Cattle - Raising Small Animals - page 414

less likely someone will take advantage of you. As you get more experience raising cattle,
you probably will develop more ideas of when you might be able to find a bargain. For ex-
ample, prices for calves are usually lower in the fall than they are in the spring, because this is
when most farmers sell newly weaned calves. You should buy from farmers who raise their
animals in conditions similar to yours. These farmers also should raise their animals to your
standards.
Private sales
Private sales might be the safest bet for a first-time farmer. Breeders selling bulls usually ad-
vertise in the classified sections of local newspapers or in breed association newsletters,
which can be ordered directly from the associations. If you buy a bull, associations often are
notified by the breeder and will begin mailing you their literature. You can also find breeders
through Internet searches for breed associations; for example, the American Angus Associ-
ation is www.angus.org . You may also receive suggestions by asking knowledgeable people
in your area, such as the staff at your local feed mill.
If you are looking for a specific breed, most of them have national or state associations that
help link sellers with buyers. These can usually be found with quick online searches for a spe-
cific breed and its association. For example, the North American Limousin Foundation
( www.nalf.org ) includes links to state associations. If you target a popular breed, you may be
able to find a neighbor nearby who has animals for sale. This would be good because you will
be able to tell what conditions the animals are raised in and if they would do well in your sys-
tem.
Public auctions
One place to buy and sell cattle is sales barns, also called stockyards, where farmers gather for
regular public auctions. These auctions include hundreds of animals from dozens of sellers.
Most stockyards have sales about once a week. Before you go to an auction to buy an animal,
it would be a good idea to go to an auction and observe. This will allow you to see the process
first and know what to expect. You will be able to get an idea of how your judgment of anim-
als compares to that of other buyers.
Sales barns may not be the best place for a new farmer to build a herd because these auctions
often include many cull animals , animals that farmers decide to get rid of for various reasons,
such as infertility or susceptibility to illness or parasites. You will not know from whom you