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Post by gregpowell on Feb 5, 2009 14:08:51 GMT -5
Has anyone considered a sale sponsored by the association that would allow members to consign breeding stock for sale? I know other associations in our area have these events and they seem to be successful. It provides another method of marketing your livestock that could benefit individual breeders as well as raising the profile of the breed. There could be a nominal fee charged for each animal sold which could be used to cover the expenses of the event.
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Post by gwenger on Feb 12, 2009 8:46:32 GMT -5
I like the idea of auction sales as a way to market and promote cattle. I bought some of my first White Park cattle at an association sale in MO back in 1994. I sold some of my cattle at an association sponsored sale in Louisville in 2000. I would say that both of those markets were weak.
The biggest challenge to auction sales is bringing new customers to the table. This is very difficult to do on a national basis, the associations do not have a magic bullet to bring buyers to a sale. Breeders have more contact with potential buyers over the course of a year then the associations do.
I would recommend as an alternative a group of breeders from an area get together and plan a sale. This way a small group can decide the criteria for the sale. Following are just a few of many decisions that need to be made about a sale.
1. Where should it be held? 2. What mix of heifers, bred heifers and bulls should be in the sale? 3. Should cattle be halter broke? 4. Should cattle be clipped? 5. What condition should cattle be in? 6. How will the sale be advertised? 7. Should there be a catalog? 8. When should the sale be held?
Have a vision of what you want a sale to be and find a group of breeders that share that vision and go for it. The associations can help by spreading the word and giving advice but the breeders will have to be the driving force.
Finally in my opinion to do a sale properly plan on investing 15 to 25% of the expected proceeds into the event. Doing a purebred cattle sale well can not be done on the cheap. Having done a sale last year I would be happy to talk to anyone interested in putting one together.
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