By Dr. Roy Burris
Stockyards (sale barns) have long been a part of our heritage, I suppose, ever since they replaced the old “court days” and livestock were traded or sold when folks came to town when court was in session. A recent survey in the southeast indicated that 65% of cattle are sold in sale barns.
Sale barns/stockyards could offer some structure to livestock marketing – more buyers, certified scales, sale rings and they were bonded to handle large sums of money. This provided a new and improved system of price discovery which helped farmers get paid “top dollar” for their livestock.
Being bonded to handle large sums of money is important, too. Did you ever think about how much money the livestock markets “float” before they get paid? Producers get paid immediately after their cattle sell but it might be several days before the stockyard receives their payment – sums that frequently reach a million dollars make this a risky business!
Years ago, stockyards dotted the rural landscape. Small counties had small sale barns while larger areas had larger barns. While this was seen as an advantage in many cases, it led to some problems in southeastern states. Feeder calves were frequently sold early in the week at a small yard, then again a day or two later at a larger barn and sometimes by about Friday they would be sold at the large markets. You talk about “stale cattle”, this was a problem. In the 1970’s Kentucky sold a lot of calves in graded feeder calf sales but stale cattle (in my opinion) contributed to their demise. Our reputation for feeder cattle was so bad that one beef specialist from Texas told me in the early 80’s that “Kentucky just had short, straightbred calves that always got sick and the heifers must be born pregnant.” I can remember that when we started graded “CPH” feeder calf sales that some folks tried to pull the back tags off calves, trim their switches to make them look younger and attempted to pass them off as KY-CPH calves. It didn’t work. Kentucky is now recognized as a source of high quality feeder calves.
Larger stockyards eventually modernized and the small yards disappeared. We now have a livestock marketing system that is as good as any in the U.S.
But sometimes I still think about my childhood when my Dad and I would pull up to the stockyard with a calf or two and “pen hookers” would jump on side of the truck and offer to buy those “little old calves”. They could pay you “cash money and avoid the commission”. Some of them apparently made good money doing this since they would pull a roll of bills out of their bib overalls that would “choke a horse”. We would get unloaded and have enough time to enjoy the best hamburger you ever tasted at the restaurant that was located next to the office and sale ring. Good times!
Livestock marketing has evolved (and improved) over time – like adding video sales, but the actual stockyard continue to be a valuable part of price discovery for our cattle and dependable venues to buy and sell our livestock. A reputable, modern sale barn is an asset to a rural community and this is an appropriate time to recognize their importance to agricultural marketing.