A3B-Lancuter Farming, Saturday, January 13,1990 Dairy Auctioneers (ContlniMd from Pag* A 35) It’s almost like buying a buyer to be there to set the floor.” A fitting crew and good bam help are also necessary. “Fitting can be as simple as clipping and washing the tails, or it can be as in-depth as a complete clipping of the heads, tails basi cally what you might call show ring ready. That depends on the quality of the animal you’re going to be selling. For moving the cattle from the bam to the ring, Allen prefers to employ people he knows and trusts. Some farmers like to use friends and relatives, he said, but volunteers often get tired and lose interest midway through the auc tion. Livestock transporters are noti fied of the upcoming auction so that they can be at the disposal of the buyers. “If a farmer/buyer doesn’t know who he’s going to get to haul his cow home, he might be a little hesitant about bidding,” Allen explained. Loading help remains on the site for about VA hours following the auction. “Unless the buyer has told us differently, we milk the cattle out as soon as the auction’s over,” Allen said. “Believe it or not, you’ll have some farmers who will want to take that milk home.” Don’t overlook the bidders’ comfort, the auctioneer cautioned. INTRODUCING NEW H 2 FEEDER A New Way To Feed Broilers And Turkey Poults H 2 Broiler Feeder With Flood Gates Open, Fills Pan With Over flow Onto The Paper For Quick Starts With Minimum Waste. FLYWAY BUSINESS PARK 139 A West Airport Rd., Lititz, PA 17543 (717) 569-2702 Largest Manufacturer of Poultry Systems In The World Make certain there is adequate seating, food service, etc. Tagging cattle would seem to be a simple procedure, but there can be problems. Whatever method you choose, the important thing is that the numbers stay on the cows. “You can use the sale bam tag with the sale bam glue, if you like. I personally don’t like to use that type of a tag. 1 have my own print ed on cardboard with a heavier glue. If cattle are running loose, they can lick off the paper ones.” Other alternatives include com mercial marking crayons, a bangle tag in the ear or neck tag. The auctioneer must make cer tain the client has contacted a veterinarian to do the necessary blood work, pregnancy testing and health charts, Allen said. He recommends producting a catalog for each auction, although some may not be as elaborate as others. “For 90 percent of the auc tions I conduct where I’m sale manager and auctioneer I make them in-house,” Allen said. "You had better be pretty sure the information is correct,” he continued. “I guarantee nothing because I’m not the one who’s pregnancy checking the cows. I’m not the one who’s doing the health testing. That’s left up to the vet or your information that comes from the owner. 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Sometimes that means a lot more to potential buyers than do DHIA records.” In setting the advertising budget for an auction, Allen asks himself how far he would be willing to drive to buy what the fanner is selling. “If you’re getting into some real pedigreed cows, you can go nationwide,” he said. “In the Holstein business, that would be Holstein World. Or you can go with state, regional or just local papers. “We sometimes use radio, but radio advertising in our area is a spontaneous, last-minute remind er. I personally don’t do a lot of direct mailing, although there are some sale managers who do. I see nothing wrong with it.” Both Allen and Hammond be lieve in hiring consultants. “When you hire the right people who know the right information, it makes you look good.” said Allen. “We got out of sale manage ment mainly because my interest is in farmers selling the SO- and 60-cow dairies around the upper Northeast,” said Hammond. “I well realize that’s probably a busi ness that’s shortly going to come to a close. The successful sale manager today has to be able to cover a lot broader scope than that.” Hammond has a strong em- pathy for the operators of small family dairies, but believes their day is past. “For those who are interested in selling livestock, I think there’ll be a lot of that kind of business out there in the next two years.” Ham mond said. “Again, I have a soft place in my heart for these people, and I’m very interested in them having a good auction.” C. Sherman Allen is owner ofC. Sherman Allen Auctioneer