2009 New York Lamb and Kid Tele-Auction

One marketing opportunity for Easter 2009 is the Lamb and Kid Tele-Auction. The auction operates in the following manner:

1. During the 2nd to 3rd week of March, you estimate what the weight and quality grade of your animals will be as of March 27th.
2. You consign suckling kids and lambs to the tele-auction by March 23rd at 5 pm.
3. If you have at least 20 kids or lambs in the same weight/grade class, you indicate on the consignment form the lowest price per pound of live weight that you are willing to accept for them. This is called the "reserve price.” If you do not have 20 animals in one class, try to combine your animals with those of a neighbor or friend so that you can state a reserve price together. Otherwise, the managers of the sale will decide on a fair reserve price for animals in the weight and grade class of your animals.
4. The sale takes place on March 27th at 9 am. Please note that you do not deliver your animals to the sale! Instead the sale takes place by phone. If the top price for your lot of animals is equal to or better than your reserve price, you are committed to deliver your animals to a centralized assembly point on April 1st. If your reserve price is not met, then your animals are not sold and you can instead sell them to a private buyer or take them to one of the many sale barns that hold Easter sales after March 27th.
5. Animals will be delivered to one of the following Empire Livestock sale barns:
   • Dryden on Tuesday 31 March 2009
   • Central Bridge on Wednesday 1 April 2009
     

Some advantages of the tele-auction are that it is the first auction held during the Easter season, more buyers participate than usually are available at a local sale, and if the reserve price is not bid, your animals have not left the farm and co-mingled with animals of unknown health history.

Tom Gallagher, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County, is one of the organizers of the sale. Tom can be reached at 518-765-3500 or TJG3@cornell.edu.

Click here for more details.

Click for the commitment form: Word PDF