BC
Well-known member
Most of the sales here sell the calves one at a time. We don't need a big ring.
Sale barns
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That's how ours look for the most part. They have stadium seating in a horseshoe around the cattle. Behind the guy on the left is a big gate and they will run the few big groups out of it in front of you. The vast majority go in singles just like that. When bad cattle or stuff with big horns come through they holler for the guys to get out. They have little gates they can take cover behind. The pen on the right where the guy has the long pole usually goes to the scale and the we8ght pops up on TV screens. That's where you see the weight of what you just bought. LoL
Dave
Well-known member
I have seen them sell 150+ head as a single draft. They run the ring full. Weigh them. Run them out and run in the next group until they have the last group in the ring. They sell them then. As I said Toppenish will hold 50-60 head. La Grande will hold about 30. Vail is a little smaller so probbly 20 or 25. During the fall/winter run it is not uncommon to see a ranch bring in 3 or 4 semi loads. And the calves will be real uniform.
Travlr
Well-known member
I've never seen a ring so small, but they seem to run them through at an accelerated rate so it's not slow.
I have no idea what the scales under a ring will weigh but I've seen over thirty 1600 pound cows go through at a time. I've seen 60 500+ pound steers in a ring. All of the rings I've bought and sold in, in three states and about ten facilities, all had the capability to sell the same size groups.
I don't know why any auction house would use the smaller ring if they could have a larger one. That one in the video looks like it would be too crowded if they had much over fifteen animals of the size they were running through.
BC
Well-known member
As I said, we sell them mostly one at a time. Most barns do not have enough small pens to seperate consignor's cattle before the sale.The average herd size here is 31 head.
Travlr
Well-known member
Barns have gone out of business in some of the western states. Probably twenty or so years ago. There was an outfit that came into a lot of areas and they would set up a scale and corrals as close to a sale barn as they could... and they would buy everything anyone would bring in at market prices without any wait for a check and no commissions. It put a lot of barns out of business quickly. But their business model didn't work and eventually they folded too. But the sale barns never came back.Yet Texas is like #1 for cattle even though they have such little barns vs Oregon is like #19ish with their big sales.
I probably have more barns with in an hour than all of Oregon.
Dave
Well-known member
I believe there are 7 sale yards left in Oregon. There is only 4 in Washington. But at a 31 head average that is a whole lot of hobby farms.Yet Texas is like #1 for cattle even though they have such little barns vs Oregon is like #19ish with their big sales.
I probably have more barns with in an hour than all of Oregon.
Heck I am retired and I have over double that many head. There is 10 ranches in my little valley. Other than me the smallest place has 150 cows. The biggest has around 1,600. I know of 3 outfits in this county with 2,000 or more. With that many cattle a lot get sold direct or on the video. And a lot of the kill cows get shipped direct to the plant. Saving a percent or two selling your cattle adds up
Dave
Well-known member
I just looked at the catalog for Superior's sale in Winnamucca next week. There is 180 lots of weaned steers from Oregon on that sale. Each lot would a minimum of a semi load and there is a fair number of lots with more than one truck load. And that is just the steers at one sale. There is most like nearly that many lots of heifers plus all the unweaned calves and yearlings. That would fill up a lot of sale barns. But there are significant financial benefits to selling on the video sales.
The US a whole is only like low 40s.
It's vastly different across the state of TX. You have to remember we are several Oregons, like 9X more from a cattle stand point. So ETX where BC is, I believe, is vastly different than the middle gulf coast or STX or WTX, central, the panhandle, etc. If I listed just my friends operations it will sound more like your valley because we are in a different area. I've posted the map before and yes, there were more than 7 barns just around me.
Private land ownership plays a big role also vs govt leases.
Travlr
Well-known member
When I had the place in Arkansas someone told me that if you made a circle around the place where Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma meet, something like a hundred miles from the point of all those states meeting, you would find the biggest percentage of cattle compared to anywhere else.
I thought some one posted maps that show the middle gulf coast of Texas is the only comparable area?
There is probably a better one. This could be a little scewed.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
East Texas looks like my kinda place!
Definitely won't be going to Arizona
Definitely won't be going to Arizona
This is more accurate. It's actuall population vs the other is density per acre you can run.
Something seems a little off with this map because down in the bayous of Louisiana in that state wildlife area, I don't believe that's loaded with cattle is it ??
It's like a density per acre deal, not actual population. The second one I posted is actual population.
Dave
Well-known member
I wonder about the accuracy. I see a couple of dots in northwest corner of Wyoming. That would be Yellowstone park. There sure aren't any cattle there. But it does give a person a general reference.
Travlr
Well-known member
Don't they run seasonal forest service permitted cattle in the park?
Dave
Well-known member
A big no. Forest circus and National Parks are two separate and very different agencies. Let your cows run in the park and you might find yourself in temporary housing at the gray bar hotel.
