Archive for dairy cattle sales

Dairy Cattle Investment: Are You In or are You Out?

Investing in dairy cattle can seem risky to many breeders.  Doing so, when prices are setting new records, can scare even the most confident among us.  However, more recently, prices have taken a downward trend and now could be the time to ask, “Am I in this for the long haul?  Or do I prefer to sit on the sidelines?”

With many sales coming up throughout North America, there are certainly going to be lots of animals to choose from.  For the first time in recent years, supply might be greater than demand.  There are two main reasons for this.  First, so many of the top cattle have been on extensive IVF programs that the owners of these cattle have way more daughters than their breeding program needs.  (Read more: FAST TRACK GENETICS: More Results in Less Time and IVF: Boom or Bust for the Dairy Industry)  Considering the significant investment that IVF requires, these breeders are looking to recoup their expenses as soon as possible.  Also typically these calves are most valuable at as young an age as possible, so that their indexes are as high relative to the rest of the breed as possible (Read more: Informed Heifer Buying – Are you fully prepared?)

The second reason that prices may be the lowest we have seen in years is that it appears that we have passed the investor bubble that funded massive investment and high prices over the past few years.  Many early investors are now realizing that there were more expenses associated with running their genetic programs than they first anticipated (i.e. IVF, recipients, feed etc.) and are starting to wonder if it was a wise investment after all.  Most were thinking their investment have a short-term 2-3 year payout and not take longer than that.  Perhaps they didn’t account for three specific things:

  1. Flush history of the animals they were purchasing.
    Even with IVF there is no comparison on the return of a family that flushes well compared to one that only produces 4-5 eggs even on IVF.  IVF may give more progeny than you would have had using traditional flush methods, but it also incurs more expense.
  2. Cost of recipients
    One area many breeders/investors do not account for when first purchasing is recipient costs.  From that purchase to, feeding and then adding on implanting expenses, the investment in recipients can often outweigh the cost of the actual donor animal.  After multiple years of flushing and then starting to flush the progeny of the original donor, these costs can skyrocket.
  3. True return on investment
    First things first.  I know many investors invested without even having a clear plan.  “They just wanted to make big money.”  In addition, thought that ROI would happen quickly.  Many perceptive and knowledgeable investors would have realized that a significant return would have to come from semen sales and not from live animal sales.  The problem with building your program around semen sales is that you first need to be in the top .1 percent of the breed and secondly it takes many years to actually see this payoff.

Having said all that, now just may be the wise time to invest.  You see the initial whoosh has passed and prices are now dropping on many great animals.  Over the past few months I have seen animals that are within the top .2 percent of the breed selling for less than $5,000, sometimes even less than $3,000. (Read more: Where did the money go?)  Many naysayers would say this is the price these animals should be selling for anyway.  Those who are willing to do their homework, invest their time and not just their money, are now able to pick up some great animals that can significantly advance their breeding programs.  Even if you have no interest in doing IVF on them, at those prices they can make their return with just traditional flushing techniques, or even just breeding them normally.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that any marketplace is going to have its highs and lows.  It’s those with the perception to understand when the highs are and when the lows are that are going to make the most return on their investment.  In the dairy genetics marketplace there is no question we are currently entering a down period.  The thing many wise investors will realize is that it takes two years of planning in advance to know when it’s the time to invest and when it’s the time to sell.  Just now, if we look two years out, it looks pretty safe to say that prices will be higher.  That is simply market economics.  Therefore, those with the cash flow to invest in some additions to their herd may find that “Now!”  is the exactly right time for them to buy.

 

Not sure how much to spend on that great 2 year old or heifer?
Want to make sure you are investing your money wisely?
Download our Dairy Cow Investment Calculator.

 

Informed Heifer Buying – Are you fully prepared?

In the heat of an auction buyers need to be well aware of the genetic merit of the animal they are bidding on. Sales managers make every effort to make sure that the numbers in the sales catalogues are accurate and complete, however there is frequently added information that potential buyers did not have when they closely reviewed the catalogue before the sale. Additionally at times buyers may not be aware if the animal in the sales ring is of elite genetic merit.

In an attempt to give buyers interested in purchasing an elite young female to add to their breeding or marketing program from future sales this fall, the Bullvine has analyzed the heifers born and registered in the herd books in North America from March 2012 to August 2013. This group of females was chosen as they are likely to be the ages of heifers that will go through sales auctions over the next two months. The information from the CDN files was used as it is the animal information that is available free of charge.

Breed Toppers

Buyers are advised to have at their fingertips the total merit indexes for the very best animals so that they can value an animal that they are considering buying. The following table lists the averages for the top twenty-five heifers.

Figure 1.0 Top Twenty-Five North American Heifers (Born March 2012 to August 2013)

RANKNAME# OF DAUGHTERS
1ATWOOD X DUNDEE6
1SANCHEZ X GOLDWYN6
3FEVER X DURHAM5
3GOLDWYN X DUNDEE5
5GOLDWYN X ASPEN4
5GOLDWYN X DAMION4
5PICOLO X ADVENT4
8BRAXTON X GOLDWYN3
8CONTENDER X ADVENT3
8DUNDEE X GOLDWYN3
8JASPER X GOLDWYN3
8SANCHEZ X DUNDEE3
8SPIRTE X ALLEGIANCE3

Some points worthy of note from this table are: i) do not compare the Holstein and Jersey LPI values as the formulae differ; ii) the top 25 Holstein heifers are a very elite group with the DGV LPIs exceeding the gLPIs by 161 points; iii) Red Carrier Holsteins heifers have made considerable improvement in the last couple of years by the use of top BW sires on RC or Red females; iv) Polled Holsteins heifers have and are likely to continue to make rapid advancement again by the use of top horned BW sires on polled females; and v) the values listed for the Red Holstein heifers are parent averages as only two of the top twenty five heifers were genomically tested.

Use these benchmarks as you review the sales catalogues either on-line or using a hard copy of the catalogue.

Top Values

Often buyers wish to know benchmark numbers beyond the LPI value. The average index for the top five heifers for each trait in each animal category are as follows:

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Remember these are the averages for the very best five animals in the various categories.

Sires of the Heifers

Buyers often want to know the sires of the top heifers. Knowing the sires of the top twenty-five heifers gives an indication of who the competition will be when you are marketing in the future from your purchases.

Sires with more that two daughters in the various categories are listed below. Each category has twenty five heifers. The bracketed number is the number of daughters the sire has on the list.

Holstein

  • Seagull-Bay Supersire (8)
  • De-Su BKM McCutchen (5)

RC Holstein

  • De-Su BKM McCutchen (6)
  • Seagull-Bay Supersire (5)
  • Mountfield SSI Dorcy Mogul (4)

Polled Holstein

  • Sea-Gull Bay Supersire (9)
  • Da-So-Burn MOM Earnhardt P (5)

Red Holstein

  • Dymentholm S Sympatico (8)
  • Curr-Vale Destined (5)
  • Tiger-Lily Ladd P-Red (5)

Jersey

  • Sunset Canyon Dimension (5)
  • All Lynns Valentino Marvel (4)

Health & Fertility

In the Holstein breed many breeders are starting to place increased emphasis on the Health and Fertility rating that CDN assigns animals. The value assigned can be found by looking up the animal on the CDN website. Factors used in calculating the H&F index include: Herd Life; SCS; Daughter Fertility; Milking Speed; and some other correlated traits.

The top five Holstein heifers in the various categories had average DGV Health and Fertility ratings as follows:  Holstein 465;  RC Holstein 413;  Polled Holstein 423. Clearly an animal over 375 to 400 for H&F is at the top of the breed. An H%F value is not available for Red Holstein as so few of them are genomically tested.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

It is important to know the genetic superiority of an animal when purchasing or using them in your breeding or marketing program. It is the Bullvine’s hope that the above statistics will assist. Wise investment should give you a leg up on moving your herd forward.

 

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Investing in Dairy Cattle Genetics – Think Outside the Box

The Bullvine has produced many articles on investing in genetics using genomic information including our early article 6 Ways to invest $50,000 in Dairy Cattle Genetics. Other Bullvine articles included Craswell Common Sense – Go For the Total Package, Mapel Wood Farms – Invest in the Best Forget the Rest,  The Judge’s Choice – Investment Advice from Tim Abbott, and the Bullvine’s frequent articles on top picks in upcoming sales (Read more: Dairy Cattle Investment Advice). All these articles deal with finding and investing in the very top genetic animals.  Today these investments are usually virgin heifers. Specifically, they are the ones that everyone sees in the press, in on-line sales catalogues or on Facebook. These young females usually sell for over $20,000 to $25,000. But what does a beginning breeder do? With limited capital what options are there if you want to kick-start the genetic level of his herd or start a new cow families? You need to think outside the box.

Invest Your Time

The term ‘sweat equity’ is often used when a person takes on a project themselves rather than hiring an outside expert.  Well the sweat equity when it comes to buying top genetics is the time that you will need to invest in researching and finding animals. This is not meant to say that your time is worth little. What it does mean is that breeders, taking this approach, will need to search, search, search,…study, study, study,… and above all exercise patience until they find the right one(s).

At every sale there will be some good buys. It just takes time to do your homework to know which ones are good and which ones you will regret.

The Concept

A concept that bottom line focused beginning breeder might consider is to buy a top heifer for $6,000 or less. Flush the heifer and put embryos in your low genetic merit animals. The heifer will need to have a Net Merit of $775, a gTPI™ of 2400 or a DVG LPI of +3200.

Some folks may ask why invest in a heifer and not in embryos. Well it comes down to economics. Embryos from top cows sell for $1500 to $2000. It takes five unsexed embryos to get a live heifer. Then you must factor in that perhaps only one in four heifers will have high enough genomic numbers to be near the top and you can have $30,000 invested in getting a top daughter. It is more cost effective to buy a heifer about which you already know the genomic numbers.

So the challenge or opportunity, depending on how you look at it, is to find and buy a heifer that does not top the charts but is close to the top and that will give you progeny whose genomic indexes exceed, by a considerable amount, their parent average and that is  also an animal that does not cost an arm and a leg to buy.

Know Your Focus

As most breeders do not attend or participate in showing, the focus for breeders early in their careers will be cow families, high lifetime yields, fertility and ability to stay in the herd and not be culled. In the future that check list is likely to include feed and labor efficiency. Above all when you’re starting out establish your focus. It will change over time but searching for show genetics one week, protein yield the next week and then before the month is out five other traits is not likely to get you to where you need to be. This is especially true if you are working with only a couple of heifers at any given time. Unlike breeders with a larger program who can likely cover a number of breeding fronts at one time.

Don’t let the excitement of the sale get the better of you.  Keep your focus and know your criteria, your price may be different than someone elses, that’s ok.  You have to do what works for your plan.

Purchase Criteria

Breeding chart topping heifers and bulls can not be achieved by starting with animals that are only moderately above average (for example gTPI™ of 2000 to 2200 or gLPI of +2800 to +3000). You need to be starting with animals that are 95% Rank or higher at least for the major traits you are breeding for.  Starting any lower will mean that you are two to three generations away from having chart toppers. The Bullvine polled a number of people who have had success in topping the charts and they provided the following necessary ingredients for success:

  • Cow Families – success is much more likely if you purchase heifers from cow families that have high genomic values
  • Sire Stack – make sure the sires behind the heifer are high indexing and that the sires’ indexes compliment your objectives
  • Ability to Flush – you need to get 6+ embryos per flush and there are differences between families in how they flush (Read more: What Comes First The Chicken Or The Egg)
  • The Heifer will need to produce well, for milk fat and protein, and classify GP83 or higher in her first lactation. Eventually she will need to score VG.
  • The heifer’s genomic indexes (DGVs) will need to be within 200 for gTPI™ or 300 for gLPI of the very best heifers on the lists
  • A cow with many daughters with very high genomic indexes is a family you should be buying from
  • Likely the heifer you will be able to afford will be the third ranking full sister by a high genomic evaluated bull. It is how she will breed that will be important not that she’s third ranked.

What are the Facts

Knowing that the our readers like to see the actual facts, the Bullvine did an analysis on the top one hundred indexing heifers born and registered from January to June (inclusive) in 2013 in North America. The sources of the data for this study was CDN as it is the only source where breeders are not charged for look-ups. Here is what we found:

  • All but three of the top one hundred indexing heifers are sired by bulls with only a genomic index. Those three are sired by bulls on the top ten International gTPI™ list.
  • Females with a DGV LPI below +3200 can produce top daughters when mated to the best bulls available. The dams of the top one hundred heifers with DGV LPIs below +3200 broke out as follows: 2 have daughters in the top ten; 18 in the top fifty and 35 in the top one hundred.
  • As we would expect the top 20 heifers are a very superior group. i) All are from well known high indexing cow families. ii) All are over +3500 for their gLPI averaging + 3568; iii) Their DGV LPIs exceed their gLPIs by 338 on average.  iv) Seven are sired by Seagull-Bay Supersire, five by De-Su BKM McCutchen and eight by six other high genomic bulls. v)  These twenty heifers make the top of the list because they are exceptionally high for traits like fat yield, protein yield, herd life, SCS, daughter fertility and mammary system. vi) Worthy of note in the fact that only one  of the twenty does not have positive indexes for %F and %P.
  • One dam MISS OCD ROBST DELICIOUS-ET has seven daughters that make the top one hundred list. Her Butz-Butler Shotglass daughter tops the list at +3682 gLPI and her DGV LPI is a very high + 3909; that DVG LPI is 401 over the DVG LPI average of her parents. The Crocket-Acres Elita Family has three heifers in the top twenty.
  • One heifer, S-S-I Zeus Mae 9096-ET, stands out as far exceeding (by 640 LPI) her parents in DVG LPI. Her sire De-Su Robust Zeus 11009-ET (DVG LPI +3301) and dam S-S-I Observ Manteca 7197-ET (DGV LPI + 3020) are not list toppers in their own right but together they produced this #6 heifer.

The Short Story

It is possible to get top progeny (daughters and sons) from females that may not quite be at the top of the indexing lists, provided, you use complimentary mating (Read more: Let’s Talk Mating Strategies)  and the very best sires available on those females.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Innovative forward thinking breeders have been and will always be the people who move dairy cattle breeding ahead. They are not satisfied to only think within the box. They use the approach that work for them. That’s always the best alternative.

 

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Stop the Sale! Genomics, Chocolate and the Future of the Dairy Breeding Industry

“This cow is being stolen!” cries out Horace Backus, from the auctioneer’s box at the US National Convention sale.  ‘A beautiful Jasper daughter with such a magnificent pedigree gets such a low offer – that is pure robbery!” adds Backus.  Pounding his fists onto the podium, Backus has a point, since they are getting less than $5,000 for a very productive cow and moments earlier a very young calf sired by a genomic young sire sold for over $20,000.  Here you have an animal already proving her profitability versus a calf that has nothing more to show for herself then a simple little test?  I ask you ”Does the marketplace have it all wrong?”

Last week I was at our local county show (Read more: For Love of the Ring) and was talking with Doug Brown, owner of Browndale Specialty Sires.  I have known Doug for over 30 years and have huge respect for him.  One point that Doug made was related to the fact that at BSS they have 3 bulls in the top 100 LPI.  This is a huge success for a breeding program that samples just a handful of bulls every year.  And yet the conundrum, Doug says, is that they would be lucky if the three sires sold as much semen as the latest hot genomic sire.  Again here we have a well proven and profitable commodity being outsold by a relatively unknown entity.

Can you have too much of a good thing?

Is genomics kind of like chocolate?  Sure it’s great in small amounts when used correctly and it’s a great antioxidant.  However regularly over-indulging in chocolate can result in significant weight gain, sugar complications and kidney problems from the high potassium.

Now anyone who has read the Bullvine with any regularity knows that we are strong proponents of genomics (Read more: Genomics at Work – August 2013, Genomics: Think Big Not Small and Stop Pissing On Genomics).  But have we started to take things too far?  We hear breeders starting to question if they should register their cattle anymore?  (Read more: Why Do We Register?) Should we type classify anymore?  (Read more: Is Type Classification Still Important?  And Over-Scored and Over-Rated – Are we helping or hurting the dairy classification system?) and Should we only use Genomic Young Sires when making mating decisions?  (Read more: How Much Can You Trust Genomic Young Sires? and Genomic Young Sires vs. Daughter Proven Sires: Which one is best for reliable genetic gain?) Have we overused a good thing?

Many times I have had the opportunity to talk with Ari Eckstein of Quality Holsteins (Read more: Quality Holsteins – Well-deserved Congratulations  and Quality Cattle Look Good Every Day) and Ari has always reminded me that “Yes Andrew!”  genomics is a useful tool and at Quality they do use high genomic test type sires, However, he reminds us   “There is still a need to look at all the tools available when making breeding decisions that will result in generation after generation of proven cow families.”  At Quality they use genomics kind of like a great pastry chef uses chocolate.  It’s not the only thing tool they use and they use it as one ingredient.  In other words, genomics should be only one part of many factors used to make complete a great breeding recipe.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

I think many breeders have emptied the kitchen cupboards and thrown out all the other ingredients, or tools, that they used to use when making their breeding and purchasing decisions and now are only using one.  Even the likes of dark chocolate or Alba white truffles ($9,300 per kilo) are only great when they are used to enhance the tasting experience.  Great breeding decisions come when we stop using just one tool and find the best way to apply specific strengths to specific goals.  . When it comes to better breeding and the tools you use, genomics shouldn’t be the only one you use or be used as an all-in-one but it is definitely one to be reckoned with! Genomics for chocolate.  Now that’s sweet!!


The Dairy Breeders No BS Guide to Genomics

 

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Dairy Cattle Sales in a Digital World

With the introduction of the Internet and social media, the dairy cattle auction business has gone through a tremendous change.  In the beginning there was dairy cattle marketing 2.0 where dairy breeders could use the power of social media to promote their cattle. More recently there has evolved dairy cattle auctions 3.0.  This is where dairy cattle breeders are able to harness the triple powers of internet marketing and social media and websites like Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza, and Eurogenes to actually sell their genetics to the world.

IMG_3364_edited-1In our recent analysis of what is selling at the Canadian Auction sales of 2013, we found that high genomic animals, (animals that are over 3,000 LPI) outsold all other animals by a whopping 61%.  (Read more at An Insider’s Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Cattle Auctions).  This change in market demand has coincided with changes in how these sales can now be run.  A great example of this is the recent Genomic Giants Sale series held in Quebec (Read more: The 2013 Genomic Giant Sale Was a Giant Success!) and the Planet Holstein Sale at the 2012 World Dairy Expo (Read more: The Plant Explodes at World Dairy Expo – 2013 Planet Holstein Sale Recap).  Both of these sales had outstanding sale averages ($33,775 and $40,853 respectively) and yet none of the animals were actually present at the sale.  The reason this startling change works is that breeders’ buying decisions are backed by confidence in genomics and in the favorable buyer satisfaction guaranteed terms.  Breeders are investing in these animals with confidence.

The next evolution of these sales is about to happen as they are taken fully online.  There have certainly been many breeders who have taken advantage of social media (Read more: The Dairy Breeders Guide to Facebook) and there is no question about how it helps promote your sales consignments (Read more: Nothing Sells Like Video).  However these are all tools that facilitate the sale but do not actually result in the sale.  That is where sites such as Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza, and Eurogenes  can help.  (Read more: EUROGENES: You Love It.  They List It! and Tag Sales: What are they? What makes them successful? and What does the future hold?) Breeders from around the world are looking to actually purchase genetics.  While sites like Facebook are great for getting the message out there, you also need a platform to list all your genetics.  Enter Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza and Eurogenes.  Holstein Universe is like an online tag sale.  Tag sales have caught on like wildfire in North America and Holstein Universe is the digital version of a tag sale.  Holstein Plaza and Eurogenes are a combination of donor listing services, live auctions and news and events.  Breeders are looking to not only market their genetics to the world, but also to join the community and list actual genetics for sale.  These three sites offer all these aspects.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

For years the knock on the internet and social media has been,”Yeah that’s great but how do I actually make money?  How do I actually sell something?  Instead of just using the internet and social media as a large megaphone, how do I use it as a sales tool?”  That is where online auction sites and dairy community sites have greatly changed the game.  No longer is it just a tool to get the latest news about your genetics out to the world but you can actually sell to the world.” Cha-ching!!

 

 

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International Intrigue – The Secret Is Exposed!

The wind was blowing and cash was flying”, and that was just from the auctioneer’s box.  All kidding aside!  They really blew the lid off the secret of success, when it came to the amazing International Intrigue Sale “Sell great cattle, work with great people and you will have great results!”  And so, another tremendous International Intrigue Sale went into the books with an average of $36,704 on 140 lots with a gross of $4,138,600!

Cookview Goldwyn Monique

Leading the Intrigue way is the not so secret agent – Cookview Goldwyn Monique EX-92.  In naming Monique Grand Champion at Quebec Spring Show, Judge Mike Deaver stated she was “nearly flawless and just runs away with this show.”  For some she could even be the best 3yr old ever.  According to the sales catalogue, “With natural progression and good fortune it is our opinion that Monique could be a future Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo and the Royal Winter Fair.”  No surprise then that Butlerview Farm & Joe & Amber Price who paid $490,000 are certainly ready to put their money where their mouth is.

Not since Brookview Tony Charity, over 25 years ago, has there been a reigning Grand or Reserve Grand Champion cow selling at public auction.  Silvermaple Damion Camomile did just that and brought an outstanding $290,000.  A price that may look cheap for a potential Grand Champion who is also the dam of the highest PTAT Bolton daughter in the world (4.14).  The part that makes this cow a potential major moneymaker for her new owners, Butlerview, is that she can also flush (51 Embryos on last four flushes) and we all know how necessary great flushing is, when  buying cows in this expense range (read more What Comes First The Chicken Or The Egg?).

What is a top sale without a high genomic daughter bringing insane prices?  Mapel Wood Sudan Licorice fits that sweet spot.  She is one of the highest rated protein females in the world. She is also the #2 DGV female in the world.  However, there is pedigree to go with her genomics.  Licorice is from the full sister to Lexor from the great Lila Z family.  The Lila Z’s have proven to flush well and make money (read more Lylehaven Lila Z: Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?, Lessons Learned: 6 Dairy Cattle Investment Secrets Revealed, and It’s in her genes…).  At $200,000, Licorice will certainly need to prove that she is the next great one in that amazing family.

For great photo’s from the sales check out Butlerview Farm’s on Facebook.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

When looking at the sale buyer’s sheet, we see sale co-host Butlerview buying many of the top animals.  Much like Rocky Mountain Holsteins at their recent Rocky Mountain High Sale, this is not outside their normal activity.  When you get top breeding programs such as these ones, where they are selecting cattle that they are going to attach their reputation to, of course they are going to pick cattle that they love and would buy.  Such is the case here.  Butlerview simply putting their money where their mouth is.  They worked very hard to get an outstanding lineup of cattle and they are certainly not afraid to invest.  So, “That’s the secret!!”

 

 

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The rest of the story

1 – $52,000 MS Atlees Goldwyn Ariel-ET EX-92, Goldwyn x Atlee
10 – $16,500 BVK Atwood Ana-ET (full sister to dam of Lot 9) born March ’11, Hardys Holsteins, buyer
100 – $15,000 1st choice Supersire x Fortale Marsie Observer, GLPI+2971
103 – $2000 – Butlerview Bookem Shake-ET, a 5/12 Bookem full sister to Shade
103A – $4500 – Butlerview Bookem Shade-ET, a 5/12 Bookem from Vision-Gen Sho A12024-ET x KY-Blue GW Dana-ET (VG-87 +2038 GTPI)
104 – $5500 – 1st choice Let it Snow from July IVF flush from Vision-Gen Sho A12024-ET (GTPI +2224)
105 – $5600 – 1st choice Supersire from June flush from Ms Alex Christmas Day-ET x Regancrest S Chassity-ET (EX-92 DOM) +2193 GTPI x 7 more VG & EX dams
106 – $12,500 for choice from Courtlane-UR Chassity (EX-90 DOM) x Regancrest S Chassity (EX-92 DOM)
107 – $20,000 – Ms Aubreys Gold Chip Ace-ET, a 12/11 Gold Chip at +3.29T out of Ms Atlees Shottle Aubry-ET VG-88
108 – $25,000 – 1st choice Gold Chip due in March, 2013 out of Ms Atlees Shottle Aubry-ET VG-88 then EX-92 Durham Atlee
110- $8,400 – Toddsdale Braxton Rita-ET, a September calf from Long-Haven Gold Rochelle-ET EX-92
112- $5,000 Silvermaple Windbrook Candy, Dec ’11 Windbrook maternal sister to Camomile
113- $5,700 – Delcreek Femme Fatal Dec ’11 Goldwyn x Delcreek K Royal Ruby, maternal sister to the All-American and All-Canadian Delcreek Fatal Attraction
114- $10,000 – Rotaly Sid Layton Dec ’11 Sid x Rotaly Goldwyns Lizia x Blondin Talent Lasie from the Supra’s!
115 – $4200 – 1st choice Let it Snow from July flush of Rocking-P Bowser Luna-ET +2204 GTPI
115A – $225/embyro – 4 #1 Let it Snow embryos from Luna – IVF females
115B – $200/embryo – 4 #1 Let it Snow embryos from Luna
116 – $10,000 – Claquato-RHH At Rocky Ridge – due 8/12 to Advent – Atwood daughter of High-Mountain Ridge-ET (VG-88) x Ms Astrahoe Reno Storm Riva (VG-86) x Pinehurst Royal Rosa family
119- $14,500 – Budjon-JK Atwood Elmond-ET November ’12 Atwood x Budjon-JK Durham Embrace-ET EX-95
12 – $8,500 – Sildajak Tristan Sassy 3-Red – R&W Senior 2-year-old
120- $8,000 – Budjon-JK BX Emma Lynn-ETS Dec ’11 Braxton x Budjon-JK Emilys Edair-ET EX-94
121- $4,000 MS Reese Raizel, 3/10/12 Atwood x Beldavid Goldwyn Reese VG-87 2y
121A- $6,300 – MS Reese Ribbon-ET (Atwood x Reese born 3/14/12)
124 – $20,200 – Robin-Hood Clumbo-ET (EX-91), 3rd 5-year-old Western Spring National 2012 – Durham x Carnation Mica Connie-ET (EX-90) x Carnation Cleitus Caroline-ET (EX-91 2E GMD-DOM) x 8 more VG and EX dams
125- $6,800 Butz-Butler Mac Bam Bam, Mac x Brasilia
126- $9,200 MS Gold Chip Barbra-ET
126A- $14,500
127 – $5800 – Ms Chassity Osmond Casi-ET, a 1/12 Osmond from Regancrest S Chassity (EX-92 DOM)
128 – $8000 – Ms Chassitys Arm Comical-ET, a 3/12 Armitage from Regancrest S Chassity – same family as Gold Chip and Colt 45 – GTPI +2169
129- $3,800 MS Farnear Broc Bronze-ET, an October 2011 Jeeves Jives x Brocade
13- $200,000 Mapel Wood Sudan Licorice GLPI +3992 GTPI +2543 #2 DGV female in the world at +4454 Sudan x Mapel Wood Man O Lucy x Comestar Goldwyn Lilac
130- $2,800 Farnear Brocades Butter ET, Robust x Brocade x Barbie
131 – $7200 – Ms Chassity Super Charo-ET, a 12/10 Super from Regancrest S Chassity (EX-92 DOM)
132 – $3800 – Ms Chassity Sup Charlize-ET, a 12/10 Super from Regancrest S Chassity (EX-92 DOM)
133- $3,900 Farnear Brocade Britestar-ET GTPI +2097, a May 2011 AltaJupiter x Regancrest G Brocade-ET EX-92
139- $15,000 1st choice McCutchen Female x Regancrest DGR Byrsha-ET GTPI +2325
14- $70,000 1st Choice Galaxy x MS Chassity Goldwyn Cash x Chassity
146- $11,000 A&M Bushman Dest Merritt-ET *RC, Destry mat. sister to Sunburst
147- $85,000 Earlen Goldwyn Secret VG-87 2y CAN, Grand Champion 2012 Ontario Summer Show
15- $175,000 Misty Springs Epic Savannah, GLPI +3962, DGV +4481 #1 in the world. March ’12 Epic x Man O Man x Shottle Satin
16 – $53,000 – Ralma Manoman Bluejay-ET +2272 GTPI – a 3/10 Man-O-Man from Ralma Shottle Chickadee-ET (VG-88 DOM) – full sister to Ralma Shottle
17- $165,000 Benner Lavaman Boo Boo #5 GPA LPI heifer in Canada from Gypsy Grand Family
1A- $42,000 MS Annas Epic Andreya-ET GTPI +2422, April ’12 Epic x MS Ariel Freddie Anna-ET x MS Atlees Goldwyn Ariel EX-92
2- $290,000 Silvermaple Damion Camomile VG-89 3y, Res. Grand Champion WDE 2011
20- $38,000 1st choice Mogul x Seagull-Bay Shauna Saturn x Ammon – Peachey Shauna
21 – $129,000 – Hammer-Creek Sha Kassidy-ET, a 2/12 Shamrock at +2589 GTPI – the highest GTPI heifer in the sale!
22 – $50,000 – Regancrest Shamrock Lava-TW, a 12/11 Shamrock with +2549 GTPI from Regancrest Jose Lakisha-ET (VG-87) x Miss Outside Lookin In-ET (VG-88) x 4 more VG & EX dams
23 – $135,000 – Ms Regelcreek Cmrn Ardis-ET, a 4/12 Cameron +2572 GTPI out of a Planet from the Adeen family. The #1 Cameron in the breed!
25- $10,200 – Crossbrook Minister Charity Jr. Champion NY Spring Show, Jr. Champion Mid-East Spring National 2012 Nominated All-American Spring Calf 2011
26 – $17,500 – Claquato-RH Escape-ET (VG-89) – Nom. All-American & All-Canadian 2011 – 9/09 Dundee from Skagvale Miracle Ellee (EX-91) – potential 10th gen. EX
27 – $13,500 – Budjon-Vail Damaris-Red-ET, a 9/2011 red fall calf by Camden-Red out of Budjon Redmarker Desire EX-96 3E
28 – $8,200 – Ms Winterfield SC Trend-Red, a 9/2011 Contender out of 11 EX dams
29- $18,500 Milksource Fever Golden, 1st summer yearling at IL Championship Show 2012
2B- $10,000 2nd choice Windhammer due 11/26/12 x Camomile
3- $490,000 Cookview Goldwyn Monique VG-89, Butler and Price buyers, Gene Iager, contender
30- $10,200 Ehrhardt Gold Chip Lilac-ET, a March ’12 Gold Chip x Idee Lustre EX-95
31- $11,500 Duckett-SA Braxton Fran-ET 9/4/11 x Harvue Roy Frosty EX-97
32 – $20,000 – 1st choice Mascalese or Windbrook out of Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy EX-95-CAN, Supreme Champion at Expo and the Royal in 2011
33 – $32,000 – 1st choice Mascalese due in March, 2013 out of Morsan Miss Snow Flake +2172 GTPI, the Snowman daughter of Gold Missy
34 – $23,000 – Butz-Hill Misy GC Madlyn-ET, +2332 GTPI Gold Chip our of a Man-O-Man granddaughter of Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy EX-95
35- $19,000 1st Choice Headlienr x Regancrest S Chassity
38- $38,000 1st choice McCutchen x MS Chassity Snowman Clea x Chassity
39A- $122,000 Feb ’12 O-Man Just x Blue-Horizon Planet Edith
39B- $117,000 April ’12 AltaKool x Planet Edith
4 – $154,000 – RockyMountain Gold Winter VG-89-CAN – *RC Goldwyn that will show as a 4-year-old this fall. Nominated All-Canadian and All-American Senior 3-year-old in 2011
40- $60,000 1st choice Uno x Blue-Horizon Planet Edith
41 – $90,000 – choice of 12/11 Shamrocks from Coyne-Farms Fredi Jeven-ET +2286 GTPI x Coyne-Farms Ramos Jelly (VG-85 DOM +2109 GTPI) x 4 more VG & EX dams
42 – $45,000 – 2nd choice Numero Uno out of Sandy-Valley Robust Ruby-ET GTPI +2495
43- $139,000 Aurora-Rama Yano Harmony-ET +2570 GTPI
44- $40,000 Aurora-Rama GChip Havily-ET
45- $125,000 Curr-Vale Delish-Red-ET GTPI +2325
46 -$30,000 – SRP Magnus Z013699, a 3/12 Magnus with +2501 GTPI out of Dorcy dam then the Zip family
47- $120,000 MS Rollen-NC Cam Lexie P-ET *PO *RC #1 GTPI PO heifer in the US
47A- $95,000 MS Rollen-NC Camr Lucy-P-ET *PO*RC #1 PTAT polled animal in the world
49 – $35,000 – 1st choice Mogul due in January, 2013 out of Comestar Lautamire Planet VG-85-CAN, the #1 GLPI cow in Canada at +3584.
5- $187,000 Butz-Butler Gold Barbara-ET VG-87 bred to Atwood, Goldwyn x Brasilia EX-92 x Barbie, Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, buyers
50 – $30,000 – 1st choice Mogul due in October out of Comestar Lautamai Man O Man +2964 GLPI
51- $40,000 – 1st choice Headliner from Feb ’13 calves x Vison-Gen SH Frd A12304-ET x Applouis Jet Stream Alda VG-85
52- $32,000 – 1st choice Mogul x Miller-FF Bookem Esther-ET GTPI +2463 x Nova Shottle Evelyn-ET VG-86
53 – $17,000 – 1st choice Gold Chip x Dubeau Dundee Hezbollah EX-92 from six transfers due March 6, 2013
54- $9,800 – 3rd choice Atwood x Dubeau Dundee Hezbollah EX-92, six females due September
55 – $18,000 – Ms Emilyann Alex Emery-ET (VG-85) – Alexander x Wabash-Way Emilyann-ET (VG-88 DOM) x Crockett-Acres Elita-ET (VG-87 DOM) x 9 more VG & EX dams
56 – $4,000 – Quality-Ridge Advn Abby-Red, Res. Grand Champion MN State Show 2012 – Advent x Quality-Ridge Talent Anita (VG-87)
57 – $24,000 – Ms Talent Applicious-Red, an EX-91 Talent daughter of All-American Apple
57A – $8,500 – 1st choice of Redburst or Atwood out of Ms Talent Applicious-Red EX-91
58 – $26,500 – BBM Gold Chip Apple-ET, a *RC +2151 GTPI Gold Chip daughter of Ms Candy Apple-Red-ET VG-87, then EX-95 Apple
59- $9,500 – 1st choice Supersire x MS Goldwyn Adorable-ET RC VG-87 x MS Talent Applicious-Red-ET GP-84 CAN
6- $48,000 Regancrest Brasilia-ET EX-92, Shottle x Barbie
60 – $7800 – Robin-Hood LKI Carrissa – 3/10 Atwood x Robinhood Connie-ET (EX-90) x Carnation Leduc Connie (EX-91 2E)
61- $55,000 Mapel Wood Epic Giggle-Red +2530 GLPI Epic Man-O-Man that carries the variant red gene
63 – $27,000 – Dymentholm Sunview Satin-ET, a 4/12 *RC Epic daughter +2352 GTPI out of VG-87 Des-Y-Gen Planet Silk +2220 GTPI
64 – $23,000 – 1st choice MAS out of Dymentholm Sunview Santana, a +2961 GLPI Snowman daughter of Planet Silk
65 – $56,000 – Stantons Shamrock City Girl, a 4/12 Shamrock with +2487 GTPI +3185 GLPI from Stantons Freddie Cameo x Stantons Lucky Cameo (VG-89)
66 – $41,000 – Jolicap Emlilas Shamrock, a 3/12 Shamrock +2986 GLPI from Tramilda-N Baxter Emily-ET (VG-85) x Whittier-Farms Lead Mae family
67 – $31,000 – Ransom-Rail Facebk Paris-Et +2380 GTPI – a 1/12 Facebook from Welcome Mac Peytan-ET (VG-87) +2134 GTPI
68 – $60,000 – Siemers Snman Centuria-ET, a 6/11 Snowman +2341 GTPI out of Ralma Planet Century-ET (VG-86) +2323 GTPI from Ralma Juror Faith family
69 – $16,000 – Comestar Model Lizbosy Lobster, a 1/12 Lobster +2334 GTPI +74P out of Comestar Model Lizboli Sydney VG-85-CAN
7- $59,000 1st choice Numero Uno x RockyMountain Talent Licorice EX-95
70 – $24,500 – Vieuxsaule Supersonic Sugi +2344 GTPI, a 3/12 Supersonic from Vieuxsaule Bolton Halia (VG-87), then Vieuxsaule Allen Dragonfly (EX-94 2E)
71 – $4,100 – Farnear-BH A Barbora-ET, a 4/12 Alchemy +2307 GTPI out of Farnear Brocad Brilliant-ET, a Man-O-Man daughter of Brocade
72 – $20,000 – Farnear GC Bridg Bry-ET, a 3/12 Gold Chip out of Farnear Brocade Bridge, the Aftershock daughter of EX-92 Brocade
73 – $20,000 – Choice of T-Spruce Armitage 4756-ET +2398 GTPI 1/12 Armitage or T-Spruce Armitage 4768-ET, a +2381 GTPI 1/12 Armitage both out of Lar-Lan Time Annabelle +2136 GTPI Time daughter from the Durham Annabell family
74 – $15,500 – Choice of Wa-Del-DH Bookem Camara-ET, +2291 GTPI Bookem or Horstyle-RW Bookem Clear-ET +2317 GTPI out of Horstyle-RW Mano Cluster VG-85 +2185 GTPI
75- $18,500 MS Boyana FB Babe-ET GTPI +2413 x Farnear-TBR Bosr Boyana-ET x Klassic Mac Barb-ET VG-85
76- $30,000 MS Benshae Benish-ET GTPI+2308, March ’12 Shamrock x Farnear-TBR Benshae-ET
77- $8,400 – Tranquility AC Drear Candy-ET GTPI +2355 x Ronlee Boliver Dreary-ET x Ronlee Outside Dabble-ET EX-91
78- $18,000 – Nova-TMJ Jeeves Eleta-ET GTPI +2308, Jeeves  x Nova-TMJ Golden Echo-ETS VG-88
79- $8,000 – Choice of three Gold Chip females x Regancrest-BH Super Delish x Regancrest-BH Delica-ET x Windsor-Manor Z-Delight-ET 2E-93
8 – $34,000 – Cam-Bing Gold Nila-ET (VG-88) – Goldwyn maternal sister to Bingland Leduc Nancy (2E-96) -dam is Bingland Starb Noel-ET (VG-88)
80- $10,000 – UFM-Dubs Sherun-ET GTPI +2304, a Super daughter of UFM-Dubs Sheray-ET bred 5-29-12 to Lithium
81 – $23,000 – 1st choice MAS out of Ms Planet Cheri-ET +2257 GTPI from an EX-92 Goldwyn dam
82 – $16,000 – 1st choice Mascalese out of Gloryland Linette Rae VG-89 +2217 GTPI, a Goldwyn from the Roxys
84 – $31,000 – 1st choice McCutchen from Ladys-Manor Dominique-ET, a +2425 GTPI Shamrock from the Dur Chans
85- $25,000 – 1st choice McCutchen female x Velthuis Snowman Lorette-ETS GTPI+2360, calves due April 2013
86- $35,000 1st choice Uno x Boldi Snowman Lillico-ETS GTPI +2282 x MS Chartrois Planet Leoni-ET VG-87 2y CAN
87 – $23,000 – 1st choice Mascalese due in February, 2013 out of Larcrest Cinergy-ET +2455 GTPI Robust out of Larcrest Crimson VG-89
88 – $25,000 – 1st choice Let It Snow due in April, 2013 out of Kellercrest Manoman Lacy-ET +2411 GTPI
89 – $32,000 2nd choice Uno x Sully Planet Manitoba-ET GP-83
9- $29,000 1st choice MAS x BVK Atwood Arianna-ET VG-89, Int. Champion IL Championship Show
90 – $20,000 1st choice Lithium x Sully Hart Gerard 147 GTPI +2344 x Sully Hart Manitoba GP-83
92- $21,000 1st choice Latimer x Langs-Twin-B Christa GTPI +2455
93- $17,500 1st choice McCutchen x Opsal Planet Fame-ET GP-84, from June IVF
97 – $9,200 Marbri Shamrock Felicity GLPI +2906, March ’12 Shamrock x SerenityHill Frosty (full sister to Facebook)
99 – $12,000 for 1st choice Let it Snow female x Gepaquette Iota Ravisette +2966 GLPI – from July flush – built in PA at +2364 GTPI
99A – $11,500 for 1st choice Let it Snow female x Gepaquette Iota Ravariume +2904 GLPI from July flush – built in PA at +2334 GTPI

 

Sold! or did she?

Maybe it because it’s Friday the 13, or maybe it’s because I just like stirring things up, but recently when I was reviewing the sale list from some of the major sales, I found myself asking, “Did she really sell?”

As I look at the buyers list I see that there were many lots that were bought either by sales management or by the close friends of the person selling the animal.  While I understand in some cases, such as Rocky Mountain Holsteins, for example, that the teams putting on the sale are also typical buyers as well, I also notice cases where I see that lots sold to a close friend of the consignor or neighbor of the consignor and I ask myself did she really sell?

It has been my finding in the past that these types of sales, typically, do not result in any form of actual sale.  Ya sure you may see the new name on the pedigree for a little while, but give it about a year or so and that animal is back in the sole ownership of the breeder who was selling that animal.

I can understand that the breeder does not want to let their animal sell for less than they feel they are worth.  However, the question begs to be asked, is she really worth what they think she is?  On the other hand, are they just looking for the marketing aspect of having one of their animals on the top sellers’ list?

Creating a False Market

There is a certain aspect to having your animal appear on the top sellers list at a major sale.  Often time perception is reality.  Therefore, if breeders see family members from a certain family consistently selling well, they assume it’s a very marketable family and then want to get in on that family to cash in on the popularity.  The problem is that popularity never existed and the person buying in never makes any money.  Neither does the original seller really.  Since they have to pay the commission to the original sales management team for the commission on the animal that never really sold.

Don’t believe your own hype

For most dairy breeders, nothing compares to seeing the fruits of your hard work.  You tend to see each as though it was one of your children.  Well not quite, but pretty close.  You have put so much hard work into it that you want to see the reward for all that work.  Many times that comes in one of two ways: awards and/or revenue.  Moreover, while awards are nice, they don’t pay the bills.  Therefore, you do not want to let those animals go for less than you feel your time and effort is worth.

The problem is many breeders start getting a false sense of what their animals are worth.  You see other animals selling for big dollars, and you think, “Hey my heifer is at least as good as that heifer, if not better”.  Since you don’t want to be shortchanged on your sale price you “protect” her by having a friend or neighbor run up the sale price to what you believe is the minimally acceptable price.  The problem is that no one else in the market feels that she is worth that, so all that you have really done is increased the size of the commission check you are going to pay to sales management.

There’s a fix in the works

I cannot tell you the number of times that I could tell you who and at what price an animal would sell for, before the sale even started.  The reason I can’t tell you is because it’s against most terms and conditions of the sale agreement.  Animals being offered at public auction are to be sold in an open and equally available manner.  Often times, high valued animals are going through the sale ring for the marketability and the hype.  Yes, they are being sold to a new buyer, but the deal has already been worked out before the heifer ever enters the sale ring.

Can I say it’s wrong.  Not really, because it is a mutually agreed upon sale price, and if someone else wanted to pay more than that price they could.  The challenge is that this was more of a private treaty sale than a public offering.  However, I guess everyone wins, sales management gets a sale topper, the seller gets the sale price they are looking for, and the buyer pays a price they agreed upon and gets the added promotion on the animal.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

If you are going to sell an animal at public auction, be willing to sell her.  Don’t put her (or in many cases now him) in the sale if you are not willing to sell.  Yes, I understand the marketing aspects, but in the end, you are only hurting yourself and the industry.  Those who have been to enough of these sales know what breeders are actually willing to let their top animal go, and those who only have the animal in the sale for the hype.  Next time you are at one of these top sales, look to see who is bidding on these animals.  Is it the people who buy all the time?  Is it a breeder who you know is looking to add a new cow family?  On the other hand, is it the neighbor or best friend of the person selling the animal?  When the latter is the case, I have made it a point to stop bidding that instant.  No matter what the price.

What has your experience been?  Please share in comments box below.

 

 

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Ocean View Genetics: The Fine Art of Marketing Great Breeding

When it comes to marketing dairy cattle, Pam Nunes leads the way.  Pam became the driving force behind this part of the business at Ocean View Genetics because of her background as owner and designer of Westwynde Communications.  “Since my company is an advertising firm, the marketing aspects for Ocean View pretty much became my job over the years. Marvin and Daryl always advertised in the World and believed in marketing, but as time and my company evolved I took on a larger role in the different aspects from advertising, showing and even sales.”  They were happy to make, milk and take care of the cows and let me handle the marketing.” For the last sixteen years, Pam and husband Daryl worked together to take strings out to the shows, put on the Harvest sales and helped evolve the marketing into what many people think of today as Ocean View.”

THE WOW FACTOR

The impact of great advertising has had a very positive effect on Ocean View. “I’m always amazed at the number of people who comment on our advertising. It’s good to know it gets noticed.” Getting noticed is the bottom line in the cattle business. “I remember the year Lindy Sheen went to Expo, and it was interesting how many people knew the cow at a glance. These were people not from our area who could have only ever seen her in print ads. That’s when you know advertising can be powerful.”

A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR

Powerful advertising is everyone’s goal.  We put a lot of worry, time, consultations, proofing and reviewing into ad creation.  Pam says there can be a lighter side too.  “The funny thing is that so often our own ads are thrown together. Kind of like the shoe makers kids with holes in their shoes. There have been some instances where our ads actually started as horse ads and I needed an idea quick because our ad was due. So voila – out goes the horse and in goes the cow!”

Oceanview Mandel Zhandra EX-95-2E

Oceanview Mandel Zhandra EX-95-2E EEEEE Gold Medal Dam, Dam Of Merit

WHEN IT WORKS EVERYONE CAN NAME THAT COW!

You always want to attract attention with your marketing. Pam’s ads are good at that and she points to Mandel Zandra to illustrate. “She has been the easiest cow to ever work with over the years. She captured a lot of attention in the show ring with her style and it transmitted not only to her photos but also her offspring. She has 12 Excellent daughters so far. She lives in Wisconsin now and will turn 16 in March. She was the subject of many photos this fall during Expo. We had her in a pasture with 10 of her grand-daughters. It never failed that when people drove in they asked if that was her. We even had a gentleman from Japan show us the screen saver on his phone…it was Zandra.  If she had never been shown or advertised I doubt anyone would know the name today.

YOU’VE GOT TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

Having said that, Pam knows the time it takes to stand out. In the cattle business most ads are done by the publications still. They can usually spend about an hour on an ad with all they do. “Our ads usually average three to five hours.  A magazine can’t spend that amount of time on each page they have. I am happy to say that I am really seeing more effort put into ads these days on the cattle side and there are some magazines now that do a great job with their ads.

Pam’s years of experience have added up to some clear ideas about what works.

  1. Ocean View Genetics adYOU CAN’T HAVE A GOOD AD WITHOUT A GOOD PHOTO
    “I also think you can’t have a successful ad without a great image. Making sure you have the cow looking the part and lots of help and a great photographer will make all the difference in successful photos. You can’t have a good ad without a good photo!”
  2. MAKE THEM WANT MORE
    Once you`ve got good photos! Make sure you get an eye-catching ad developed to go with them. Remember…the purpose of an ad is to attract the reader’s eye enough to get them to read it…and want more.
  3. REMEMBER. THE COW IS THE STORY 
    “A pet peeve of mine is if it’s unreadable. You can have the greatest looking ad but if you can’t READ it – it’s a failure. Too often you see design overwhelming the subject.  That’s always a recipe for disaster. It’s not a showcase for Photoshop effects or crazy backgrounds or fonts etc – it’s about the cows!
  4. K.I.S.S. and TELL
    Modern cattle advertising now needs to go one step further. It’s time to kiss and tell. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid.  Pam feels strongly about this. “Keep your ad simple and put the detailed information on your website. Don’t try to tell them the entire history of your animal in the ad. It defeats its purpose.” The telling part happens on the internet. These days websites are essential to selling. For effective advertising, remember K.I.S.S. and TELL.
  5. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DOLLARS AND COW SENSE!
    Use what you know to decide where your advertising dollar is best spent. Just like you shop around for the best corn or hay prices – do your homework on your advertising dollars too. Don’t be afraid to try different advertising venues and find out what ones work. Ask people where they saw your ad when you get calls or emails.” Use what you know to decide where your advertising dollar is best spent. With websites these days you can track where your traffic comes from. With print ads there is no way to easily measure your return, but if you do your homework you can get a feel for where you get the most response.

SUCCESS SELLS!

You know when your advertising is working because the success is right there in the sales’ figures.  Pam reports. “Our last two Harvest sales were exciting events to plan and execute. We did all the marketing and event planning for them, as well as lining up the fitting crew and deciding what the farm would consign. We’re super pleased with the number of success stories that have come from these sales with Reserve All-Americans and even 94-pt cows having gone through the ring.”

ON THE MOVE

Today Pam and Daryl have started “OCEAN VIEW GENETICS”. “We look forward to continuing the same path we have been on, only in Wisconsin.” And what a path that has been!

The accomplishments the Ocean View herd has made over the years are huge with over 330 Excellent cows that carry the prefix, 90 Gold Medal Dams and 11 cows over 300,000 lifetime. Pam sees more tributes in the future. “I think you’ll hear stories for years to come about success with animals purchased in Marvin’s dispersal on May 2nd. It’s going to be an opportunity to buy foundations.” Looking ahead she adds, “Although we’re not involved in the sale, we plan to attend and possibly add a few more cows that we weren’t able to buy before our move to Wisconsin.”

DOWNSIZING for A BIG MOVE

Going from 350 free stalls to 38 tie stalls has been the biggest challenge for “Ocean View Genetics”. Recalling the process, Pam says, “It really makes us focus on what animals we add to the milking herd. Our focus will be a little different from in the past.” Of course, each decision is already providing results to look back on. “What really shocked us was that we brought an old Outside that was dry with over 250,000 and figured we’d get the calf out of her and have to sell her. She actually had the first heifer on the farm for us and is now over 290,000 and just went Excellent. She just KNEW what her job was and took right to everything without a second look.”

SELLING IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR BUSINESS

The Nunes’ are excited about their plans for the future. “We figure we need to sell twenty head a year to keep at our size. We also have both said we don’t want more than either of us can milk by themselves. When the milker did not show up in California, it was a lot cows to milk, but we did it. Now it’s much less daunting if someone oversleeps! Actually our cows surprised us with how easily they adapted to the change.” Obviously, adapting is good for cows and good for people too!

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE:  KEEP ON SELLING

“As we move forward, we are not going to be afraid to sell the good ones. Our plan is to keep the factories and sell the offspring that we need to allow us to stay in business.”
Pam Nunes, Ocean View Genetics

 

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