The market may rise and fall but the traditions hold steady. You can feel the energy in the air this spring, like the whole industry is catching its second wind. Bull sales are posting historical highs, with record-setting averages at nearly every sale. From long-established programs to up-and-coming breeders, bulls are in demand and buyers are willing to invest in new genetics. And with another month of bull sales left across the central Plains, I fully expect the trend to continue.
But it’s not just the bulls. Feeder calf prices remain strong, and all classes of cattle are holding their value. Optimism is back, and it’s not just showing up in market reports, it’s alive in the conversations at sale barns, around brandings and over black coffee in every café from the Sandhills to the Flint Hills. The buzz I wrote about last year hasn’t faded; if anything, it’s grown louder.
This market isn’t just good, it’s rejuvenating. And in a business where we weather our fair share of storms, that kind of momentum means a lot.
Meanwhile, April marks a turning point in the year for cattlemen and women. For some, calving is just the beginning. For others, it’s the halfway mark or even winding down. But for many, April means branding season is in full swing. It’s the time when neighbors gather and horses are fresh and start to get legged up for the spring cow work.
You can almost feel that chill in the air, the kind that cuts through you before the sun rises but gives way to dust, sweat and sunshine as the day wears on. You can hear the creak of leather, the bellow of a cow searching for her calf, the quiet confidence of a seasoned horse under a skilled hand. There’s no other season quite like it.
Branding is more than just a task. It’s a tradition, a rite of spring that brings communities together. Family, friends and neighbors all lend a hand. Kids learn by watching and helping, just like their parents once did. Meals are shared, stories are told and calves are branded as part of a legacy that often spans generations.
There’s a rhythm to the work: riders heading out across the pasture, calves dragged to the fire, wrestlers holding steady and vaccines delivered with precision. Everyone knows their role, and yet there’s always room for a smile, a good-natured jab or a memory shared between loops. Then there is the occasional fresh young horse feeling his oats and causing a brief moment of chaos.
For a ranching family, few sights are more meaningful than watching those they care about help work the herd they’ve poured heart, sweat and sleepless nights into. It’s a reminder that this way of life, though not easy, is deeply rewarding. It’s the kind of day that sticks with you long after the dust settles.
And this year, with historical record high prices, there’s an extra sense of pride in that calf crop. Those long nights checking heifers, the early mornings feeding cows, saddling in the dark, all add up to something worthwhile. Something lasting.
Spring is always a season of hope, but this year it feels especially strong. We’ve got market strength, renewed optimism and the same unshakable traditions that define the backbone of the cattle industry.
As poet D.W. Groethe wrote in “When Spring Breaks on the Prairie”:
But as the days reach longer
Your spirit starts to grow.
The sun beats down the snowbanks
The cricks begin to flow.
Your thoughts’ll drift to brandin’
Then maybe mowin’ hay.
The first warm breeze of summer
Really ain’t so far away.
Here’s to good cattle, great people and a season that reminds us where we come from and why we do what we do. — TY GROSHANS
