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Open any weekly livestock publication these days and you'll find advertisements for premium cattle auctions across the country. Their popularity is spreading like wildfire, mostly due to the demand from buyers. "We have more and more buyers compete for cattle in our certified sales," says Rick Anstine, manager of Kingsville Livestock Auction in Kingsville, Missouri. "There is definitely a growing demand for these kinds of calves."
"If they don't get a full load bought at my sale, they can buy similar LMA-VACC cattle at another sale barn later that week to finish out their load." Anstine says the program is popular with the buyers because they know they can trust the health of the calves. "Our buyers feel they can pay more for these calves because we certify that they are weaned and vaccinated. We can trace those records back to the original owner." At his last sale, Anstine says he sold 470 head of LMA-VACC program calves. "We don't mix owners. We sell the calves in sorted sets, anywhere from 5 head to 40 head in a group." Another company offering premium sales is Jordan Cattle Auction, which has joined forces with eMerge Interactive to become a CattleinfoNet Interactive Facility. "Buyers understand the value of these weaned and vaccinated calves," says Ken Jordan, Director of Cattle Auctions for eMerge. "They are willing to pay more for them." The premium sales at Jordan Cattle Auction take calf certification one step further by utilizing electronic identification technology. The calves are co-mingled and sorted prior to the sale according to sex, breed and weight, with only a 75 pound variance in each lot. The cattle owner is paid on each calf's individual weight. The lots may vary in size from 3 head to a full load, depending on how the calves sort up. Partial loads are sold in a traditional way to buyers sitting at the auction barn. However, full loads are sold to buyers nationwide as well as those at the auction barn. "Now, by utilizing new technology from eMerge, we are selling the full load lots via a satellite-Internet linkage to feedyards and individuals across the country," says Greg Miller of eMerge Interactive. eMerge feedyard customers that have the eMerge Interactive Platform (eIP) can watch and bid on the premium sale in real-time live on their computer screen. The eIP system gives feedyards even more capability than those participating in regular internet sales where only still photos and pre-recorded video of the cattle for sale are available. With eIP, buyers can participate in "live network" auctions, during which real-time audio and video feed gathered through camcorders and microphones in the sale ring is transferred via satellite to all eIP customers across the country. These customers actually watch the cattle walking through the sale ring and hear the auctioneer sell the cattle. To bid, eIP customers simply hit the "bid" button on their screen. People in the actual sale ring at Jordan Cattle Auction can also bid on the cattle, by using a hand-held radio transmitter. "To make it fair for everyone, all bids are accepted through the computer system, either by a buyer hitting the "bid" button on his computer or with the use of the radio transmitters used in the sale ring," explains Miller. "That levels the playing field for everyone." The auctioneer even leaves the sale ring to eliminate dependency of traditional body-language bids, and sells the cattle from the control room as he watches the bidding on his computer screen. "Eventually we hope to have real-time audio and video feed to all individuals that have Internet access," Miller says. "We're just waiting on technology to catch up to us. Video needs a wider bandwidth than is available with a 56K modem. Once DSL lines reach rural America, then we can take this technology to anyone with the Internet." Currently individuals that are interested in purchasing cattle on the live network auction, but who are not eIP customers, can go to eMerge Interactive offices across the country and bid there. Miller says the demand for preconditioned calves is skyrocketing, and eMerge's technology is making these cattle available to more buyers. eMerge Interactive plans to hold other live networked auctions soon at other CattleinfoNet Interactive Facilities across the country. Leon Roberts buys some of the preconditioned, or "process verified" calves through Jordan's sales. "I buy them because I don't have to doctor them much." Roberts turns the calves out on wheat pasture, then moves them to grass in late spring. "I can take these calves home and turn them right out. I know they're going to start gaining weight, instead of just maintaining while they get healthy." Roberts used to buy fresh calves and straighten them out himself, but has turned to the premium auctions. "Hiring a cowboy to straighten them out at my place is expensive. This is easier," he says with a laugh. "I'm getting too old to do it myself!" |
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