Getting a head start

[Warren Allison]

When calves are sold in a group, they are also weighed in the group. No individual weights. They are sorted into groups of calves of similar weight, and then the whole group is sold with the average weight and total announced. It is similar to what you might see on Superior Auction. They are able to sell thousands of calves in a day that way. Many of the calves arrive at the auction with the seller already having them sorted in groups of similar weight, but any outliers can be pulled out before they go in the ring. A pot load of calves will always sell better than individuals.

I know, I watch auctions all over the country every day online. I was saying how it works down here. The scales are at the door of the chute that leads to the entrance door. It is narrow so a cow can't turn around. IF you brought 50 similar size steers and wanted to sell them as a group, they would be weighed one at a time, and held in the ring til you had it full. And none would hold 50 anyhow. Maybe 20.

 

[farmerjan]

Most head cows here are also weighed... didn't used to be... but with the prices of cull/pound cows so high... if the cow is not bringing as much as she should by the head, the auctioneer will often switch and sell her by the lb... to get the best price... and if the weight is listed even when selling by the head, then a quick conversion in your head will tell you that she is bringing pound price.
And have seen some cows with small calves, to be sold as pairs, that they will split also since the calves are worth a kings ransom... get 1800 for a pair but split the cow could bring 12-1500 at pound price and the calf is worth 7-1,000 by the head... CRAZY.

 

[Warren Allison]

Most head cows here are also weighed... didn't used to be... but with the prices of cull/pound cows so high... if the cow is not bringing as much as she should by the head, the auctioneer will often switch and sell her by the lb... to get the best price... and if the weight is listed even when selling by the head, then a quick conversion in your head will tell you that she is bringing pound price.
And have seen some cows with small calves, to be sold as pairs, that they will split also since the calves are worth a kings ransom... get 1800 for a pair but split the cow could bring 12-1500 at pound price and the calf is worth 7-1,000 by the head... CRAZY.

The sale barn in Athens, Ga, sells pairs sort of like that. They will weigh the cow and let her in the ring, and sell her by the pound. Then they weigh the calf and let it in the ring, where it is sold by the pond. Then the total of the 2 prices are added up. Say the cow brought $1200 by the pound, and the calf brought $800. They would then auction the pair, and the opening bid the auctioneer asks for is $25 higher, Starting bid on that pair would be $2025. However they bring the most is how they are sold. Now Calhoun doesn't do that. A pair is sold by the head. The winning bidder might tell; them to put the calf in the weigh pen, or the cow in the weigh pen, or both. The Calhoun sale would get paid 3 times on that pair, where as the Athens sale, only gets paid once.

 

[Travlr]

They will weigh the cow and let her in the ring, and sell her by the pound. Then they weigh the calf and let it in the ring, where it is sold by the pond. Then the total of the 2 prices are added up. Say the cow brought $1200 by the pound, and the calf brought $800. They would then auction the pair, and the opening bid the auctioneer asks for is $25 higher, Starting bid on that pair would be $2025. However they bring the most is how they are sold.

?

Now Calhoun doesn't do that. A pair is sold by the head. The winning bidder might tell; them to put the calf in the weigh pen, or the cow in the weigh pen, or both. The Calhoun sale would get paid 3 times on that pair, where as the Athens sale, only gets paid once.

I'd have to see it to believe it...

 

[Warren Allison]

?



I'd have to see it to believe it...

Let's say you brought that pair mentioned above to Athens. . Say Kenny bid the $1200 on the cow by the pound, and Murray bid the $800 on the calf by the pound.. They would then offer the pair by the head...opening bid would be $2025. If I bid the $2025 and bought her, you get a check for $2025 minus the sale barn commission. Or, if I didn't, you get a check for $1200 and $800, minus the commission. Sale barn either made commission on $2000, or on $2025.

Say you carried that pair to Calhoun, and they brought ..whatever... say $2k by the head , and I bought them. You'd get a check for $2k minus commission. Now, when I bought them, I told the auctioneer to put them in the weigh pen. Say the cow brought the $1200 by the pound, and the calf brought $800 by the pound. I'd get a check for $2k .minus the commissions on the 2 sales by the pound. Calhoun got commission on $4k worth of sales. That is why a lot of people haul pairs to Athens. It is the best scenario for the seller.

 

[Travlr]

Let's say you brought that pair mentioned above to Athens. . Say Kenny bid the $1200 on the cow by the pound, and Murray bid the $800 on the calf by the pound.. They would then offer the pair by the head...opening bid would be $2025. If I bid the $2025 and bought her, you get a check for $2025 minus the sale barn commission. Or, if I didn't, you get a check for $1200 and $800, minus the commission. Sale barn either made commission on $2000, or on $2025.

Say you carried that pair to Calhoun, and they brought ..whatever... say $2k by the head , and I bought them. You'd get a check for $2k minus commission. Now, when I bought them, I told the auctioneer to put them in the weigh pen. Say the cow brought the $1200 by the pound, and the calf brought $800 by the pound. I'd get a check for $2k .minus the commissions on the 2 sales by the pound. Calhoun got commission on $4k worth of sales. That is why a lot of people haul pairs to Athens. It is the best scenario for the seller.

The original post made it sound like the auction was selling animals two different ways to get the best price for the original seller... and charging them three times due to being in the ring and being sold both ways and with animals paired and split...

So a cattle trader put in the mix and having them run through separated makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Warren Allison]

The original post made it sound like the auction was selling animals two different ways to get the best price for the original seller... and charging them three times due to being in the ring and being sold both ways and with animals paired and split...

So a cattle trader put in the mix and having them run through separated makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

Every other sale barn I have been to does it like Calhoun. Say a newbie or a hobby farmer has a 12 yr old, 1200 lb cow, with a 400 lb black polled steer calf. The cow looks good to them, calf looks good so they tell the guys when they unload to sel them by the head. Well the people there looking for brood cow replacements, don't really want a 12 yr old cow. That pair brings $2500. Whoever bought it figured the 1200 lb cow would bring $1.50 in the weigh pen, and the calf would bring $3. So he has them split and re-sold by the pound, and he gets $3k doing in that way. Original owner is watching and says to himself: "Dang, I should have sold them by the pound. " Well, at Athens, you don't have to know the best way to sell them... the barn does that for you. The original owner gets the best deal he could have gotten that day, either way. No way for brokers to make money, and this barn doesn't make as much as the other ones do, but people take more pairs to Athens, because they feel it offers them the fairest deal.

 

[Ebenezer]

The original post made it sound like the auction was selling animals two different ways to get the best price for the original seller... and charging them three times due to being in the ring and being sold both ways and with animals paired and split...

So a cattle trader put in the mix and having them run through separated makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

He's telling it like it is.

 

[Travlr]

Every other sale barn I have been to does it like Calhoun. Say a newbie or a hobby farmer has a 12 yr old, 1200 lb cow, with a 400 lb black polled steer calf. The cow looks good to them, calf looks good so they tell the guys when they unload to sel them by the head. Well the people there looking for brood cow replacements, don't really want a 12 yr old cow. That pair brings $2500. Whoever bought it figured the 1200 lb cow would bring $1.50 in the weigh pen, and the calf would bring $3. So he has them split and re-sold by the pound, and he gets $3k doing in that way. Original owner is watching and says to himself: "Dang, I should have sold them by the pound. " Well, at Athens, you don't have to know the best way to sell them... the barn does that for you. The original owner gets the best deal he could have gotten that day, either way. No way for brokers to make money, and this barn doesn't make as much as the other ones do, but people take more pairs to Athens, because they feel it offers them the fairest deal.

Yeah... I get it now. What you said before was unclear.