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Technology
has brought many changes to the agriculture industry and this year it
will bring one more change to farmers in North Alabama. Dr. David Evans
and John Williams, partners in ownership of the Kilpatrick Stockyard in
Dekalb County, are putting a new spin on an old practice for cattle
producers in their area.
"With
the advancement of the internet and programs like Superior Auction, we
have to upgrade our idea of getting large numbers of cattle
marketed," Evans said.
What
is their upgrade solution? A video auction.
Evan
said video equipment has been installed in the sale ring to show cattle
that are to be auctioned.
He
said video auctions are a relatively new concept and there are few in
the state of Alabama. But he felt it is important to be on the cutting
edge of this marketing technique.
"These
aren’t really common yet, but we feel we need to be on the front end
of that technology," Evans said. "It’s a marketing tool
people can take advantage of."
He
said some farmers are capable of filming footage of their cattle
directly on their farm if they have digital camera equipment. But they
hope to designate a member of their staff to capture video footage so
that footage formats will be uniform and professional.
Evans
said most farmers have fewer than 30 head of cattle per herd, but this
opens the market to cattle being sold in large groups. He also said he
hoped that by offering this service on a local level they can maintain
interaction with their customers. He felt by implementing this new
program they could reach a larger market area and more feedlots by
increased exposures. He hopes it will influence more producers to get
involved and therefore reach more buyers.
Cattle
sold on the video auction will be sold by 50,000-pound lots and will
focus specifically on calves and bred heifers. Although the stockyard
draws business from northeast Alabama buyers, this new technology will
open bidding opportunities to buyers all over the country.
The
stockyard at Kilpatrick, which sells almost 1,100 head of livestock each
week, has been in operation over 30 years. Evans said he and his
partner, Williams, have been around cattle their whole lives and they
believed they could make improvements at the stockyard, so they took
over ownership about two years ago.
"We
enjoy the cattle business and we felt we could offer new programs to
help producers out in the fields," Evans said.
He
hopes the new video auction program will be a welcomed addition to an
already impressive lineup of sales. The stockyard hosts sales each
Wednesday and Saturday, a horse sale the third Thursday night of each
month, a bred heifer sale in the fall and a draft horse sale in
November.
Evans
said there are advantages to selling and purchasing cattle in the
traditional auction sales, but this will create a new market for farmers
selling large groups of cattle.
"The
big advantage of the sale barn is that it is bonded so money is
guaranteed for sellers," Evans said. "But the video auction
will give farmers the chance to get the maximum amount of money they can
and the maximum amount of product they can. We believe farmers can
really benefit from that."
Other
services provided by the stockyard include hosting liquidation sales,
custom hauling and electronic identification tagging.
The
Farmers Cooperative has been a part of Evan’s life since he began
visiting stores in 1960 with his grandfather. Now the Co-op will aid his
new business venture by purchasing advertisements that will help pay
video auction expenses. Jason Puckett, manager of the Marshall County
Farmers Cooperative in Albertville, said Evans continues to shop at the
Co-op buying fertilizer, feed and fencing.
Evans
said he and Williams have been working on the new video auction for
about seven months and he anticipates that the service should become
available within the next month. Video footage will be viewed on the
website www.auctions.com
where buyers can place bids on groups of cattle.
Grace
Smith is an AFC management services trainee.
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