STOCKTON, Mo. – “People are enjoying high cattle prices, and the 57th Southwest Missouri Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program sale on May 16 at Joplin Regional Stockyards near Carthage was no different,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist. Eight consignors sold 124 heifers for a record average price of $4,010 per heifer. Gross sales were $497,240, which was similar to the November 2018 sale when 311 heifers sold for an average price of $1,586 per heifer and led to $493,400 in gross sales. The November 2018 sale sold 2.5 times more heifers to get gross sales similar to the current sale.

A University of Tennessee guide reported that fall-calving heifers sold in May were 2.5 times the value of a 550-pound feeder heifer. When comparing the current sale’s bred heifer prices to feeder heifer prices in the previous Monday sale at Joplin Regional Stockyards, the average bred heifer was 2.2 times the value of a 550-pound feeder heifer.

“A longtime consignor had the highest average and record-selling lot,” says Davis. Nolan Kleiboeker Farm LLC, of Wentworth, Mo., sold the top-selling lot of four black baldie heifers for $5,800 per heifer. This exceeded the previous record priced lot of $4,500 per heifer, which was set in the November 2024 sale by Storie Farms of Conway, Mo. Kleiboeker Farm sold 10 lots, which included 34 heifers, for an average price of $4,772. Furthermore, this consignor had four lots that sold for $5,000 or more per heifer. This was the only consignor who had a lot sell for $5,000 or more per heifer.

“Old and new buyers bought the most heifers in the sale,” says Davis. A&K Farms of Seneca, Mo., which had bought in two previous sales, bought 17 heifers, which was the most in the current sale. New sale buyer Debra Seufert of Wentworth, Mo., purchased 16 heifers. Ray Brattin of Pineville, Mo., purchased 14 heifers in his fourth sale.

Longtime sale consignor and SMS program participant Kenneth Mast with Mast Farms of Lamar, Mo., says, “This is a great program that is helpful in selection of quality replacement heifers that can be retained or marketed through the program.” Mast said the program has caused him to implement the prebreeding exam on all heifers that he plans to retain and to cull those heifers that are unacceptable in reproductive soundness and pelvic area size, which reduces production cost and improves operation profitability.

For more information on the SMS program or future program sales in southwestern Missouri, contact one of these MU Extension livestock specialists:

• Patrick Davis – 417-276-3313, davismp@missouri.edu
• Andy McCorkill – 417-345-7551, mccorkilla@missouri.edu
• Ian McGregor – 417-466-3102, ian.mcgregor@missouri.edu