Do you not sell at the sale barn?

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herofan

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I've noticed that not many here speak highly of cattle bought at the sale barn. Some seem to think that's just where people unload their bad eggs. That got me to wondering, though, where do you guys "sell" your cattle? Around my area, everyone I know sells at the "sale barn", or as we call it in my neck of the woods, the "stock-pen."
 
It has been my observation over the years that most people who dislike sale barns are those people who sold cattle there at one time or another, and their cattle only brought what they were worth, not what the owners thought they were worth.
 
I would say that we sell most of our animals at the sale barn - there is no way to market the volume we produce by selling out the front gate. As well, I actually get tired of hearing people say stupid things like - we want lean beef.

Heck if you want cardboard go to the local corner store. If you want marbled, tastey beef buy from someone who actually knows what you want and knows how to produce it - buy ours at the sale barn - the order buyers sure seem to!

I get tired of dealing with folks wanting to nickle and dime the program.

In fact I am tired of cheques that bounce, cash that never arrives, broken promises and the works.

We sell at the sale barn and usually do very well.

We also BUY at the sale barn. We love complete dispersal sales as the best place to buy decent animals,

We are realistic - if the going price of a similar animal has been around a buck twenty for the past week and we are 5 cents either side of that, we got what we expected.

You want to know what my animals are worth today I can tell you - almost to the dollar - all I need to do is run her over the scale.

Best to all

Bez
 
alohacattle":1fwxhhyf said:
It has been my observation over the years that most people who dislike sale barns are those people who sold cattle there at one time or another, and their cattle only brought what they were worth, not what the owners thought they were worth.

That's about right.
 
snake67":15o6f8w9 said:
I would say that we sell most of our animals at the sale barn - there is no way to market the volume we produce by selling out the front gate. As well, I actually get tired of hearing people say stupid things like - we want lean beef.

Heck if you want cardboard go to the local corner store. If you want marbled, tastey beef buy from someone who actually knows what you want and knows how to produce it - buy ours at the sale barn - the order buyers sure seem to!

I get tired of dealing with folks wanting to nickle and dime the program.

In fact I am tired of cheques that bounce, cash that never arrives, broken promises and the works.

We sell at the sale barn and usually do very well.

We also BUY at the sale barn. We love complete dispersal sales as the best place to buy decent animals,

We are realistic - if the going price of a similar animal has been around a buck twenty for the past week and we are 5 cents either side of that, we got what we expected.

You want to know what my animals are worth today I can tell you - almost to the dollar - all I need to do is run her over the scale.

Best to all

Bez

I agree completely with everything Bez said.

Although I will add that I do sell cattle (bulls/bred cows/heifers/pairs) private treaty and do quite well. Bulls and pairs are best to sell this way, especially to practical cattlemen like Bez.
 
alohacattle":2vfq3lev said:
It has been my observation over the years that most people who dislike sale barns are those people who sold cattle there at one time or another, and their cattle only brought what they were worth, not what the owners thought they were worth.
I agree 1000%. Around here most of the cattle that are not at at a salebarn and are for sale off a farm are way over priced, so that shows what they think they are worth, and it is more than what the are worth.
 
I have bought and/or sold cattle of multiple classes on the video, the Internet, direct to feedlots, to brokers, at the sale barn and retained ownership. If done properly and things go right, all can work very well. If done improperly or things go wrong, all can be a disaster. Sale barns aren't any better or worse than any of the other options. Each avenue has its own set of positives and negatives and fits different sets of cattle and situations. I think Aloha hit the nail squarely on the head as to the root cause of the vast majority of sale barn detractors.
 
Aaron":151ecrjx said:
snake67":151ecrjx said:
I would say that we sell most of our animals at the sale barn - there is no way to market the volume we produce by selling out the front gate. As well, I actually get tired of hearing people say stupid things like - we want lean beef.

Heck if you want cardboard go to the local corner store. If you want marbled, tastey beef buy from someone who actually knows what you want and knows how to produce it - buy ours at the sale barn - the order buyers sure seem to!

I get tired of dealing with folks wanting to nickle and dime the program.

In fact I am tired of cheques that bounce, cash that never arrives, broken promises and the works.

We sell at the sale barn and usually do very well.

We also BUY at the sale barn. We love complete dispersal sales as the best place to buy decent animals,

We are realistic - if the going price of a similar animal has been around a buck twenty for the past week and we are 5 cents either side of that, we got what we expected.

You want to know what my animals are worth today I can tell you - almost to the dollar - all I need to do is run her over the scale.

Best to all

Bez

I agree completely with everything Bez said.

Although I will add that I do sell cattle (bulls/bred cows/heifers/pairs) private treaty and do quite well. Bulls and pairs are best to sell this way, especially to practical cattlemen like Bez.

Your Herfs have horns?

You have always been in the back opf my mind for a few pairs down the road a ways

Bez
 
snake67":2jgh9wap said:
Aaron":2jgh9wap said:
snake67":2jgh9wap said:
I would say that we sell most of our animals at the sale barn - there is no way to market the volume we produce by selling out the front gate. As well, I actually get tired of hearing people say stupid things like - we want lean beef.

Heck if you want cardboard go to the local corner store. If you want marbled, tastey beef buy from someone who actually knows what you want and knows how to produce it - buy ours at the sale barn - the order buyers sure seem to!

I get tired of dealing with folks wanting to nickle and dime the program.

In fact I am tired of cheques that bounce, cash that never arrives, broken promises and the works.

We sell at the sale barn and usually do very well.

We also BUY at the sale barn. We love complete dispersal sales as the best place to buy decent animals,

We are realistic - if the going price of a similar animal has been around a buck twenty for the past week and we are 5 cents either side of that, we got what we expected.

You want to know what my animals are worth today I can tell you - almost to the dollar - all I need to do is run her over the scale.

Best to all

Bez

I agree completely with everything Bez said.

Although I will add that I do sell cattle (bulls/bred cows/heifers/pairs) private treaty and do quite well. Bulls and pairs are best to sell this way, especially to practical cattlemen like Bez.

Your Herfs have horns?

You have always been in the back opf my mind for a few pairs down the road a ways

Bez

The cows don't, except for the odd stub that I miss and take off when it gets too unsightly. The bulls I usually do leave them on and train them, but I thought this bunch of bull calves last year was headed to Russia, so I took them off. I had an ad in the Ontario Hereford directory in 2010, and got a call from down that way for one single Horned Hereford cow. I told her I don't keep horns on the cows and sent her onto Maple-Dale to look for something, even though I'm not terribly fond of their cattle. I think my cows would be grateful to be sent to a much warmer climate. This continual -30 weather really tests their resolve.
 
I sell in load lots to feedlots cuts out the middle man if i do pull some calves that are not growing to suit me i will take them to a local buying station. The prices are usually 10 to 15 cents higher than the local sale barn no commission no waiting on check cattle are weighed as soon as unloaded so no shrink just an all around good way of selling. I also buy the majority of my cattle from there may cost a little more but there is very few traded cattle.
 

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