Consignment Sales For Beef Cattle Marketing

CONSIGNMENT SALES

For many purebred cattle producers, especially breeders with small numbers of breeding females, a consignment sale comprised of cattle from several different breeders is one of the better methods of obtaining a marketing outlet for their animals. It is almost impossible to hold your own production sale unless you are able to present at least 40 to 50 individual high quality lots on an annual basis. Therefore many individual breeders, a state or regional association or a consignment sale manager may offer potential buyers several animals from different consignors in a sale commonly referred to as a consignment sale.

Consignment sales have been a major marketing avenue of the purebred beef cattle business for many years, but at the same time, consignment sales have often been criticized by consignors for too much sale expense, too little effort by the sale managers, not enough buyers and poor sale prices. Why the problems? If good breeders consign good cattle, then there should be adequate demand so that the cattle will bring their true market value.

Many past consignment sales have not lived up to their expectations.
Why?
A poor consignment sale is usually the direct result of poor planning by the consignors, trying to market cattle they have culled from their herds, cattle in poor marketing condition. Also poor advertising and merchandising effort on part of sales managers and consignors alike. Just not getting the job done properly! Consignors often think the only thing they have to do is consign their cattle, show up at the sale and the cattle will bring top dollar. It just doesn't happen that easily and very seldom does a consignment sale handled in such manner have good results. If conducted properly, consignment sales are valuable, and often necessary, marketing tools that should be used by all breeders, breeders with small herds as well as breeders with large cowherds that wish to expand their market.