Comment from a student:     The last 4 months of the year were interesting with respect to the cattle markets and marketing. By focusing on the cornerstone of your marketing method [buy the under valued and sell the over valued and let the market tell you what to do]  we were able to replace our cattle off grass with lighter cattle.  Early in the fall the steer heifer spread was wide so we were buying   60% strs to 40% heifers.  As the over all price of calves went up that price gap narrowed and we went to 90-95% strs.   Calf prices continued to rise, we were selling calves and replacing them with lighter calves.  By the middle of November calf prices were high enough to let us sell calves and trade for solid mouth May calving cows[one for one]. This  let us still get the best calf buys and finish loads with cows.  Lately cow prices have shot up so it looks like we will sell cows and replace with calves , our winter fed bill paid and profit in the bank.  The moral of the story is to have confidence in  using the principles of Bud’s marketing regardless of price direction.   It can be just as hard to sell in a down market as it is to buy in an up market.  In the last 2 years we have become more willing to shift our inventory from  calves to cows and vise-versa, taking advantage of the price spread between the two. This year bred cow values lagged the price increase in calves.  Creating opportunity.            Thanks for opening our eyes, your friends . . . .