Buying livestock for the homestead at the auction sale barn.

Not all livestock sale barns are the same, and not all experienced livestock owners recommend them. With that said, here is one man's advice on this method of acquiring animals.

Buying livestock for the family homestead? Look to your local auction sale barn. Each county usually has one where you'll find feeder cattle, milk cows, calves and started calves. Goats and sheep are also sold.

There are some problems for the inexperienced buyer.

Most auction markets are of necessity fast moving affairs. The sale of a steer or a group of calves in less than a minute after entering the auction ring is customary. This means that in less than one minute a buyer should be able to judge age, weight, breeding, health and thriftiness of the animal or animals involved and then decide how much he can afford to pay.

Few people are actually qualified for this type of buying and it is possible that many farmers would save money by giving their orders to a professional buyer. Ask at the sale barn office and they will arrange you to meet someone who will buy for you. Tell him what you want and he will sit with you and do the buying for you. Pay the man something for he has done a good service for you. He's able to save you a lot money.

Here are some suggestions which may prove helpful and profitable.

Keep well informed as to market prices. Again, ask at the office for the toll free phone number to the state's cattle marketing office. They can tell you what cattle prices were for the preceding week. Feeder markets tend to be seasonal and buying a few weeks before or a few weeks after the price peak often means a saving of two or more dollars a hundredweight. Presently cattle prices are depressed due to the overabundance of cattle for sale and high feed costs. If you have the hay, now is the time to buy some inexpensive priced feeder cattle, for they are very cheap. Farmers are having a very difficult time getting a fair price for their cattle.

Attending a sale or two before the day you intend to buy will also help. It will give you an idea of the price and the type feeders you are looking for. It will also help you to understand the auctioneer, and become used to his style and speed of selling.

Since auctions must maintain a rapid pace the average farmer misses the opportunity of leaning over the fence, carefully examining the livestock and then bargaining over the price. A good substitute for this is to arrive at the sale early enough to examine any livestock in which you may be interested. A number is placed on the back of each animal to be sold.

Look the animal over carefully to make sure it is healthy and in good condition. Make notes of the number of the animal and breed and you will recognize it when it enters the auction sales ring. Set a price you are willing to pay and you are not under pressure on the price. These precautions will do much to eliminate poor or snap judgments during the auction.

During the sale sit where you will have a good view of the ring. I prefer to sit midway between the back of the crowd and the animal in the ring and I can see who is bidding against me. This will also help the auctioneer to see or hear your bid. Don't rub your nose or scratch your ear or wave at someone while bidding is going on or the auctioneer might accept your unintentional bid. When he says sold and asks you your name it gets embarrassing. Then he has to cancel out and start over again to sell the animal.

If you intend hauling your animals you've bought, you will need a pickup truck with a stock hauling rack. If you do not have a truck, you can ask at the sale barn office if they know of someone who does hauling. There is always someone who will haul for you for a fee.

After buying cattle give them a little extra care for a few days and especially in bad weather. Protect them from exposure and get them started on feed as soon as possible.

The man who buys intelligently will be pleased with his purchase and will return again to the same auction. Good profitable buying habits will in the long run benefit both the buyer and seller as well as the man who runs the auction.

Outside near where the cattle dealers and buyers park their vehicles, there is reserved an area for small livestock such as goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, pheasants, turkeys, pot bellied pigs, banties, games, pigeons and a variety of farm tools, shop tools, pots and pans, clothing, wood heaters, guns, and vegetable and fruit dealers. If you have something you want to sell you can bring it and set up and sell it. The sale barn charges a small fee for you to sell. It's a good way to sell something you have or barter it to someone else for something you might want and to earn some income for your family and homestead. If you want to write me, please include a SASE.