robertwhite
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I have a small mixed herd consisting of Angus, Simmental, Beefmaster, Herford's of various percentages and/or purebred.
Around these parts (TN), if you do not have a "black" calf, you will get docked big time at the sale barn. I've had black calves that were "weaker" than other solid or multi colored sell for more at the same auction. It has happened at the large county stockyard one too many times, so today I take my last calf of the season (beautiful Red Angus heifer) to a different sale barn to see if I can do better.
So the auction is on and there are a lot of black angus calves, some pretty decent, some pretty crappy looking. The yard owner is setting the start at anywhere from $1.20-$1.50 (weight dependent) and I am thinking that is good as my calf should do well.
So my calf comes through at 435 lbs and looks real decent even with about a 15lb weight loss from stress, etc. Calf gets in the ring and they start her off at $1.00 Really? Are you kidding me? Buyers ran her all the way up to $1.24, so I know she was where she needed to be condition wise, if not, she would have never ran up .24 in those few seconds. So let me get this straight, because my calf has a Red hide instead of a Black hide, she is worth .20 less lb than if she was black?
I know the Angus industry has invested millions of dollars in advertising/promotion over the last 15-20 yrs to be the "Gold standard" for cows/calves, but this is just plain stupid. I am losing $50-70 per head because of this scam. Heck, as far as I know, ALL cows are the same color when their hide is stripped and they are hanging. (oh, that's right, only Angus cows get stamped certified Angus :roll: )
Sure, I could sell off some of my cows and re-buy Black ones, but that is just ridiculous. I have had people tell me that it is not like this out West, but I can't say from personal experience. It is just frustrating as all get out. :bang:
Rant mode off.... :nod:
Around these parts (TN), if you do not have a "black" calf, you will get docked big time at the sale barn. I've had black calves that were "weaker" than other solid or multi colored sell for more at the same auction. It has happened at the large county stockyard one too many times, so today I take my last calf of the season (beautiful Red Angus heifer) to a different sale barn to see if I can do better.
So the auction is on and there are a lot of black angus calves, some pretty decent, some pretty crappy looking. The yard owner is setting the start at anywhere from $1.20-$1.50 (weight dependent) and I am thinking that is good as my calf should do well.
So my calf comes through at 435 lbs and looks real decent even with about a 15lb weight loss from stress, etc. Calf gets in the ring and they start her off at $1.00 Really? Are you kidding me? Buyers ran her all the way up to $1.24, so I know she was where she needed to be condition wise, if not, she would have never ran up .24 in those few seconds. So let me get this straight, because my calf has a Red hide instead of a Black hide, she is worth .20 less lb than if she was black?
I know the Angus industry has invested millions of dollars in advertising/promotion over the last 15-20 yrs to be the "Gold standard" for cows/calves, but this is just plain stupid. I am losing $50-70 per head because of this scam. Heck, as far as I know, ALL cows are the same color when their hide is stripped and they are hanging. (oh, that's right, only Angus cows get stamped certified Angus :roll: )
Sure, I could sell off some of my cows and re-buy Black ones, but that is just ridiculous. I have had people tell me that it is not like this out West, but I can't say from personal experience. It is just frustrating as all get out. :bang:
Rant mode off.... :nod: