"Ship Her" Not to my sale, thank you.

[susie]

Exactly, Dave! What sale do you go to BTW? My closes one is Enumclaw.
I think one of the best ways to do well at the auction is just to go and watch. Watch the cows and the prices. Get a good look at all kinds of animals, and what a good price is. Get a good look at the cattle in theback before they come into the ring- It's too quick to make a good judgement on an animal . Set a price, stick to it. If prices are high, come back again another day, but watch the cattle and the buyers and Learn.
I like to get the early ones through the ring, before the bidders get warmed up., if they are what I'm looking for.
Ended up getting my Hereford heifer for 73 cents/lb last winter when prices were around a dollar or so. Cattle rancher of same farm she came off of was charging 1.25/lb. Granted I coulda had the pick of the crop, but I knew he had nice cows, and I liked the look of her- recognizeed her 'look' and the distinctive eartag.
But yeah overall, buyer beware. It's easier, more profitable (?)for people to call the auction barn have 'em pick up your problem cow, and let her become someone else's problem.
Susie

 

[flbullrider]

I'm by no means an expert, and I deal in performance cattle rather than calves, feeders, etc., but I'd never BUY an animal at a sale barn. At least not a "regular" one - there are some special breed specific documented auctions, but I wouldn't buy at the sale barns I use because:

1. All the other buyers are professional buyers - can't understand a word the auctioneer is sayin' and wouldn't know how to signal a bid anyhow - I've determined by observation is has something to do with twitching of the hands and pickin yer nose ;-)

2. Big warning sign out front: "Buyers responsible for sick or crippled animals"

3. The sale barns I use don't ever ask for any proof of ownership from the seller - even on branded cattle. I surmise it would be easily to buy/sell stolen cattle, either on purpose or inadvertently.

4. Even if you tell them you have a cripple, I don't think they tell the buyers. I ran a crippled yearling through the market recently, told the fellas at the drop off chute. When he got onto the sale floor, the bidding opened normally and quite high - then he moved and one of the buyers noticed the limp and yelled "cripple" - they restarted the bidding and needless to say it wasn't anywhere near what it had been.

Buyer beware and the sale barn in my opinion. I always figure except for calves, if they're at the regular sale barn, they're there for a reason.

Mike Bishop - http://www.flbullrider.com

 

[bigbull338]

if limps hops or knots arnt visable at the unload pen they wont mark it on the ticket but if they see it in the ring they will call it an start the bidding over even if im buying cattle an i see something that isnt right ill call attention to it to the auctioneer scott

 

[redfornow]

Around here with the prices where they are we are seeing better animals going thru, if you can afford to buy em, because most of the farms really cant afford to keep repacements at these prices it just doesnt make since.

Are you all seeing a better group of animals or is it just me???
I know the older guys are culling hard right now and will just about tell you "shes a good cow" but I cant afford to keep her.
I am still expanding the herd a little at a time so even with prices the way they are I will still buy if she is good.

MD

 

[Crowderfarms]

Around here with the prices where they are we are seeing better animals going thru, if you can afford to buy em, because most of the farms really cant afford to keep repacements at these prices it just doesnt make since.

Are you all seeing a better group of animals or is it just me???
I know the older guys are culling hard right now and will just about tell you "shes a good cow" but I cant afford to keep her.
I am still expanding the herd a little at a time so even with prices the way they are I will still buy if she is good.

MD

I agree with you MD, quality has been definitely on the rise at some of the Barns. Like you stated, a lot of folks just say the way prices are they can't afford to keep em'. It still takes a trained eye to not get burned, and that only counts in the Visual department.Just a shot in the dark for some.

 

[jcarkie]

i like to go early and watch them unload, i can see who brings them and if you go often enough you know the guys who are bringing trade cattle. the guy in the bib overalls whos cattle look fresh and match up good are the ones to choose. i have to agree the cows are there because something is wrong, buyer beware. unless some one is selling out.but you better pay attention.

 

[Bama]

Funny everbody is mentioning bib overalls. I always wear them. When I first went to work at a plant that had 1500 people I was the only person wearing them. Now 17 years later a lots of people do. I ain't never been one to care about what other people think of what I'm wearing. If it confortable for me I don't care. My wife on the other hand don't like it when I wear them when we go out to eat. I generally cave in at this point. Whether any of us want to admit it or not we are all a little whipped.

 

[bigbull338]

let me tell you if you think old men wont gamble buying cattle your rong i know prolly 10 old men that buys 20 to 100hd every week and they dont mind throwing dice on cattle an i do the same a few times ive sat there an bought in 1 run scott

 

[bigbull338]

oops sorry guys a few times ive bought 20 hd at a time scott

 

[bwranch]

Whether any of us want to admit it or not we are all a little whipped.

My daddy always said "There's two types of married men, henpecked and liars."

 

[Dave]

My daddy always said "There's two types of married men, henpecked and liars."

Of course the real smart men are bachelors.

Dave

 

[stocky]

Dave, I was wondering why your posts always sound like you know what you are talking about-----that makes two of us bachelors on this board---lol

 

[Gayle Hilgeman]

When you buy cattle from the sales barn, aren`t you worried
about bringing home disease? When we use to buy from the sales barn about 15 years ago, it`s taken till a couple of years ago
to finally get controll of things like BVD, Johnes, etc. with vaccinating.

 

[Dave]

Every cow that I bring home from the sale go down the chute as soon as she gets home. I give them an 8 way, 5 way, lepto, imovec, and a big blast of LA200. They are kept seperate from the main cow herd. Most of these cows are only here from the time I buy them (Dec to May) until I ship them and the calves in October. A few that do a real good job of raising a calf move to the main herd as replacements. The other thing is that almost all of my pastures are in the flood plain and get flooded every winter. I am actually just as concerned about what comes in with the high waters as what comes home with the cows. There is a dairy, that is also in the flood plain, a mile or two away that has a closed herd with no outside cattle for 40 or 50 years. He has just as many health issues as I do and they are all related to what washes down stream.

Dave

 

[stocky]

Every cow that I bring home is checked and vaccinated and tags taken off and new ear tags put in. The cows are kept from 7-10 days by themselves and watched closely. After that, they are turned in to pastures with other cows I have purchased. These pastures never have my permanent keeping cows in them. They are never running with those permanent cows. I buy all of these cows in august-november and sell them from feb-july. There is always a chance of getting something, no doubt about that. There is also a chance of getting something from other cattle around or that washes in like Dave said in the creek or river pastures. I think care in buying helps lessen that chance. I keep up to 60 bought cows in each pasture for the winter. That is few enough that I can keep a good check on them. With 5-8 pastures of bought cows and 5 pastures of permanent cows, it works pretty well, so far

 

[Bama]

Every cow that I bring home is checked and vaccinated and tags taken off and new ear tags put in. The cows are kept from 7-10 days by themselves and watched closely. After that, they are turned in to pastures with other cows I have purchased. These pastures never have my permanent keeping cows in them. They are never running with those permanent cows. I buy all of these cows in august-november and sell them from feb-july. There is always a chance of getting something, no doubt about that. There is also a chance of getting something from other cattle around or that washes in like Dave said in the creek or river pastures. I think care in buying helps lessen that chance. I keep up to 60 bought cows in each pasture for the winter. That is few enough that I can keep a good check on them. With 5-8 pastures of bought cows and 5 pastures of permanent cows, it works pretty well, so far

I do pretty much the same thing with the addition of a sick pen. I have a pen that I use for the ones that are obviously sick. After they get out of here the pen is washed down with a clorox solution.

 

[TheBullLady]

Have to agree with Medic. I've never bought a cow from an auction barn. I'm not going to risk a decent herd of cows at home getting some disease from a cow I know nothing about. Then there's the bred cows that are sold. What do you know about them? Are they quiet enough that you can pen them if they have trouble calving? What are they bred to? An easy calving bull, or a cow killer? Too much risk involved for me.. especially at the prices they're at now.

I know a couple of very successful cattlemen that routinely buy / trade at the auction barn, but they've been burned also. For all the "good deals" they've gotten, there are plenty of train wrecks also. Also, they rarely keep any of the cows very long. Generally get a calf out of her and resell.

 

[Bama]

I know a couple of very successful cattlemen that routinely buy / trade at the auction barn, but they've been burned also. For all the "good deals" they've gotten, there are plenty of train wrecks also. Also, they rarely keep any of the cows very long. Generally get a calf out of her and resell.

Thats one of the fastest ways to make money, I do it regularly. Its also one of the riskiest.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I ship all my cull cows on the rail. My trucker can't believe how great my cows look. Of course, he's used to bony holstein cripples.
When you ship to the sale barn, the "kill" buyer is automatically deducting the percentage figure that usually goes in the can as a reject. So, by shipping direct to the rail, I take the chance of the cow getting canned, but I also get the high dollar if they don't. Knowing the health of my cows, it is a minimum risk.
Of course, we don't have the number of "beef" cows going to a sale barn like the majority of you guys.

 

[bigbull338]

but heres something to always remember shipping them on the rail they can also tell you the cow was canned an not pay you for the meat and use it anyway think about it it has happened scott