by Darol Dickinson
Texas Longhorn cattle are feeling the shake-up as a result of the big "V." Professional sports athletes are now considering a burger-flipping job. Stormy Daniels may hunt a job calling bingo. The crusty taxi driver can't get anyone who trusts the sanitary environment to ride. And, Texas Longhorn consignment sales are quickly canceling.
Tom Brady may or may not learn to flip burgers, or mow lawns, but Texas Longhorn producers can learn to market their cattle without consignment sales. Ranchers can learn to sell their calves without the local generic auction barn. In fact, when producers are forced to privately market their own cattle the economy of sales, and increased profit will shock them -- in a very good way.
Auction sales make producers lazy. When a rancher sends the hired man with a load of angus calves to the local auction barn, he is asked, "Do you want the check today or mailed?" The hired man will answer, "Mail a check." The name on the ranch truck will indicate the address for mailing. The hired man drives away -- ladies and gentlemen, that is the total marketing effort for millions of calves all over the USA. That is not enough! Ranchers have gotten very, very market-lazy. And, the check they receive is getting smaller and smaller.
Ranchers can wring their hands or get an extra job working for the government, but most will fight and kick never to work at marketing -- even when that is the salvation of their family business. They desperately want someone else to market for them, no matter how expensive or how bad of marketing job the hireling does. Ranchers love the concept of coop-marketing where they send their bulls to a "promoter" and he gets half the auction sale price for doing their marketing. Ranchers love to fly to the big auction, stay in an elegant hotel, eat some good steaks, watch their cattle sale from a safe distance, and get a check -- they are lazy as sin!
In the Texas Longhorn world life without consignment sales will prove to be a sweet thing. In the last few years there have been up to 4 sales a week. The constantly lower prices show increasing bad sale management, and for the love of Pete - within minutes the sale results are world wide on Facebook trashing the industry value. A recent sale had 7 of the first 10 lots passed out. What a negative report to publish on FB and tell the world -- as if there was no shame -- no pride for the breed! Those who publish the miserly sale results are equally as distructive as the bad sale managers.
With current sale cancellations private selling will not have to compete with highly promoted party-sales. More cattle will be sold by first-time private sellers than ever before and people are going to like it. They are going to love the economy of private selling. They can actually sell for less and net more. The buyer will also love it. If a bull sells for a zillion dollars let the world know the good news, run an ad of congratulations. If a bull sells for hamburger, let his final demise be without world wide facebook publication. The value of the breed will increase -- just watch and see.
Private marketing is personal. Often buyers and sellers meet and become friends. Serious buyers come to the ranch and personally study breeding programs. Private buyers often work together on marketing efforts, or partnerships, to promote a family of cattle. To the total opposite, auctions use numbers to prevent buyers and sellers from communicating. The on-line or video auctions are even less personal. Most auction sellers will never actually meet the buyer of their cattle, or probably even know what their number is?
Private marketing of Texas Longhorns is not a new skill. Cattle have sold privately for thousands of years. On the Dickinson Cattle Co site there are 14 learning articles on marketing. See https://www.texaslonghorn.com/longhorn_info/marketing_tips/index.cfm
Start out where our family started 53 years ago. Read this article on Entry Level Marketing at: Click Here
Private selling of cattle is old, new, exciting, profitable, contagious, personal, habit-forming, economical, simple, easy, but requires persistence. You can't just say, "Mail a check." Some preparation, thought and energy is require, but it is worth it. You are going to like this new and improved profitable world. Too bad -- it took a world pandemic to get to this point.
