BC":13ee9nac said:I don't own a sale barn, but take exception to your term "crappy sale barn". Most markets have enough buying power that animals bring all they are worth on that particular day. If you want to sell directly off the farm, I would suggest that if you live close enough to an order buyer that you may contact them and see if they will buy your calves. Your calves won't bring anymore per pound than they would at the sale ( an order buyer is trying to put together cattle for his customer and has to deliver those at a set price), but you will not be out the commission.
either way the calves will bring what they're worth. but i would add that sold off the farm, generally the order buyer knows in advance what the asking price is for the calves, if he/she shows up to view the calves you already know he's willing to pay the asking price. another plus (at least in our case) when we sold off the farm, the truck and calves were weighed at a local MFA not 10 miles from the homeplace. there was essentially no shrink figured in the final price.
ROB