I closed the books on the 2020 calf crop today......All gone. First time ever I managed to pull off not taking anything to the stockyard. Sold the steers on superior, the heifers, just almost all private treaty, and carried a gooseneck load of odds and ends to a gentleman this morning, that backgrounds several. Very pleased with what he paid, considering it was everything that didn't fit the other two deals.
A marketing milestone
- Thread starter Bigfoot
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pricefarm
Well-known member
I still have all of my last year calf crop. Haven't decided when to sell them yet.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
I sold before Christmas. Just didn't want to feed them any.longer. I needed them on last years taxes also
Dave
Well-known member
Good deal selling that way. I like to support the local sale yards to keep them in business and an open option when needed. But not taking cattle there often means more money in my pocket.
I found that selling on Superior increases the bottom line. All the sale barns I deal with charge 4% commission. Superior charges 2%. A 2 or 3% pencil shrink is less than the shrink they do going through the sale yard. And you are exposing them to a much broader market.
I found that selling on Superior increases the bottom line. All the sale barns I deal with charge 4% commission. Superior charges 2%. A 2 or 3% pencil shrink is less than the shrink they do going through the sale yard. And you are exposing them to a much broader market.
Sounds good. How do you sell thru superior? Walk us thru it if you don't mind
OP
OP
Bigfoot
Well-known member
Well, they have two pages. A country page (which is kinda like cattle range), and the auction page. The rep lives close, so he comes and makes the videos. I assume you could take your own idk.
Honestly, where we live, not a huge huge advantage to selling there. Especially if you just sell one load a year. You get the normal oh, those cattle are from Ky, plus the huge haul bill. Buyer deducts that from bid, you just don't see it. I will probably use them in the future, but just know with where you live, there are forces working against you.
I also sold an awkward size, but I had to hold them through til 2021 rolled around.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Sold on Superior once. The rep lied to me, on several items, so it was one and done.
I walked into a local sales barn shortly after, and the auctioneer stopped the sale dead, to rant on and on about how you can not trust Superior reps who don't live in the area.... The funny part was neither the rep nor the auctioneer were trustworthy.
Called the sales barn owner the next week and negotiated a much lower commission -- $15 per head plus all the typical charges. Got to know when to hold um,
I walked into a local sales barn shortly after, and the auctioneer stopped the sale dead, to rant on and on about how you can not trust Superior reps who don't live in the area.... The funny part was neither the rep nor the auctioneer were trustworthy.
Called the sales barn owner the next week and negotiated a much lower commission -- $15 per head plus all the typical charges. Got to know when to hold um,
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What did they lie about?
Dave
Well-known member
The rep you choose is very important. And it is your choice. I would look at all the reps in your expanded area. Look up who worked with him in the past and contact them.
I sold a load through Western Video one time. Their rep came and videoed my cattle. As we walk back to the pickup I was telling him my minimum price. He said how about we save you the commission and the risk and I give you $xxx. That was $50 a head less than what I had just told him was my minimum. I should have walked away from him right there and called the office for Western. Later a good friend who plays at a much higher level in the cattle industry told me he wouldn't let that guy on his place. Live and learn. Some reps work for you and do their best to market your cattle. Others are working for themself.
I sold a load through Western Video one time. Their rep came and videoed my cattle. As we walk back to the pickup I was telling him my minimum price. He said how about we save you the commission and the risk and I give you $xxx. That was $50 a head less than what I had just told him was my minimum. I should have walked away from him right there and called the office for Western. Later a good friend who plays at a much higher level in the cattle industry told me he wouldn't let that guy on his place. Live and learn. Some reps work for you and do their best to market your cattle. Others are working for themself.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
1) I will sort off a couple head. It was more.
2) I will edit the video to not show any animals that I will sort off later. Not.
3) I will handle the cattle and the scale weight up to minimize shrink. Not.
The guy you sold to locally, will he buy 8-10 calves at a time? We are small only 25 or so calves a year now, looking to squeeze every dollar I can out of them. What area is he in?
OP
OP
Bigfoot
Well-known member
I'll message you.
Peace
Well-known member
Were there any benefits that you got by selling via Superior, other than some ammo to lower your local rates?
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
If you can fill a pot, you should get a better price than at the barn.
If you don't like the price you can refuse the bid.
You also can reduce price risk by selling a couple months early for future delivery.
Silver
Well-known member
May or may not be relevant to this conversation, but a cattle buyer told me one time that during tough years ranchers are very good at getting every available cent out of their cattle, but during the "good times" we are far more likely to leave money on the table.
Dave
Well-known member
The first one I don't understand at all. Say you have 100 calves. You consign and sell 80 of them. The rep has to sort of 20 no more no less. You sold 80. The buyer bought 80. The only thing the rep is doing is deciding which 20 to sort off.
SIL was a rep for Superior for several years. He told me that they video the cattle and send the raw video to Superior where there is a guy who does all the editing.
You and your crew can and in this case should do the vast majority of the cattle handling. The only thing the rep needs to do is decide on the cuts and record the scale weights.
