A valuable lesson?

[grassfarmer]

I agree farmers_son that some of the newer ways of selling are a big improvement on selling through the ring. Be careful though because they tend to cream of the better calves in bigger lots. What happened in the UK (largely with fatstock not feeders) was that the buyers prefered to buy on the electronic / sattlelite sales but they based their prices on the poor cattle that were still being sold through the auction ring, the odds and ends and ones and two's. It's another way to fix a lower market price.
Surviving producers certainly will need "improved marketing" skills - the marketing out here in the western fringe is very poor on average. I see guys selling 40 calves and their first pen contains 3 animals. Again it reflects on their general management ability - whether they have a herd or a "gather up" of cows, whether they calf year round, whether they are too lazy to dehorn or castrate bull calves.
I think many producers see marketing as fitting into the "management" side of their operation and we know that most love to centre on "production" not "management" skills.
Horse, If I work for 12 months to produce calves damn straight the auctioneer will take time to read out information on my cattle - that is why I pay for their marketing services. If they don't I'll go elsewhere to sell.

[Horse]

I am sure they will read out a limited speach especialy if they have a garante on the calves but surley you dont expect to have owners telling stories ,it would be like a horse sale where they sell app 40 horses an hour, divide that into 4or6000 head and you see what I mean ,it sounded like you thought you could do the sorting there again no way , Did you ever watch a bull selection comite work, or talk to producers that sold on a pre sort sale and everyone will agree that the sort was not fair.
As for auctioners asking who the owner is lots of time if he took the time to read the manifest he could tell a lot more about the cattle . I have seen cattle sold under the name of the past owner who sold to an agent 6 mo to a yr prior but it dosent look good to sell under the marts name.
Finaly as for comission it wouldnt be so bad if there was just one com but try buying at most marts and the buyers will run you just so it is cheaper in the long run to pay the $5 and let them buy for you unless they have a high bid on some calves then guess who gets those calves, I dont think an agent can operate in the best intrests for both seller and buyer.

[kpb]

If you can put a decent sized lot together of pretty uniform animals I think selling on the TEAM is the best since you get to approve the sale price before they leave your ranch. Also, you don't have to pay freight. But you have to have a good sized lot.
I've bought and sold on the TEAM and, for selling, I like the ability to approve the sale price and I like being able to stay in front of my computor and watch the sale.
But it's even better on the buy side since I can buy a good bunch of weaned calves and know they're all coming from the same place with no auction mart mixing in between. That is worth a lot to me from a health point of view--buying from the pre-sorts, which I also do, is a pure crap shoot in terms of health issues--sometimes it works ok, othertimes not.
So, from a buying point of view, also, I think the TEAM is the best and quite a bit better than an auction market. And I also find that I don't generally pay up for these calves.

[cowman]

Well perhaps you are all right and the local auction mart is going to go the way of the dinosaur....hmmm...come to think of it so is the small cattleman!
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted! A great place to see and talk with the near and not so near neighbors! And to see what everyone else was raising.
But then I guess no one should be surprized. It seems we are slowly but surely moving towards a system just like how most other livestock are bred,raised and marketed. Efficiency is never wrong I guess? Hope there is more money in it for the producer, though?

[PureCountry]

JD4ME, I agree with your comments about auction houses. The services are the same as they were years ago, but the commission, admin. fees, brand inspection fees, ABP/CCA bullshit fees, just keep going up. When I was little, field reps would come out and look at our calves, stopping in at every cow/calf operation on our road. Now, the only place they go to is their buddies or those who have a couple hundred calves. We're all just expected to take our cattle to them. What a crock!!

It's just one more reason I'm so glad I found a direct-marketing outfit to get involved with. I know that when my Galloway-cross calves are ready, someone will be here- AT MY FARM - to negotiate a fair price and line up the trucks.

[kato]

Remember a few years ago when we actually had local grain elevators? You could sow a bit of this and a bit of that, and then sell it. Not now. If you don't have a semi load of grain, it's pretty hard to move. Find a trucker who will come to the yard for 200 bushels of canola. Not going to happen.

This is the future of the cattle business if there are no auction marts. Gone will be the days of small herds and selectively marketing your livestock. It's already happened in the hog business. Weanling sales just don't exist any more. To the detriment of a lot of small farmers.

We have a fair number of cattle, but still like to be flexible in how we sell them. For the auction mart, we'll sort groups of extremely uniform calves and sell them over the space of a month or two. We've found it's better to sell a dozen at a time than it is to take the whole works to town at once, and be at the mercy of one afternoon's market. We'd much rather spread the risk than hit a bad sale and have a whole year's calf crop take a hit.

Sometimes we sell direct from the yard, as short keeps, or calves, or we feed all out, or some out, it all depends on the markets, and where the returns are best.

Once they are gone, they're not coming back, and it's another year before you get another crack at it.

Auction marts have their place, as do private sales, internet and feeding to finish. It's important that we have as many choices as possible in how we market our cattle. We have never moved our calf crop in the same way two years in a row. We need to be allowed flexibility in order to stay ahead of the game, and keeping those old sale barns running is part of it.

[cowman]

Purecountry: Just wondering what kind of a deal are you getting? Weights and dollars if you please? Not trying to be ignorant...just interested if there might be a better way?

[grassfarmer]

Purecountry, I'm disappointed with the auction companies here compared to their importance in the UK. As you say livestock procurement is something they need to work on constantly.I've had reps here promise to visit and don't, reps that get your cattle one year and don't come looking for them the next. I also notice their lack of presence at farming events, cattle expositions etc. In Scotland most of these events took place in the auctions as we didn't have agriplexes there. The auction staff were involved organising them and were closer to the customers that way. We took a Luing bull to the Rimbey bull and heifer show a couple of years ago and not one of the auction staff was at the event all day - that amazed me. Yet when you go to the auction they are always blowing their trumpet and saying you must support them at your local market. It works both ways, I say.

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer did you attend the Beef Industry Conference in Red Deer last year. It is being held again this year and the Auction Markets Association are one of th organizations that are involved in it. There is an open forum during the event where anyone can ask questions of each organization. Some of the postings here regarding auction markets would make good questions for the executive of that organization at the conference.

[grassfarmer]

The Beef Industry Conference is at the Capri Centre in Red Deer February 17-19

[grassfarmer]

Emrald1, I'm afraid I don't get to all day events very often - problem of being a one man band. I find it frustrating not to be able to go but at the same time I feel better in touch with what is happening on the land - so many of these organisations and events are run by a bunch of "away day" men that don't have their finger on the pulse of what is happening on the land.

[grassfarmer]

The Alberta Government News releases today indicates that there is to be a public consultation process in January regarding the possibilit of amending the regulations governing Auction Markets etc.
These public meetings are to be held across the province and will take place in the evening to accommodate the folks who are busy in the daytime.
I am planning on attending the one in Airdrie.