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RFD-TV and RFDHD are now proudly distributed by over 625 small, independent cable operators, along with these loyal distributors
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| How
Does A Video Livestock
Auction Work? Click
here for the Superioir Livestock Schedule. |
Have
you ever watched a Superior Livestock video auction
on RFD-TV and
wondered what they mean when they talk
about a “slide,” what is “shrink,”
or what the
graphics on the screen mean? Maybe you
were curious about how you sell cattle on a
Superior auction, or how you could buy
cattle or horses on one of the “live” auctions.
We thought the best way to answer many of
these questions would be to go through a
step-by-step process of how cattle producers
consign cattle to a Superior auction, and
what must be done if an individual or
company wanted to buy livestock on one of
these auctions.
Regular SLA Auction Overview
Superior Livestock only sells cattle in
truck load lots (48,000 lbs of cattle), so it’s
services cannot be used by every cattleman.
The number of cattle the buyer is bidding on
is the number of cattle in the lot. A buyer
cannot just buy one or two head, he or she
must take all of them. For those producers
who have enough cattle to sell in load lots,
the process begins when a producer contacts
one of the over 400 Superior representatives
located throughout the United States. The
name of the closest representative can be
obtained on Superior’s web site or by calling
one of the Superior offices. The
representative goes to the producer’s farm or
ranch and completes a consignment contract. This “fill
in the blank” contract
describes the cattle as to number of head to
be sold, the projected weight at time of
delivery (base weight), breed type, delivery
date, weighing conditions, vaccination
program, etc. The cattle are filmed by the
representative at that time. A consignment
fee of $2.00/head is paid by the producer for
calves or yearling cattle,
and $5/head for bred stock. This
consignment contract is forwarded to
Superior’s Brush, Colorado office where the
information is entered into a database. After
all of the contracts have been received, the
sale order for the next auction is established
and the auction catalog is printed and mailed
to all qualified buyers. This information is
also available for each auction on the
Superior Livestock web site. The catalog is
mailed early enough so that the buyers have
time to select the lots they are interested in,
and visit with the Superior representative
that has described the cattle, if needed.
The film of the cattle is
sent to Superior’s Fort Worth, TX offices for
editing. Superior’s experienced film editors
edit the field tape down to 2 1/2 minutes of
the best footage. After all tapes are edited, a
one-hour preview is prepared and broadcast
prior to the auction. This allows the buyers to get a brief
view of the cattle prior bidding
on the cattle to compare to the information
listed in the sale catalog or printed from the
Internet.
Let’s Start The Auction
Once the auction begins, the Superior
representative is in contact with the seller as
that seller’s cattle are being sold. After the
auctioneer has obtained the highest price
possible and sells the cattle, the seller has the
right to accept or reject the bid. If a seller
does not think that the cattle sold high
enough they can “no sale” or “pass out” (P.O.)
the cattle. This must be done before the next lot is sold,
which the auctioneer
announces.
During the auction a basic description of
each lot is shown on the screen as the cattle
sell. The lot number, number of head, sex,
estimated weight at delivery, location and
delivery date is shown. The price being
asked is shown in the upper left of the
television screen. When calves or yearlings
are being sold, the price shown is per
hundred pounds. When bred heifers or cows
are being sold, the price shown is per head. If
there is a change from the catalog in the head
count, base weight or delivery date that
change will flash red on the screen, and the
auctioneer will announce these changes.
Following the auction a copy of the sale
contract, along with a part-payment, is
mailed to the seller. The buyer also receives a copy of
the sales contract and pays a part-payment to Superior.
The two most frequently asked questions
are: what is “slide” and what is “shrink”.
As
you have noticed, the heavier the cattle are,
the less they bring on a per pound basis.
Since the “base weight” is just an estimate
of
what the cattle will weigh on the day of
delivery, the slide is the method by which the
price per hundred weight can be lowered if
the cattle weigh more than projected at
delivery. If the slide is 4 cents, then the
hundred weight price will be reduced 4 cents
for each pound the cattle average over the
base weight. (Example: Cattle sell for
$100/cwt with a base weight of 700 lbs and
a 4 cent slide. On the day of delivery they
average 710 lbs or 10 lbs into the slide. Ten
pounds x 4 cents = 40 cents. One hundred
dollars minus 40 cents = $99.60, so the new
price on the cattle is $99.60 per hundred
weight.)
The “shrink” is an established standard
within the cattle industry to adjust for the
stomach content in the animals when
weighing. Since the buyer doesn’t want to
pay for that, the actual weight of the cattle is
adjusted by the amount of the “shrink”.
(Example: A load of cattle are weighed with
a 2% shrink. The “pay weight” will be 98%
of the actual weight of the cattle.)
All cattle sold on Superior are sold F.O.B.
the seller’s farm or ranch, so the buyer will
send his trucks to get the cattle. The Superior representative
will coordinate with
the buyer and seller to set up the delivery
date and inform the buyer where to have his
trucks and at what time.
On the day of delivery the Superior
representative will sort the cattle to comply
with the description in the contract, weigh
the cattle and issue a check drawn on
Superior’s bonded custodial account to the
seller. The seller is charged a 2% sales
commission for marketing his calves or
yearlings through Superior. If bred stock is
marketed the commission is 3%. The
commission is deducted from the proceeds
check at delivery. The buyer will wire the
amount owed for the cattle to Superior after
the cattle arrive at his ranch or feedlot. The
only other cost to the buyer is the freight.
If an individual wishes to purchase cattle
on Superior, he or she must first register as a
buyer before the day of the sale. They will
furnish their name, address, phone numbers
and a banking reference to Superior. The
financial capabilities of the prospective buyer
is verified with the financial institution
before a buyer’s number is issued to the
individual.
When a buyer wishes to bid on cattle, he
or she will dial the private telephone bid line
at the auction prior to that lot being offered.
They will furnish their name and buyer’s
number to the Superior representative they
are talking to at the auction and that person
will bid to the auctioneer at the direction of the buyer.
An estimated time for the sale of
each lot is listed for each auction on the
Superior Livestock web site, by clicking
Time Schedule under Video Auctions.
Purebred Cattle Auctions
Many purebred cattle breeders have seen
the advantage of broadcasting their bull and
female production auctions via satellite. The
increased exposure and new buyers have
resulted in more successful auctions for the
breeders. Many of these breeders are
featured in The American Rancher television
series on RFD-TV, which gives viewers the
opportunity to get a real behind-the-scenes
look at that operation, the history of that
ranch and its stock, and the families that are
carrying on the great tradition of that ranch.
These purebred auctions are a little
different from the regular Superior auctions
in that Superior does not actually conduct
the auction, the breeder does. Superior is printed in each
issue of RFD-TV The
Magazine and also listed on the Superior
Livestock web site, under “Superior
Productions”. Individuals may register as a
buyer by contacting the breeder or calling
Superior.
Production Horse Auctions
In recent years, several registered Quarter
Horse breeders have utilized the capabilities of Superior
Livestock Auction and RFD-TV
to broadcast their production auctions “live” from
their ranch or sale barn. These are not consignment auctions,
but instead are horses
that were bred and raised by the breeder.
As with the purebred cattle auctions, an
individual may register as a buyer by either
contacting the breeder or Superior Livestock.
At the present time Superior does not conduct consignment
horse auctions where
an individual with one or two horses can
consign them to an auction.
We hope this has answered many of the
questions regarding how the Superior
auction you see on RFD-TV works.
If you want more information about
buying or selling livestock on Superior you
can call 817-624-3800, or log on to
www.superiorlivestock.com.
Click here for the Superioir Livestock Schedule.
Superior Livestock Auction
131 East Exchange Ave. Suite 121
Fort Worth, TX 76106
817-624-3800
info@superiorlivestock.com
www.superiorlivestock.com
Superior Livestock Auction, Inc.
PO Box 38, Brush, CO 80723
800-422-2117 – Fort Worth, Texas office
800-523-6610 - Brush Business Office
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