In this edition of the ABBA F1 Newsletter, I\u2019m going to talk about the different marketing opportunities available to F1 breeders looking to sell pens of cattle across the United States. There is a plethora of well-managed sales held every year as well as online marketing resources available.
\nThe \u201cQueen of Cow Country\u201d, the certified F1 Brahman female, is in high demand, but the key to getting top dollar for your quality animal is putting her in front of the right buyers at the right time and having her in good condition.<\/p>\n
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Consigning to F1 Sales<\/strong> Online Options<\/strong> Spring\/ Summer Consignment Sales<\/strong> **Feb. 13 \u2013 Annual San Antonio Livestock Show All Breeds Bull & Commercial Female Sale **Feb. 27 \u2013 Houston Livestock Show Commercial Female & Registered Range Bulls March 2 \u2013 Cattleman\u2019s Opportunity Female Sale March 9 \u2013 Zero Brahman Ranch Annual Select Heifer Sale Early March \u2013 Independent Cattlemen\u2019s Association All Breeds Bull & Heifer Sale **March 16 \u2013 ABBA National F1 and TBA Brahman Female Sale **March 23 \u2013 Louisiana Brahman Association Brahman\/F1 Invitational Sale April 6 \u2013 Southern Classic Registered Brahman and F1 Sale April 6 \u2013 Heart of Texas Special Replacement Female Sale April 13 \u2013 \u201cQueens of the South\u201d Spring Replacement Sale April 20 \u2013 Deep South Brahman & F1 Sale May 8 \u2013 Cattleman\u2019s Top Cut Sale June 1 \u2013 Carolinas Brahman Breeders Association Sale The \u201cQueen of Cow Country\u201d, the certified F1 Brahman female, is in high demand, but the key to getting top dollar for your quality animal is …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2400,"featured_media":9673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[71,18,19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-abba-f1","8":"category-american-brahman-breeders","9":"category-brahman-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9677,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9672\/revisions\/9677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brahmanjournal.com\/cattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAs my dad always told me, \u201cRemember the 5 Ps – Prior planning prevents poor performance.\u201d
\nFigure out what type of pen you want to put together \u2013 open heifers, bred heifers, pairs or maybe a 3-n-1 set, and make the right management choices to ensure your cattle are in the right stage of life and condition when the sale takes place.
\nAlso, keep in mind that some of the big sales need your nomination forms months in advance and your cattle must be accepted by a sale committee. For example, the 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo All Breeds Sale packet is posted on the Gulf Tex marketing website already and the sale isn\u2019t until the last week of February.
\nIf you are a new participant interested in consigning to a sale, be sure to contact each sale\u2019s respective manager to gather information about consignment requirements and time frames.
\nMost sale managers will provide an informational packet to consignors that includes important information, like a schedule of events, information on sale requirements, nomination forms, taxes, and more. At this time, producers will need to make the final selections for their pens and ensure the cattle meet all necessary sale requirements.
\nIn the last weeks leading up to the sale, consignors should get their animals in top condition, re-tag them, clean them up and get them ready to haul! Keep in mind that all sales require valid health papers, and if you are going to a sale with a lot of out-of-state buyers, go ahead and get their travel papers\/tags.
\nI can\u2019t recommend enough that consignors get good photos of their lots, and if possible, video. A little advertising can go a long way! Send your photos to the sale manager early so they can use them in the sale book or on their website. Check out last year\u2019s catalog if you can find one and see how much room you have for footnotes. Put together a good, size-appropriate writeup about your cattle. Make an announcement on your ranch\u2019s website and\/or Facebook page, post to online cattle groups, call up past clients and buy ads in appropriate publications. Let people know what you have for sale and when they will sell!<\/p>\n
\nIf you don\u2019t want to participate in one of the larger consignment sales, you can choose to post your cattle online for sale by private treaty. The trick is connecting to the right buyer; you need a cattle person to notice your listing amongst the sea of digital media.
\nTwo of the most post popular websites for selling f1 cattle are cattlerange.com and cattle-exchange.com. Facebook can be a great sales resource too. Technically, it is against their policy to sell animals using the marketplace forums, but most of the time, breeders can still list cattle for sale by private treaty in groups and get good responses.
\nSome of the groups I recommend joining are \u201cF1 Cattle For Sale or Lease\u201d, \u201cBrahman & Brahman Cross Cattle Farmers\u201d, \u201cThe Cattlemen\u2019s Connection\u201d, \u201cBrahman Cattle Greys Reds Blacks Forum\u201d, \u201cCattle And Equipment For Sale\u201d, \u201cSOUTHEASTERN CATTLE OWNERS\u201d, \u201cHereford Cattle – By Private Treaty ONLY!\u201d, \u201cAngus Cattle Blacks Reds Forum\u201d along with others. This is just a short list. Be sure to search for groups that are connected to your geographic region too. For example, if you live in Texas or nearby, join the \u201cTexas Cattle and farm Equipment For sale\u201d group.
\nPlan on answering lots of private messages (check your message request folder on Facebook too), phone calls and emails. It\u2019s hard to beat a live crowd of ready-to-bid cattlemen with trailers in tow, but if you are tech savvy, you can connect to buyers with zero to minimal commissions and on your time table. Feeding cattle is expensive and not having to wait that extra month or two until the sale might be worth it to your operation. You just need to weigh the pros and cons for your situation.<\/p>\n
\nBelow are some of the top Spring and Summer sales venues for selling F1 cattle. If you are interested in consigning to one of these sales, call the contact numbers listed below and start planning this fall!
\nFeb. 9 \u2013 Annual Southwestern Exposition Invitational Commercial Heifer Sale
\nFort Worth, Texas \u2022 Contact Robert Schaucher at 817-219-0102<\/p>\n
\nSan Antonio, Texas \u2022 Contact Jim Banner or Michael Sturgess at 210-524-9697
\nor Anthony Mihalski at 210-648-5475<\/p>\n
\nHouston, Texas \u2022 Contact John Atkinson at 979-482-2018<\/p>\n
\nNixon, Texas \u2022 Contact Lew Thompson at 830-965-3058<\/p>\n
\nThibodaux, Louisiana \u2022 Contact Michael Herbert at 985-446-1316<\/p>\n
\nBeaumont, Texas \u2022 Contact Bill Hyland at 512-620-0162<\/p>\n
\nCaldwell, Texas \u2022 Contact Milton Charanza at 979-450-8588<\/p>\n
\nOpelousas, Louisiana \u2022 Contact Mike Dominique at 337-654-4030<\/p>\n
\nHattiesburg, Mississippi \u2022 Contact Philip Gilstrap at 864-506-0463,
\nMatt Pounds at 334-590-7535, or Mike Mitchell at 601-916-6766<\/p>\n
\nGroesbeck, Texas \u2022 Contact Tom Johnson at 817-291-5121<\/p>\n
\nCrockett, Texas \u2022 Contact Blaine Weiterman at 903-360-1743<\/p>\n
\nMeridian, Mississippi \u2022 Contact Chris Shivers at 713-202-1747<\/p>\n
\nNavasota Texas \u2022 Contact Tom Johnson at 817-291-5121<\/p>\n
\nPendleton, South Carolina \u2022 Contact Philip Gilstrap at 864-506-0463
\nor Matt Pounds at 334-590-7535<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"