Cows for sale?

[Soapweed]

What is your opinion of the auctioner having someone in the crowd buying for him? These are real purchases of animals.

No problem-- if its real money and not funny money purchases/no sales.... Most the seedstock bulls/heifer sales I go to have a lot of call in/early bids... Either handled by the sale management (auctioneer/sale manager) or by the seller... I've done it often- both with the management and with the owner... Sellerss we trust (Cole Creek Angus/Whitney Creek Angus/Galpin Angus) we've called and put in a top bid... Sometimes I've told the local sales yard manager my top bid...
And they have never mistreated me...
Just like our local sale manager (Glasgow Stockyards Inc.) protects us on sick/droopy cattle- they have been great to work with by many for buying cattle....

Why do your sick and droopy calves get to the sale? Isn't it easier to spot them and drop them back at home on the morning you load?

I'd say bidding on your own cattle is a definite no-no. If a rancher tried that in this area, he'd be black-balled for a long time. Years ago I no-saled a pot-load of good black-hided steer calves. The sale barn where they were sold fairly well indicated that they would bring $1.00 per pound if they weighed 600 pounds. The cattle sold very late in the sale, way after dark, and they had shrunk to 580 pounds. They brought $91.50 per cwt, so I no-saled them and hauled them to a feed yard the next morning. By the time the dust settled and they were fed out and butchered, they brought the dollar per pound. It just took an additional five months longer to get the money. I'd have probably been just as well off had I not no-saled the calves. Even that deal tarnished my reputation for several years. Anymore whenever I consign anything to an auction, I pretty much have made up my mind to take the best bid at the time, sell what was offered, and live with the consequences. When potential buyers realize that your cattle (or horses) will sell for the top bid, they tend to pay more.

 

[Anonymous]

What is your opinion of the auctioner having someone in the crowd buying for him? These are real purchases of animals.

No problem-- if its real money and not funny money purchases/no sales.... Most the seedstock bulls/heifer sales I go to have a lot of call in/early bids... Either handled by the sale management (auctioneer/sale manager) or by the seller... I've done it often- both with the management and with the owner... Sellerss we trust (Cole Creek Angus/Whitney Creek Angus/Galpin Angus) we've called and put in a top bid... Sometimes I've told the local sales yard manager my top bid...
And they have never mistreated me...
Just like our local sale manager (Glasgow Stockyards Inc.) protects us on sick/droopy cattle- they have been great to work with by many for buying cattle....

Why do your sick and droopy calves get to the sale? Isn't it easier to spot them and drop them back at home on the morning you load?

I'd say bidding on your own cattle is a definite no-no. If a rancher tried that in this area, he'd be black-balled for a long time. Years ago I no-saled a pot-load of good black-hided steer calves. The sale barn where they were sold fairly well indicated that they would bring $1.00 per pound if they weighed 600 pounds. The cattle sold very late in the sale, way after dark, and they had shrunk to 580 pounds. They brought $91.50 per cwt, so I no-saled them and hauled them to a feed yard the next morning. By the time the dust settled and they were fed out and butchered, they brought the dollar per pound. It just took an additional five months longer to get the money. I'd have probably been just as well off had I not no-saled the calves. Even that deal tarnished my reputation for several years. Anymore whenever I consign anything to an auction, I pretty much have made up my mind to take the best bid at the time, sell what was offered, and live with the consequences. When potential buyers realize that your cattle (or horses) will sell for the top bid, they tend to pay more.

SOAP-- the calves are usually rounded up- sorted- and hauled to the salesyard the day before...And even tho given a double round of all shots-- sometimes you have a calf that after being stressed is droopy eared the next day.... Sometimes depends on the weather....

Some other issues I've seen affect a sale which called for no-sales is when the day BSE hit Canada or the day it hit the US- or a couple of other illness scares (like FMD)- and the calves already hauled to the stockyards lost hundreds of dollars in value overnight...I have no problem with those folks going in no-saling them- and taking them home until the all the issues came to light and the market again leveled out....
And I don't think I know of a buyer one that didn't respect them for it...

 

[Faster horses]

What is your opinion of the auctioner having someone in the crowd buying for him? These are real purchases of animals.

No problem-- if its real money and not funny money purchases/no sales.... Most the seedstock bulls/heifer sales I go to have a lot of call in/early bids... Either handled by the sale management (auctioneer/sale manager) or by the seller... I've done it often- both with the management and with the owner... Sellerss we trust (Cole Creek Angus/Whitney Creek Angus/Galpin Angus) we've called and put in a top bid... Sometimes I've told the local sales yard manager my top bid...
And they have never mistreated me...
Just like our local sale manager (Glasgow Stockyards Inc.) protects us on sick/droopy cattle- they have been great to work with by many for buying cattle....

Why do your sick and droopy calves get to the sale? Isn't it easier to spot them and drop them back at home on the morning you load?

I'd say bidding on your own cattle is a definite no-no. If a rancher tried that in this area, he'd be black-balled for a long time. Years ago I no-saled a pot-load of good black-hided steer calves. The sale barn where they were sold fairly well indicated that they would bring $1.00 per pound if they weighed 600 pounds. The cattle sold very late in the sale, way after dark, and they had shrunk to 580 pounds. They brought $91.50 per cwt, so I no-saled them and hauled them to a feed yard the next morning. By the time the dust settled and they were fed out and butchered, they brought the dollar per pound. It just took an additional five months longer to get the money. I'd have probably been just as well off had I not no-saled the calves. Even that deal tarnished my reputation for several years. Anymore whenever I consign anything to an auction, I pretty much have made up my mind to take the best bid at the time, sell what was offered, and live with the consequences. When potential buyers realize that your cattle (or horses) will sell for the top bid, they tend to pay more.

Soapweed, I have the utmost respect for you for always tellin' it like it is.

 

[gcreekrch]

Having an order buyer as a close personal friend is good market security. If something doesn't bring market price and the auction market knows what is going on the odd calf can be bought back and everything looks legit. :wink:

 

[George]

At our little local sale barn the auction clerk ( also a county local commissioner ) buys most all the calves coming thru the ring the first time, then they go back and get resorted and come back thru and the order buyers buy them the second time thru.

After the sale the buyers and the clerk get together at the local tavern and split the money the clerk made by the run around. It has been going on for at least 40 years but it seems nobody except me has been able to figure it out.

You will never see the order buyers ( three are here each week ) bid first time around - - - if you want to just set in the back and watch what is going on I feel it should be criminal but maybe not.

 

[Faster horses]

Around here if you go in as an independent buyer (except when buying bred stuff) and bid against the order buyers, they'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget. Most of the ranchers buying calves give the order buyer his order. It's much less expensive!!

 

[Hay Feeder]

I have been selling private treaty.
Anything here going through a auction is resold and mixed over and over again so the first buyer has to buy cheap shrunk farm fresh cattle. Cows included.

 

[3 M L & C]

It sounds to me like some of you need to find a new place to sell your cattle. I live in mostly farm country and there is still a bunch of decent sale barns within a reasonable distance to go to. If you think the sale barn is hosing you go somewhere else.

 

[Hay Feeder]

It sounds to me like some of you need to find a new place to sell your cattle. I live in mostly farm country and there is still a bunch of decent sale barns within a reasonable distance to go to. If you think the sale barn is hosing you go somewhere else.

At least 50 percent if not more of the orders here are from Kansas buyers , these cattle make their final address in Kansas maybe one of your markets near you !!!

 

[3 M L & C]

Maybe a feedyard near here. We are very rural here, not very many people sales are not that big. If someone is a cattle trader, it's known for quite a ways. Reputation is what sells people cattle here. When a sale report come out you know before even going to the sale barn whether or not you are going to bid on them.

 

[gcreekrch]

Around here if you go in as an independent buyer (except when buying bred stuff) and bid against the order buyers, they'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget. Most of the ranchers buying calves give the order buyer his order. It's much less expensive!!

That lesson can be played 2 ways. :wink:

 

[George]

After I saw what was going on their I go and watch the cattle sell then I offer mine private treaty at the price the best brought at the sale barn - - - this has worked for over 10 years and this year I had 3 offers that I told the previous buyer had the right of refusal on. The same guy bought them as he feels with the way I wean, and get them started he gets a good deal.

I do not try to hold him up but I intend to get paid a fair price - - - I condition the calves 2 weeks prior to weaning to go thru a creep gate and receive a little grain, then when I wean the calves stay there on good alfalfa hay and the grain gradually increases for 3 more weeks.

The buyer pays for vet services on the calves ( I still pay for the cows ) and gets very calm calves that are used to people, dogs and feed.

 

[4Diamond]

I agree sounds like some need to find a different place or method of marketing cattle.

Auctioneer at a small barn close to us use to take bids from the rafter and he bought many from the block. He was the barn owner and lets just say he took a bath in that barn before it was over. Some sharp guys made him pay dearly...Barn has since closed.

 

[ANGUS327]

Around here if you go in as an independent buyer (except when buying bred stuff) and bid against the order buyers, they'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget. Most of the ranchers buying calves give the order buyer his order. It's much less expensive!!

That lesson can be played 2 ways. :wink:

Youv'e got that right!! I have no problem bidding against order buyers, I can quit bidding just as easy as they can and I don't have explain to anybody why I paid what I did for those cattle.