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

[Chuckie]

The sale barn is not a good place to buy a cow just for that reason. I had rather go to someone I know that takes care of their cattle and ask them if they had any heifers out of cows that have really done well or any cows that they were keeping the heifers out of because they had a few years on them. Just make sure that the cow has several years left on them.

 

[stocky]

BUYER BEWARE! I don't care if it is at a sale barn or at a person's farm. Any person buying a cow should have that attitude going in. No one is ever going to make 100% perfect decisions on cattle, but when you do not automatically believe what an auctioneer or an owner tells you, you learn to find out more about a cow. ALL cows are sold for a reason. I buy 500 or more cows per year. I almost always buy at the sale barn. Once in a while I will buy from a farmer on the farm if I know him and his cattle. Two things are for sure about the owners of cows. They think their cows are younger than they are, and they think they are bred further than they are. People who keep records excepted, of course. I buy thin and suckled down cows that are short bred. I work hard to buy out of complete herd sellouts and any cow that acts wild when I get them home, never gets turned out of the holding pen. I buy cows cheap enough that if i have to sell them for slaughter, I dont lose money. When I find out I have a problem cow, I take her to a local slaughterhouse and get more for slaughter than I would at a sales barn. I can't guarantee the history of the cows that I buy, so when I sell, I always sell at the sale barn and with no story. I never sell to an individual off the farm, because I dont know the history of the cow. The buyers at the barn know me very well and from February-june when I sell those cow-calf pairs they are always asking if I am bringing any next week. Those same local farmers bid and buy my cows each spring. They know I buy and winter the cows, but they know I am a choosy buyer. At this sale barn, if they sell a cow-calf pair, it is a guaranteed pair and if they are not a pair when you get them home, you bring them back and get your money back.
I have called about cows advertised by owners in newspapers and many times on the phone they tell me they have decided to sell their whole herd that they have raised. When i get there, it is amazing how many times it is someone I have watched buy those cows at the sale barn only a few months before----people can be just as crooked at home as they can at the sale barn, if they want to be. It is your hard earned money, be just as careful about buying cows as you would about spending your money on other things. Most cattlemen are honest, alot are not----keep your eyes open and BUYER BEWARE

 

[Dave]

I run a program very similar to Stocky, except I sell them in the fall. Even though lots of those cows are probably bred I don't sell them as bred cows. I try to buy cows for what they worth to slaughter that way if she doesn't turn out I can just kill her. The good ones get to stay around for a couple of years but the majority only last one season. At my sale barns if you don't ask (and pay for) a preg check all cows go straight to the slaughter cow pen. Odds are if she ends up there she wont go back to the country unless she is really showing that she is bred.
Sale barns are buyer beware. If it looks cheap there is probably something wrong with her. On the other hand if you are willing to pay big bucks for a cow you know nothing about..... good luck to you. If you expect to be able to buy cows there and never have a problem, well reality bites.
Dave

 

[Craig-TX]

Stocky and Dave made a couple of excellent posts with several excellent posts. The best proof that salebarns are crooked operations that are always selling sorry cattle is their clientele. Have you ever noticed how the old timers and the folks who really know cattle never ever go the sale? And if they do for some strange reason have you noticed how they never ever buy any cows there? Didn't think so.

 

[MoGal]

I'm not knowledgeable, but I am discriminate when I buy cows from the sale barn. I go in the back and watch the cows, see how they act/react to their surroundings. I talk to the people working at the sale barn and sometimes they know who/why the cow was brought in. I know the day will come when I will get a "bad one" but I also do not buy the ones that have not been preg checked either. I figure if the owner doesn't want to spend the $4.00 to have em preg checked then I don't need em either and there must be a reason why.

Also, when cows are shipped on the truck from my boss's place, any of his own he does put on the ticket (which the driver signs from the sale barn) if they are good, slaughter, etc... now whether that gets to the auctioneer in the sale barn I have no clue. I have a cow to ship this weekend that will have slaughter written on the ticket the driver signs because she had a prolapsed uterus and the vet sewed her up so that she won't be able to have calves again. I needed to get weight on her before she went plus the calf needed the milk.

 

[SF]

...The best proof that salebarns are crooked operations that are always selling sorry cattle is their clientele. Have you ever noticed how the old timers and the folks who really know cattle never ever go the sale? And if they do for some strange reason have you noticed how they never ever buy any cows there? Didn't think so.

Never noticed that Craig. Must be a regional thing. The sale barns in my area are ran by reputable people. I know many old timers who attend regularly.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

SF -- I've got a feeling that you missed Craig's true meaning. I think I did too, but only momentarily. (The word "allegory" comes to mind, but it has been way too many years since I took an English class, so that may not be the word I mean to use.) I believe his post simply contained intentional sarcasm, as in saying the opposite of what you mean.

 

[bigbull338]

not all sale barns are crooked let me tell you but some are an those that are wont keep the doors open as for buying use common sense b/c everyone thats in the cattle business has been burned a few times besides if your in it for the money you can forget it most yrs you breakeven an alot you lose your shirt scott

 

[Crowderfarms]

One other word of Caution. I've noticed that at several local sales, you can spot what we call Trader Cattle, or Transit Cattle. If you watch the Cattle, you'll see where tags were removed on em' and new tags replaced.These cattle were generally bought elsewhere, cheaper and sent from sale to sale. Due to some sorry Labor, the new tags were not placed where the old one's were.(good for a potential buyer) You can spot the glue. I've made a sport out of spotting them.

 

[Campground Cattle]

Stocky and Dave made a couple of excellent posts with several excellent posts. The best proof that salebarns are crooked operations that are always selling sorry cattle is their clientele. Have you ever noticed how the old timers and the folks who really know cattle never ever go the sale? And if they do for some strange reason have you noticed how they never ever buy any cows there? Didn't think so.

Good points if the old men in bib overalls aren't there you can bet good cattle aren't either.

 

[jerry27150]

they are getting more strict on this crooked stuff. auctioneer up the road bought some feeder cattle that came though his sale & took them to anther sale & claimed they had all their shots. well some of them got sick & he got sued for mis representation of the cattle & had to make it right. i have bought a lot of bred cows at sale barns & have always had good luck, but like mogal i go out back & look them over first

 

[SF]

SF -- I've got a feeling that you missed Craig's true meaning. I think I did too, but only momentarily. (The word "allegory" comes to mind, but it has been way too many years since I took an English class, so that may not be the word I mean to use.) I believe his post simply contained intentional sarcasm, as in saying the opposite of what you mean.

I see, I see, says the blind man. :lol:

 

[stocky]

What a great thread this has turned out to be! Every one of us has bought cows that should have been slaughtered instead of resold and I get just as angry about it as the next guy when I find out I have bought one. However, I can only get angry at myself, for not spotting the problem. RafterE, In a perfect world you should be able to expect all that you ask. I would tell you that the best way to have the best chance of getting those type cows is to know your sale barn and when they advertise a complete herd of cows next week, go and look at them on the farm and pick out what you intend to buy. The complete herd sellouts will always cost more, but they are more honest, if you know they are for real. Jerry, you are to be commended for having the ethics that all of us should be displaying in marketing our cattle, I am sure that most if not all on the board also have them, just pointing out from jerry's post. Crowderfarms, you bring up an excellent point on the old tag marks. If you see glue or bare spots the size of a tag or smaller, the animal has come from at least 1 other sale barn. I believe the most dangerous sales to get hooked and lose money, except for the fake purebred or registered dispersal sales (most registered and purebred are great, but there are alot of fakes), is the "special stock cow sale". In this sale all of the cattle will be bunched and prepared for this sale. They will never look better than that sale day again in their lives. You can walk in and pick out all those nice pens of matched up cattle. They look that way for a reason, be very careful. I never like to buy cattle in bunches of over 3 or 4 because it is very easy to hide bad cows in big bunches. A buyer tends to look at the best cows in the bunch and overlook the bad ones. The reason for so many cattle going from sale barn to sale barn is that cattle are still going higher. As long as they are going higher, people can make money buying and selling in just a few days. When the market is going down, you cant do that, so the re-selling slows down considerably. If you feel you have to buy at a certain sale or a certain day, you are setting yourself up for problems. Take your time, buy when you find what you want at the price you can afford. Look through the cows before the sale. Decide what cows you want and decide what price you can afford to give. When the cow gets into the ring, dont let the auctioneer or the emotion change your rational decision that you made when it was just you and the cow. Following simple rules like these will make you a better buyer and also make it much harder on the unethical or crooked sellers.

 

[Medic24]

Sorry folks, but I sell most of my very best cattle private treaty, my grade cattle, calves and culls go to the sale.... and when I drop them off, I say nothing about them, good, bad, or otherwise, unless I am asked, I will not lie, but it is just like selling and buying a used car, in this case, it's a used cow....literally.............nature of the beast so to speak.

And as most of you all have had to do...........learn when we go to the sale...........keep an eye on the real buyers, when they bid low or not at all.....look carefully at the cow, they see something you don't....yet......thats how you learn! Sorry to idealists...but thats life in the auction ring. :cboy:

 

[denoginnizer]

Dont assume a complete "herd dispersal" is a little old farmer getting ready to retire. I often find the herd is a put together herd and put together with fence jumpers, fence breakers, udder problems , attitude issues, prolapses etc etc.
Some problems can be spotted right away others cant be spotted no matter how much experience you have.
Dont forget all cows are going to wear out at some point .

 

[Caustic Burno]

Sorry folks, but I sell most of my very best cattle private treaty, my grade cattle, calves and culls go to the sale.... and when I drop them off, I say nothing about them, good, bad, or otherwise, unless I am asked, I will not lie, but it is just like selling and buying a used car, in this case, it's a used cow....literally.............nature of the beast so to speak.

And as most of you all have had to do...........learn when we go to the sale...........keep an eye on the real buyers, when they bid low or not at all.....look carefully at the cow, they see something you don't....yet......thats how you learn! Sorry to idealists...but thats life in the auction ring. :cboy:

I agree Medic.when you walk in the salebarn it's buyer beware, if you are not savvy enough to pick out the culls, go buy some cheese to go with all of the whine. There are a lot of good buys at the salebarn, a lot has to do with knowing the cattlemen in the area and why he sells or culls cattle .

 

[bigbull338]

emory tx sale barn owners own 3 barns an they haul cattle from barn to barn if the market is off at the other barns over the yrs friend an i have prolly bought over 100 cows from there an honestly only bought 3 fighting cows that would put you in the hospital and 2 was shipped an 1 died a month after she was bought all 3 would put you up on top of the squeeze chute if you was on the ground when you turned them out scott

 

[sidney411]

I've bought private treaty registered heifers that that won't breed and then a heifer I bought at a sale barn stood for the bull the 1st day I turned her in the pasture and she's the most gentle level headed girl. Just because you buy an animal private treaty doesn't mean they are woth a pile of beans, same goes for auction barn cattle. I can't give any better advice then has already been given. One thing I've learned - being a young female I have never had a problem with finding a gentleman "buyer" at the barn to help me pick out good replacements, they always seem more then willing to help me out, since I don't know anything about cattle. Knock on wood, I've yet to take home a problem from the barn - but again I've bought more animals private treaty that at the barn. :lol:

 

[Dave]

A person should never go to a sale with their mind made up that they are going to buy cows that day. I watch people do this all the time. You rarely see these individuals but the days they are at the sale they will buy every bred cow or pair that comes through. They end up paying more than the cows are worth and they get some cows that I wouldn't take home. One reason they do this is they live some distance from the sale so it is a trip to get there. They figure they need to make it worth their trip so they buy the cows no matter what.
I only live about 10 miles from the sale yard and it is a Saturday sale. It is easy for me to go there on a Saturday afternoon. I check out the cows out back before the sale. Then I sit around and swap stories with friends until the bred cows sell. If they are priced right I buy cows. If they are too high or there aren't any ones that will fit my program I wander on home. Doing this I get a little break from the chores and I get to BS with the other cattlemen from the area.
There are good cows and bad cows at the sale. But if you go planning on getting some bought today because today is the day you are going to buy cows. Your odds of getting a bad cow increase significantly.
Dave

 

[bigbull338]

ive know that to go both ways mind made up not to buy cattle an you miss some good cows b/c your not in the mood to buy scott