay more if they’re planning a big heifer project or intend to breed hundreds of calves. Bulls with low birthweights and heifer bulls are particularly in high demand now. Another factor driving up prices is that producers are paying more for older slaughter bulls that in prior years would sell for under $1,000—they’re now going for $4,500 to $5,000 easily.

It’s not just bulls that are in high demand. The calf market is up by 38% compared to a year ago. “The increase this sale season has actually surprised me,” Kangas said. “I knew it would be high. But not this high.”