Sale-O, Sale-O, Sale-O
The sun finally came out this week – with temperatures making it up to 75F (24C).
Classes this week covered cost of production calculation, feed formulations, conversions from as fed to dry matter intake, feeding and profit analysis on fed vs unfed cattle. But the focus of week was definitely on the K-State Legacy Bull Sale and Cattlemen’s Day. On Thursday our beef systems class had the pleasure of hearing from Sam Hands, who later that night, was presented Stockman of the year at the Stockmen’s dinner. Sam provided insights into what he had learnt on his ranch, industry trends and advice for young people with a passion for the industry. I found it particularly interesting to hear how they have been able to expand their business and spread risk by utilising satellite farms, essentially ‘contracting’ calving cows, both on a cost per head and profit share arrangement.
We were also lucky enough to hear from Jordan from Arcadia asset management group. The group have just purchased the JBS feedyard operation in the US, in conjunction with other investors. I feel so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to hear from him, I wrote literally pages of notes and could easily spend hours more asking questions. He provided an interesting perspective into external investment into agriculture. He reinforced the importance of integrity in any business, and the incredible opportunities afforded in agriculture. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Stockmen’s Dinner on Thursday evening, with so many prominent industry figures, who presented a touching tribute to the career of Sam Hands.
On friday I was able to attend Cattleman’s Day in the morning, walked through the trade show and inspected various displays from K-State departments, genetics companies to cattle handling equipment.
I was also able to attend the morning presentation sessions, and hear from Gregg Doud, who has just been announced Chief Agricultural Negotiator. He provided some incredible insights into the global market place, the major US export markets and the effects of those on domestic producers. K-State Ag Economist Glynn Tonsor followed this presentation, diving further into the numbers.
Friday afternoon, and it was sale time - finally a semi-familiar situation! Our livestock sales class was in full swing prep for the sale, registering bidders, prepping food, inspecting the sale line up in pens and chatting with people as they arrived. At 3:30pm it was sale time, Bulls first and then cows. The sale day atmosphere is universal – I experienced the same adrenaline rush and atmosphere on either side of the planet! I was even able to have a go at being ‘ringman’ for the cow portion of the sale – similar to ‘spotting’ bids in Australia. I am so grateful for the learning opportunities that I have been offered – and the incredible patience and understanding of the sales staff and buyers, especially as I spoke ‘Australian’.
There were still some notable differences between this sale, and the sales my colleagues at Elders conduct – the main one being the auctioneer, Australian auctioneers will call the price they have, while American auctioneers will call the price they are looking for, there is certainly a different style and rhythm also!
Sale Averages were as follows: 20 Bulls ave $3,793 35 Cows ave $2,214 Total ave $2,891
Saturday afternoon I met a friend for lunch; on her recommendation we had fried pickles and peanut butter burgers – definitely a new American experience! Surprisingly was pretty tasty!