Jonas King Annual Mule Sale was not exactly as many had of hoped for; however, it was predicted and expected by a few. The answer is quiet simple .... let the numbers do the talking.
As all colt producers experienced, about 4 years ago, the mule colt market was over whelmed with nearly double the mule colts than traders were used to seeing. Buyers stepped up to the plate and nearly all of the, near 750, mule colts were bought.
The breeders took a set back on the price of colts that October.
Here we are, about three years later. Guess what, the market is over whelmed with three-year-olds. Every sale was up in consignments which made sales run longer. This in turn affected prices as well with many farmers leaving for home around 3:00 pm to meet their evening milking and feeding schedule
There was really no way to prevent the extra three-year-olds from entering the market. In the back of everyone's mind, they knew the extra stock had to surface and January 2026 was the year.
Did the averages go down, yes.
Did every mule sold loose money, no.
The overall average on the three-year-olds at the Jonas King sale was off between $1500 and $2000 dollars per head. After getting over the initial shock of the price drop, most traders grabbed a pencil and did some quick number crunching.
The profit margin was not as much as many had hoped; but a very few percentage lost money.
A positive note for the mule market, was the fact, colts were purchased in full at nearly each sale. There was very few no sales in the colts.
Another positive step, the traders sold ninety percent of the three-year-olds consigned at the slightly lower prices. There was a new colt sale in Indiana during October and a new sale in Center Hall PA is scheduled for February 10th. These two sales are potential new outlets to help buyers and consignors.
Jonas King sale had over 440 mules consigned. The weanling / yearling colts averaged a tad over $3350. A few two-year-olds made their way to the sale ring, they were smaller and the price reflected it with an average of $4500.
The three-year-olds made up over thirty percent of the sale. The overall average of three-year-olds was right at $7250. The four-year-olds stepped up to $8800 on the average.
The top five mules averaged $11200 and top ten $10580. The top five teams averaged $18250.
Bottom line .... yes prices were slightly down across the board.
Now here is a couple of questions for each to roll around in their head. 1) Are prices now sufficient to keep the breeders on a profit margin? 2) Will the traders of the three-year-olds adjust their budgets to take a little of the slack as well? 3) Will spreading out the stock across other avenues and sale locations help everyone involved?
Online subscribers will have access to pictures and specific prices in the 'sweetfeed' section shortly.