Livestock auctions in the 21st century: online bidding opens the door to outside markets

It seemed totally out of synch to see a fellow sitting behind a computer screen while just 10 feet away, two big Black Angus bulls were staking their territory behind the bright red bars of the sale ring. That a computer should have its place amid the straw, rough wood and heckling of a livestock auction seems like something of an anachronism, yet that is the way auctions work these days.

At regular intervals, the computer guy waved his hand and yelled out, never taking his eyes from the screen.

Meanwhile, the stands at Edwards Livestock Centre, just south of Tisdale, were filled with cattlemen, potential buyers of this year’s lineup in the Black Pearl Bull and Female sale. Ringmen Ben Wright and Ted Serhienko of T Bar C Cattle Co. kept their eyes peeled for signs of increments on bidding from the crowds, as two by two the great black beasts were brought in before the crowd.

Ringman Ben Wright picks up a bid from someone in the audience

“It was a good sale,” said Bruce Edwards, of Edwards Livestock Centre, “a very good sale.”

The cattle were brought in by local breeders Mel and Glen Sisson, of Royal Angus Farms at Ridgedale. The two brothers have forged a reputation across Canada and even as far as the U.K., for the Angus cattle they have been breeding for over five decades.

“We’ve had some pretty big compliments over the years,” Mel Sisson said. “There are cattle that have been champions in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. There’s a bull we sold called Royal Added Value. It was champion at the Royal Show in England at eight and a half years of age. They can show age bulls over there, so they have travelled quite a ways.”

This year, 29 yearling bulls and 27 heifers were being offered for sale, and they all went during the auction.

There is also a youth incentive program in the form of purchase bursaries for heifers that are shown and win competitions, ranging from $250 for a 4-H Club Championship to half the purchase price for a National Junior Angus Show Grand Champion.

One of the advantages of attending the sale on the day of the auction is that the herd is put on display in front of a larger group of buyers. Even though details on the livestock are available in an online format, many buyers prefer the old tried-and-true method of seeing first-hand what the stock looks like. Plus it is a social event, where cattlemen get a chance to talk shop or just shoot the breeze with other cattlemen for the afternoon.

Still, the online option is a viable one as it increases the opportunity for potential buyers living at a greater distance to participate in the sale.

“It’s a very unique way,” commented Mel Sisson. “This time of year, when so many of the cattlemen are busy calving, being at home is very important. So they can take a couple of hours out of their schedule, and watch their computer, do their bidding, and go back to what they have to do.”

This year a cattleman in Swift Current bought three bulls without having to leave his ranch, while another buyer who lives in the area but was away working up north was able to buy a heifer online. Last year, Sisson said he sold seven head of cattle to a buyer in PEI through the online method.