N.Y. Sheep And Goat Telauction Sales A Qualified Success
Robert J. Melchior
Marketing Coordinator
Northeast Sheep And
Goat Marketing Program
At Cornell University
ITHACA, N.Y. The North
east Sheep and Goat Marketing
Program had several objectives
in mind when the arrangement
for the graded Easter Telauctions
Grader Dave Albert confirming a grading decision at
N.Y. Sheep and Goat Sale.
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were made with Empire Live
stock Sales. Naturally, accept
able prices for producers were an
important factor and to achieve
these, we sought to increase vol
ume at the sales and to attract
additional buyers through the
use of the telephone. Reorganiza
tion of the sale system was also
necessary to accommodate the
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potential remote buyers and to
speed up the sale process.
Empire Livestock Sales man
agement was entirely supportive
of our suggestions. Preparation
for the sales included back
ground work to review credit for
potential buyers and training of
each sale barn’s office staff in the
use of the computer program
that would be necessary for the
graded side.
Finally, in the days leading up
to the sale, pens sufficient to hold
the expected volume of small an
imals had to be constructed at
the three participating sale
bams. This in itself was no small
task as these barns are currently
organized for handling cattle and
calves. Holes had to be plugged
and the individual pens organ
ized for a smooth flow of animals
from the scale and grading area
to the pens.
The sale process itself went
well overall. The Chatham sale
which was held Friday, April 6,
was independent of the other two
sales being held on Saturday,
April 7. Considerable labor was
brought in to handle what turned
out to be a smaller than expected
sale of roughly 250 sheep and
goats. A very adequate pool of
buyers appeared at the sale, but
no buyers participated on the tel
CUMMINGS and BRICKER, INC.
ephone. Prices received by pro
ducers were excellent and the
sale process went very smoothly.
Dryden and Gouverneur sales
were held on Saturday, April 7.
The process was more strained at
these locations. Dryden received
a greater than expected volume
including a large complement of
cull sheep. Additionally, a com
plication between the pen num
bering system and the computer
program created some headaches
for the office staff. Gouverneur
also faced some learning curve
problems and, as in Dryden, the
start of the sale was slightly de
layed.
Once again, buyer support at
the sale bams proved adequate to
obtain competitive prices for pro
ducers. No outside buyers partic
ipated on the telephone. How
ever, the telephone link between
Dryden and Gouverneur was ac
tively utilized and contributed
greatly to the Gouverneur price
levels. Volume for these sales was
approximately 800 at Dryden
and 350 for Gouverneur.
The sale process at all three
barns moved quickly. The graded
portions of the sale took about 30
minutes in Chatham and Gou
vemeur. In both cases, the auc
tion was run using summary
sheets in a location away from
the live
stock.
The ani
mals were
not moved
into the
sales arena,
as is the
procedure in
most auc
tions, but re
mained in
their respec
tive pens.
Buyers who
were present
could view
the pens be
fore the sale.
All lambs
and kids
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were graded and buyers on the
phone relied on the graders’
judgment and description to
make their offers.
At the Dryden sale, because of
the inaccessibility of some pens
and the large number of animals,
it was decided to conduct the
auction at the pens themselves.
This procedure worked well with
the exception that the large gal
lery of onlookers were not in a
good position to witness the
transactions.
General comparisons of prices
with other local sales (all ungrad
ed) reveal a slight advantage for
the graded sales. Also, compari
son with the general price reports
issued by New Holland Sales
Stables seems to indicate that the
graded auctions performed at
least as well.
In post sale evaluations, all
sale bam managers expressed
satisfaction with the process and
an intention to continue to offer
similar sale procedures in the fu
ture. Buyers liked the procedure
because it moved the sale along
quickly. Other individual sugges
tions were passed along to the
sale barn managers.
The Northeast Sheep and
Goat Marketing Program will ex
pand its efforts to identify
slaughterhouses in the region
which are handling sheep and
goats and to post this informa
tion on the internet. Although
the Easter sales went well, it was
apparent that our lists and calls
were not sufficient to significant
ly expand the buyer base. The ex
panded lists will be available for
producers and sale managers to
utilize to improve their market
ing results. These will be avail
able at the new program Website
www.sheepgoatmarketing.org.
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