sale barn shafted me

[Muddy]

Dave, they do that here as well.. though it's rare, usually it's groups of about 30 or so for bigger lots. It's one of the reasons I'm trying to get more uniformity in my calves for nicer lots and less splitting off. I no longer have different groups based on coloring, usually it's just by weight now.. a lot of 4 wts, a lot of 5 wts, and a lot of 6wts, one set for heifers, and one for steers.

That's what I am trying to get more uniformity and less split ups. With many new upgrades and new technology at some sale barns, it would be rare to con anyone at these particular sale barns and almost impossible to con folks with huge lots. But personally I think many errors came from the office when the tabs were handed to.

 

[wacocowboy]

I have seen lots of screw ups at the barn. I was at a special sale I bought 3 Black Baldies for $680 a head, but when I went to pick them up they gave me 3 Tigers that had sold for $820 a piece. I went inside told the lady they couldn't figure it out. I left my phone number took the Tigers home. No one ever called I think the guy who bought the Tigers was a large quantity buyer and had been buying Blacks and Tigers and never knew he ended up with more Blacks than Tigers. The lots had sold back to back so they must of put the wrong tag numbers with the wrong sale cause the amount I owed was right just not the animals.

 

[Dave]

Here it is all computerized from the auction clerk to the office. The biggest screw up I see is the clerk entering the wrong price. A odd ball bull that sells for $0.86 gets entered as $1.86 or the other way around and a calf selling for $1.86 gets entered as $0.86. It shows up on a light board overhead but if the buyer doesn't complain and the seller isn't there to complain, that is the way it is entered.

 

[Nesikep]

Here it is all computerized from the auction clerk to the office. The biggest screw up I see is the clerk entering the wrong price. A odd ball bull that sells for $0.86 gets entered as $1.86 or the other way around and a calf selling for $1.86 gets entered as $0.86. It shows up on a light board overhead but if the buyer doesn't complain and the seller isn't there to complain, that is the way it is entered.

A good reason to attend the sale and video your calves going through.. it'll be hard to argue with that Yes, it takes time, and the waiting can be booorrriing and long, but if it's your year's income at one sale, I think it's a good idea.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I don't get the negativity to the barn I love it.
No where can you take a bag of bones to a premium cow and convert it to market value train ticket buying cash on any given day.
It is the ultimate truth teller if your not getting premium price
your not raising premium calves the customer wants.

 

[Muddy]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

That is why there is an Angus on my girls and why my neighbor is using him on his SH
my customer pays premium for black or black baldie.
I can't change the game just play it,and the rules have changed ever since I started.

 

[TexasBred]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

That's not the barn. That's a refection of what the order buyers have orders for and what individual buyers prefer. Raise what sells best even if it's not your first choice.

 

[Muddy]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

That's not the barn. That's a refection of what the order buyers have orders for and what individual buyers prefer. Raise what sells best even if it's not your first choice.

$700 quality SH steer vs $1,500 quality Angus steer in same weight class, sounds like the SH sellers got robbed.

 

[backhoeboogie]

$700 quality SH steer vs $1,500 quality Angus steer in same weight class, sounds like the SH sellers got robbed.

Everyone is dealing with it. You can only hope two buyers are bidding against one another for something they like.

 

[Dave]

$700 quality SH steer vs $1,500 quality Angus steer in same weight class, sounds like the SH sellers got robbed.

At the other end of the line someone has had enough bad experiences with the SH that they just aren't willing to pay as much for them. And it can be a lot of different factors. Health issues, rate of gain, yield, grade....... There might be nothing wrong with an individual calf but they have had issues with that breed in the past so they don't want them. I know here the feedlot buyers won't touch a Pinz calf. When asked why they state that they don't have enough heart and the death rate is much higher with them at the feedlot. I don't know that it is true but it is their money. At the auction every time you take a bidder or two or four out of the equation the price the price goes down.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

That's not the barn. That's a refection of what the order buyers have orders for and what individual buyers prefer. Raise what sells best even if it's not your first choice.

That is exactly right you are raising what you like not what the buyer wants can't win that game.

 

[Caustic Burno]

$700 quality SH steer vs $1,500 quality Angus steer in same weight class, sounds like the SH sellers got robbed.

At the other end of the line someone has had enough bad experiences with the SH that they just aren't willing to pay as much for them. And it can be a lot of different factors. Health issues, rate of gain, yield, grade....... There might be nothing wrong with an individual calf but they have had issues with that breed in the past so they don't want them. I know here the feedlot buyers won't touch a Pinz calf. When asked why they state that they don't have enough heart and the death rate is much higher with them at the feedlot. I don't know that it is true but it is their money. At the auction every time you take a bidder or two or four out of the equation the price the price goes down.

Nail on the head I hauled in ten 4 wt calves last year on one trip and every one brought over three dollars a pound one was the barn high for the day at 3.40. There were five order buyers bidding on them.
If you are going to raise them and you are not a seed stock producer it makes no sense to not raise what the customer wants.

 

[TexasBred]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

That's not the barn. That's a refection of what the order buyers have orders for and what individual buyers prefer. Raise what sells best even if it's not your first choice.

$700 quality SH steer vs $1,500 quality Angus steer in same weight class, sounds like the SH sellers got robbed.

As I said.....raise what sells best. :nod:

 

[boondocks]

Being newbies (and we keep getting heifers), we have only sold one thru the barn so far. She was a nice big Angus (registered not that it matters) who lost 2 of 3 pregnancies so it was time to go. Barn ran her thru the ring towards the end of the day when most of the big order buyers had already left. She was in a string of really pitiful dairy culls (limping, bags dragging the ground, one who fell down and couldn't get up). When she came out, there was a collective gasp ("what the heck is she doing here?"). But most of the buyers were gone. She brought a semi-decent price (i.e., we didn't get the premium we had hoped she would, over some sad bony dairy cows) and we realize now we would have done better slaughtering and selling her as halves/quarters ourselves.

There's no question that like any sale of any thing, you can't really argue that you didn't get "market price." But there are a lot of changing conditions that set what that market is for your product at that exact time/place. In our case, being new to the barn and only having one for sale probably didn't get us a good place on the "shedule"....Lesson learned.

 

[dun]

Most times the tail end selling cows are being sold as slaughter cows. What they bring is based on what there slaughter value is, not as a cow that will be going back to a farm for other use. If she lost 2 out of 3 pregnancies she sold exactly with the group she should have. The cutters and canners.

 

[Rafter S]

Most times the tail end selling cows are being sold as slaughter cows. What they bring is based on what there slaughter value is, not as a cow that will be going back to a farm for other use. If she lost 2 out of 3 pregnancies she sold exactly with the group she should have. The cutters and canners.

I agree. And I've seen at least two people comment that their cattle sold late when there were fewer buyers. As Dun said, cows going to slaughter are going to sell last at some sales. That's how they're set up. The ones I'm familiar with sell baby calves first, then the other calves, then the cows that the seller asked to have palpated, and then finish up with bulls and slaughter cows. There are fewer buyers there toward the end simply because the people had no reason to stay if the classes they were interested in were done selling.

Occasionally there will be a calf that's run through late. That's generally because it was brought in late; probably after the sale started. There's nothing the folks at the barn can do about that.

Besides all that, somebody's cattle have to sell last.

 

[BRYANT]

Its not always the amount of buyers left its the kind of buyers left

 

[cowgirl8]

The only thing I don't agree with sale barn is the dock on colors, especially shorthorns.

Once you get some experience under your belt and get some consistency in size and color, you wont be docked at the sale barn...Since its just a hobby for you now, its a great time to learn how the professionals do it. Its not what you want to raise, its what they want to buy...remember that..

 

[Caustic Burno]

Most times the tail end selling cows are being sold as slaughter cows. What they bring is based on what there slaughter value is, not as a cow that will be going back to a farm for other use. If she lost 2 out of 3 pregnancies she sold exactly with the group she should have. The cutters and canners.

I agree. And I've seen at least two people comment that their cattle sold late when there were fewer buyers. As Dun said, cows going to slaughter are going to sell last at some sales. That's how they're set up. The ones I'm familiar with sell baby calves first, then the other calves, then the cows that the seller asked to have palpated, and then finish up with bulls and slaughter cows. There are fewer buyers there toward the end simply because the people had no reason to stay if the classes they were interested in were done selling.

Occasionally there will be a calf that's run through late. That's generally because it was brought in late; probably after the sale started. There's nothing the folks at the barn can do about that.

Besides all that, somebody's cattle have to sell last.

Here is different cows and slaughter Bulls go first they have an intermission and the order buyers
get after till the last calf is sold. Neighbor hauled a 4 wt last week was the next to the last calf for the day his calf did better than average, it was a better than average calf.
It gets down to people's value of their cow and true market value are usually way off.
Freight plays a big factor in price as well farther they ride less per pound they bring.
If a cow comes through the ring that isn't palpated and aged best you can hope for is Wolf Brand chili price after that it is dog food, cutters or canners.