Dogs and Cows":o9svsfrb said:
Randi, you run a box of crayons lol! My question, do you take a hit when selling calves where you are due to the different colors? Not criticizing...your calves and cows look awesome! Just curious, because around here it would be an issue. Are you in Canada?
Tim
Short answer, no. Although some colors sell for a bit less than others.
Long answer... most of our calves are actually, tan. We will keep almost all the red and black heifers for replacements, but of course there are a few red , black and grey steers.
Now, the real reason we don't get docked on the different colours, is called "Presort" Calf Sales. And they are very common up here in Canada, in the fall (when most calves are sold).
So Presort Calf sale, is usually a 3 day deal, where consignors bring their calves to a auction barn on 2 days prior to the sale. The calves are all sorted for sex, size, colour, and to some extent quality. And then penned with other cattle that are the same as them. So, all of the 500 lb tan steers that come in, will be in one lot, and all the 500 lb red ones in another lot, etc. Calves are sorted by about 50 lb weight breaks. Most of the calves will be presorted into communal groups, but there will be some groups of one owner cattle as well, where a consignor had a large enough number of calves that were a similar weight, colour and sex.