Having taken cows, bulls, sheep and goats to the stockyards, it’s a rollercoaster!! Daddy would call previous customers and let them know we were taking stock to market. That way we had a better chance of having two people who wanted them. You don’t get a good price unless you have two people competing!
For those of you who wondered what happened at 15.48, the person at the ringside made a bid by raising his notebook. The auctioneer will know his regular buyers and what to look for when they bid, often a subtle movement of some kind.
Growing up I would go the local market on Fridays during the school holidays. Basically for buying you would go to a dealer, and say what you wanted to buy, often if you bid yourself the auctioneer would not take your bid. There would be a few buyers for farmers and the precessing plant. The auctioneer new them well.
Totally understand being frustrated but the thing is in today’s market if you put a reserve on something 90% of the time you end up hauling it home because what you think is worth something others don’t and that sucks
You learn something every day. The more you go to market, the more you learn what people are looking for. All your cows are good producers. The buyer will know he got a bargain after milking her. Onward and upward Tom. Cheers to Joanna, Harvey, Ginger and the rest of the family and crew.
Hello Tom and everyone else! Tom, thanks for taking us along, another great story. I've never been to an auction, so very interesting. Don't stress about what you COULD have got for that cow. You got what the market was willing to pay. I'm sure you will do better next time! Be well and safe travels. I hope Jo and Jr are well.
The auctioneer was bang on about your cows. I buy a few from time to time and personally I wouldn't buy a jersey cross but would buy your other two. Your better off keeping hold of your jersey crosses because they will never make as much unless the right people are there on the day looking to buy them type.
@@aenea22980 no issue at all with jersey crosses, just farmers who tend to have/buy more Holstein cows will more than likely also buy a Friesian and Ayrshire., but won't buy a jersey or x. For them types then it's more of a select market for them to achieve a higher price. But if there cheap then someone who doesn't usually buy them might take a gamble and buy one, "just because it's cheap"
We have to fail to learn what doesn’t work so that we can get better. All the lessons that you’ve taught us here on this channel have reinforce that. So don’t be too down it’ll get better and it’s an experience that you needed to learn and it’s the best teacher. Everyone have a great weekend happy cows happy cows. Be well be you
Tom, I found this side of your business very interesting, even if it was very stressful for you. Thanks for sharing, and I’m really glad you didn’t sell,Lucs favourite.
They were a NICE trio, and they will make their new owners happy and they might just pop back and go "Got more of them super milking wee awesome lassies?" So stay the course, make the local Pemberton Cow a "thing" and you'll be on track there. Your farm has a plan and sticking to it is a GOOD idea! Next batch will be fiiiine. Just get the word out that some darn nice smaller cows, suitable for the smallholdings, smaller farms and such are coming! Them big Holsteins scare me whilst that beautiful red one was supernice! ;-)
We used to have a big outdoor cattle & sheep market every month when I was a kid! It was great to watch! You did well Tom, first time at market and although you didn’t get what you thought was best you got a good average! 😊
Great to see how the auction of dairy cows works. Thanks for the links to other social media farmers. Seen a little of Eve's channel, interesting that they just get in calved heffers and don't raise their own. Great stuff hope you get some sleep at night soon.
Always thought it was about yield too, seen heifers do well at shows & sales that are dripping & pouring milk in the ring but that was pre-covid, things can & do change fast in farming. Every day is a school day so now you know a bit more about the market game. Great video again Tom & great to see new farms to consider following too 🐄🐄
Every day's a learning day Tom and you learn very quick. Better luck next time. Great video. Learn something new every time I watch your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Don't stress to much about the middle cow. It's done and now you know what you can do so hopefully no more low bid buys. How's Harney doing better since Jo is feeling better i hope
Good evening from NZ. Tom, you never fail. There's reasons for everything. Love your work. Hope Mum and baby are doing well. Hello to the Ginger😊. Love and light to you all.🙏🙏❤❤👍👍😊😊
Once again a great inside in a field of farming that not a lot of people will have seen before. Very interesting watch and I'm amazed how the auctioneer keeps an eye on all the small nods, gestures, etc during the auction.
Very interesting two videos on selling at market. This was a learning experience for all of us, including Tom. I bet you smash it next year at the Christmas market. And I found out what “luck money” means. I do think your best sales will be with your beef stock, work towards a rosette for next year.
Just wondering at what point the farm comes full circle. When Tom has upgraded and modernised everything on the farm that the only thing left is to either extend or to build a new cow shed.
He will get to a point where he only needs to worry about maintenance, and very often with family run farms when the reigns are getting passed over massive upgrades are done so then the farm is set for the next 20 years if they want to keep around the same size. And like the previous comment many big farms are running massive depts and only scraping by
Any sort of auction is a gamble and more likely to end in frustration than joy. You did fairly well and learned a lot. Learning makes what felt like a fail to you an actual win. I liked that the auctioneer was knowledgeable and clearly enjoying his work with the cattle and farmers.
Get into the Holsteins Tom!! Yes a bit more care and a bit more work but in the right environment under the correct management there’s so much more to gain!! And the new shed will help with that!!
In the 80's I worked for an Abattoir owner who bought every mad animal they sold at our local livestock market. It is a welcome site to see the animal owner walking his beasts around the ring, one can see their handling nature. Unlike my old boss who would buy any animal that cleared the sales ring of the most fearless stockmen.
You will get it right next time , discuss a reserve with the auctioneer and stand in the box with him so you can say yay or nay . You can also poke him to try and push it on a bit more. Once people know your stock , you will get regular buyers.
I was late to watching your last video so I'm going to put her here since it's newer. I'm not a farmer at all, I've just always found it an interesting topic. I've been watching your videos for I believe a couple years now and despite me not partaking myself, your channel has genuinely helped me improve my perspective on what goes on in the world around me. I live in Lincolnshire so farming is extremely relevant, nothing but fields here. But not only with farming, that improved perspective has helped me further respect the hidden inner workings of everything. Long story short, you helped an already positive person see the world in an even better light through your humble farming. Big respect mate, and keep on being you, legend.
Happy new year Tom and your family don’t beat yourself up about market. Look at the bigger picture. You’ve got a lovely son and hopefully you work alongside you with his great grandad
Cows need good body confirmation, from my YFC days one leg on each corner , good stance , not on heels or toes, 4 teats at each corner of bag , good wide backend for ease of calving, and then it is down to buyer preference. So Tom ,as auctioneer says, you may have felt you lost abit on middle heifer, but if buyer feels they got a good deal, they will be back and maybe spread the word. of course it depend how often you sell at market, if it is just infrequent then you may be new kid on the block each time. its all a learning curve.
Hi Tom, your first sale of farm bred heifers was a good learning experience. Some farmers are in the market to buy replacement stock can be very picky as shown by the difference in prices. I think you did very well considering you bred the heifers and got a calf off them. You are a lot wiser now with what goes on at sales and as you say "if you present good heifers they will be bought by repeat buyers". In Aussie now your £1800 heifer would have made $3416 which is above our latest average sale prices which was $2800 in December. It's the start of a new adventure for the Pembelton Farm and I know you will take on the challenge with your usual style of rationally working it out. Good luck with futue sales. Chris from Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺.
Tom. You and your dad were both there. The auctioneer should have asked before knocking the second one down. But to be fair she didn’t present well in the ring, but he should have still asked!
Had a friend who wanted to be a livestock dealer, he had experience and contacts, but could not brea through, livestock markets are a very close community. Where we were it all depends on your last name.
It is always hard. You had to take the chance. Yes, you didn't get the number you wanted, but with the three you did very nicely. It is all a learning experience.
It all comes down to that time in the ring, the red one and the third heifer both looked like they will milk well, last for multiple lactations and deliver that dairy character to the next generation. The second didn't show well in the ring and with the other elements mentioned combined for a lower price than she was worth. Auction days are the best and worst of times but just remember that as a new seller good heifers like those will continue to fly the flag for your herd for years to come in the new herds they join. Also three less in the cowshed which is good for the herd when slightly overstocked.
Like you say Tom its a learning curve and like life, at auction you have to take the rough with the smooth. You shouldn't be to disappointed, you got a good prices for the calves and for the Red Heifer. 👍😊
That’s the gamble of a market. “Market” price is the price. There are always variables in markets. Whether it be cows or coins. Arguably the red heifer did better than you expected.
best advice i got is sometimes its better to sell something with a discount than keep funding money into it as you might be stuck with it for long time and when you sell it for what you want than you have lost more than just be rid of it in first place.
It will be a bit but the sleepless nights will come to and end. My first son slept solid through the night at 4-5 months my second is 6 months and sleeps through the night a majority of the time.
A valuable lesson learnt, forget your perception of what makes a good animal, just like you have done you find out what the market wants to get the best prices, as with any auction looks are so important, better luck next time.
The reality of things at the moment is that the price of milk is shocking and only for the value of cull cows the market would be much worse, the situation in Ireland is worse as a large number of farmers are being forced to reduced numbers due to new nitrate rules. The little black cow wasn’t that poor a price really she was not very powerful. You might want to consider selling some of your older cows that might have a few issues rather than your heifers the cull cow price at the moment is good and the heifers are not really making enough to justify selling them in my opinion. Truthfully now that you are reasonably well set up to have a biggish herd maybe sell some of the beef cattle and keep the milkers it’s a hell of a lot easier to buy a few cattle for finishing than it is to replace dairy cows, just a thought, would be very interested to hear what the boss thinks.
2 out of 3 ain’t bad Tom, you do have to speculate to accumulate on many things in life and business, draw a line for today and go home and snuggle with Jo and Harvey❣️
Brings back a lot of happy memories of going to the sheep market in Ruthin (the old one), the Beast Market in Wrexham and the livestock market in Oswestry. Oswestry was my favourite. We'd have a packed lunch in the back of my great uncle's mini van, made by my great aunt and her food was always fantastic. Strange as it sounds, but seeing this footage brings back the smells and flavour of those packed lunches. We Welsh call Oswestry 'Croesoswallt' and the market was fondly referred to as 'Siswallt' - a kind of short form of the Welsh name for the town. Hearing 'Siswallt' being mentioned always meant that there was something exciting about to happen. I can remember having strict orders to not flinch during the auction in case the auctioneer thought that we were buying. As if the auctioneer was going to take a bid from a child 🤣, highly unlikely of course, but I suppose that was my great uncle's way of teaching us about how an auction worked.
Don’t beat yourself up Tom they were 3 good heifers, but most farmers want big framed cows which are going to give a lot of milk but will probably only last 4/5 lactations.
Spot on with that . I never understood it . Father used to milk Guernseys and they went on for years , no foot trouble or anything and i worked on a dairy milking traditional friesians and they would go on for years. We never pushed them too hard, plenty of good forage and grazing and plenty of space.
Being honest with the description of your animals in the sale will only benefit you in the long term. As you say, your reputation is everything in the ring. Buyers get to know which farmers have good stock and will trust these.
Sometimes lessons are costly. That's the first and last time you sell a cow without a minimum price on it. Deep breaths Tom. Next time you go, you'll be better prepared. All three cows are good cows, the buyers will remember they came from you. It's the first building blocks put in place for your reputation for selling good cows. Farmers talk, word spreads. Never underestimate the power of 'word of mouth.' Over all the trip to market was a positive one.
To me, that was just like selling a car, being I've been in automotive for 35 years. Your car isn't as shiny as your better model from the get-go. Plus the gas mileage isn't as good as some plus its paint isn't as shiny and clean plus a few bumps in it also. But its your car and you love it. Its a good solid car. Then you sell it for no reserve because you want it to be sold and don't want to stop the sale because others don't like it as well as you do since you've had it for a while. Anyway you've sold it for less than you wanted but you're still glad you sold it and you'll be back to hopefully sell to the same guy once he realizes that it was a GOOD car and maybe I'll bring another again. Great video and GREAT experience. Thanks for sharing your life with me.
Don’t worry abt it Tom,these things even themselves out,the buyer got a bargain,he will look at your stock again in future,and when he puts the word round that you have good stock,that will increase the competition for your lots for sale,and I knew Evie Gibbons bought the red heifer,as I seen it in one of her videos,when we were all watching your tb stress,that’s how I knew you would pull through it,chin up chest out,don’t let it get u down😊
I’ve sent sheep and highlands and it really is the price on the day. Point to note: it’s a business and sometimes you have to put your heart to one side. I’ve a RUclips on my highlands etc and sometimes it’s not all about money, it’s about how you live.
In Ireland when you are selling stock in the mart you go into a little box beside the auctioneer and when the hammer drops you can say yes or no to the selling price , was thinking that man beside the ring was Evie gibbons dad ,
The Market is kinda like another business line for you Tom; it takes time to figure it out and decide what goes best, but once you get it figured out it'll be a good place to go with extra cows!
Think at the end of the day your overstocked therefore have to make room to have more up and coming herds As you say it was all new to you and at the end of the day you have to maybe make mistakes to actually learn from them going forwards. I'm also wondering if their is a better time of year to sell, you kind of mentioned it in your video in the first moments of it that when they are in the field you don't have to worry about the overstock, I wonder if this also has a reverse to it where the buyers maybe take a bit more risk because they could just put it in the field for x amount of months without worry about the actual feeding of it as it would graze off the land. That would be interesting to find out
Enjoyed these videos….. growing up in Ireland and we were in markets like these all the time. In may cases they were in the centre of towns ( not any more though)
It must be so scary for the cows to be in the centre ring, with the men calling out all the numbers with the auction. The cows must be thinking "I wish he'd shut up"😅. Noisy fella yelling at me" Tom thanks for sharing the day at the market. Yes, you sounded very frustrated at the end. Never mind, you will learn & know for next time. So interesting watching the markets.
Never heard of swings and roundabouts. Getting in a bad mood won`t help it`ll just spoil your whole day / week. Remember if you don`t have a bad day you can`t have a good day....
its a new experience or atleast one your not as brushed up on currently the more you go the more natural your intuition for it will become really not a bad first weekend
So a few questions arose. Firstly if you had the space could you sell the milk from the extra cows? On the supposition that you could sell the milk, could you convert the showroom into an extension of your cowshed? If you couldn’t extend into the showroom , what would be the payback of a new cowshed? If money and stress wasn’t an issue what old be your optimum herd size be? Could you sell double the amount of milk you produce in a doorstep model? Or is the plan to extend your beef herd?
We sell direct, if we could get more customers we would do so but we are pretty busy as it. It’s not worth the extra labour and stress for the extra cows we don’t think at the moment
Live and learn farming is a gamble everyday you've to really watch out on market prices week in week out as it works like a stock exchange prices are up one minute there down next time tom you want to send cattle in do some research it will pay off 👍
In our auctions you don't point unless your bidding, but yeah they have small gestures to bid. Most of our auctions have 3-4 rows of seating from the ring, you can only stand in the door way or near the seats. And absolutely no video'ing at all, but especially not at the ring. I like yours way better. At ours you have 1 day for beef & dairy that are quality & then on the weekend you get the junk in those categories & everything else (goat's, pig's, sheep, sometimes horse's, dairy & beef cow's) I usually end up getting hosed. If you don't stay there in the ring area or on the premises, the worker's in the back will make backdoor deals with buyer's who really want an animal but don't want to pay much. Or they mix up your stock with someone else's. For me auctions are a last choice generally. And none of the dairy cow's here get cleaned prior to being sold.
I think it was very fair trade on the day and was a good price to represent the stock you presented. Something to note as well that you sell your worst stock and keep your best for breeding. Well done anyway and hope to see you selling more in the ring.
It's interesting to watch the preferance of producers. I know in canada. we went through the same thing when BSE hit. everyone around me had these big continental bred cows Charolais Simmental etc etc. big 1800 pound cows. but you had 800 pound 10 month old calves. straight off the cow through the first pre sort of the year and you'd smash the market. BSE hit one case in canada. the bottom fell out of the market. You couldn't take a trailer load of culls into the ring and pay for the diesel to get you there And those exact same calves were at a %50 discount.. People started to realize that a 1200 pound cow that weaned %50 of its body weight was easier to pay for than the 1800 pound cow that only weaned off %44 of its body weight. It'd be really interesting to see the inputs a smaller cross bred herd such as yours in comparison to the big holsteins and see the break down of that cost of production. If its like beef cattle I was shocked when I saw that percentage of body weight weaned number. because in the mad winters you get where I am that essentially ton and a half + feed that you didn't need to buy or produce over 212 feeding season was a considerable .
It’s always tricky extracting value out of your crossy cows in the sale ring. If I sell, I sell off the ones I don’t like, which tend to be the bigger Holstein types that the buyers like. Look at this as an opportunity to sell cows that don’t suit your system as well as that 1200 heifers, keep them and sell the bigger lanky types. All the best mate 👌
A trip to market is always a gamble Tom, either selling or buying. It’s just what somebody is prepared to pay on the day. Another day might have been a different result. How long will it be before you get a few of those Holsteins?? 44 litres a day?? Wow!! 😊, less number of cows, but higher quantity of milk, got to be the way to go?
Tom you’ve learnt by your mistakes, but also learn the fact that it’s not necessary information you’ve been told as well regarding the market. What you’ve got to understand is when you sell the animals and how much you expect.. don’t forget, there were a lot of people during that period selling. And therefore if you’d sold on a different time you probably may well have made up a little bit more, but. You’ve made a name for yourself, the world oyster.
All a learning curve, mate. Must be a daunting environment for the not so regulars to auctions. Never really thought about the different dairy breeds. What breed would be the premiership breed for milk production? i imagine there are other factors with the different as feeding costs, hardiness, and health issues, which are all to factor in when deciding what breed to run with? As always, another fantastic video 😊
Having taken cows, bulls, sheep and goats to the stockyards, it’s a rollercoaster!! Daddy would call previous customers and let them know we were taking stock to market. That way we had a better chance of having two people who wanted them. You don’t get a good price unless you have two people competing!
For those of you who wondered what happened at 15.48, the person at the ringside made a bid by raising his notebook. The auctioneer will know his regular buyers and what to look for when they bid, often a subtle movement of some kind.
TThought it would be interesting to slow that down ☺️
It was interesting, though it took me 2 replays to catch the bid.@@TomPembertonFarmLife
Growing up I would go the local market on Fridays during the school holidays. Basically for buying you would go to a dealer, and say what you wanted to buy, often if you bid yourself the auctioneer would not take your bid. There would be a few buyers for farmers and the precessing plant. The auctioneer new them well.
@@TomPembertonFarmLife I didn't catch the first time but after it was slow down I saw it LOL
Totally understand being frustrated but the thing is in today’s market if you put a reserve on something 90% of the time you end up hauling it home because what you think is worth something others don’t and that sucks
You learn something every day. The more you go to market, the more you learn what people are looking for.
All your cows are good producers. The buyer will know he got a bargain after milking her. Onward and upward Tom. Cheers to Joanna, Harvey, Ginger and the rest of the family and crew.
Morning Tom. You’re not naive, you’re learning a new skill. You’ll get it, be kind to yourself.
Hello Tom and everyone else! Tom, thanks for taking us along, another great story. I've never been to an auction, so very interesting. Don't stress about what you COULD have got for that cow. You got what the market was willing to pay. I'm sure you will do better next time! Be well and safe travels. I hope Jo and Jr are well.
The auctioneer was bang on about your cows. I buy a few from time to time and personally I wouldn't buy a jersey cross but would buy your other two. Your better off keeping hold of your jersey crosses because they will never make as much unless the right people are there on the day looking to buy them type.
What's the issue with Jersey crosses?
Yeah get it but it wasn’t a jersey cross 🙈 I think it was British Friesan x. But then if people thought it looked like it 🤦♂️
@@aenea22980 no issue at all with jersey crosses, just farmers who tend to have/buy more Holstein cows will more than likely also buy a Friesian and Ayrshire., but won't buy a jersey or x. For them types then it's more of a select market for them to achieve a higher price. But if there cheap then someone who doesn't usually buy them might take a gamble and buy one, "just because it's cheap"
Thanks for sharing the good and the bad. Totally understand your frustration, Tom.
On to the another. You’ll know more for next time.
If you knew everything, you'd never learn! Love a day at the market, buying or selling or just for a look to see what's going through.. Good video 😊
Tom another great video, I thoroughly enjoyed it. You sold quality and it will give you good cred. Glad Luke got to keep his favourite.
We have to fail to learn what doesn’t work so that we can get better. All the lessons that you’ve taught us here on this channel have reinforce that. So don’t be too down it’ll get better and it’s an experience that you needed to learn and it’s the best teacher. Everyone have a great weekend happy cows happy cows. Be well be you
Wise words from the auctioneer.
Your average was nearly 1550 tho and a learning curve Tom. Plus Evie will be able to show us the heifer on their farm so all not lost. 👍🤠
Don’t give up my brother there’s always going to be good days and bad days and cattle markets 💙
Tom, I found this side of your business very interesting, even if it was very stressful for you. Thanks for sharing, and I’m really glad you didn’t sell,Lucs favourite.
They were a NICE trio, and they will make their new owners happy and they might just pop back and go "Got more of them super milking wee awesome lassies?" So stay the course, make the local Pemberton Cow a "thing" and you'll be on track there. Your farm has a plan and sticking to it is a GOOD idea! Next batch will be fiiiine. Just get the word out that some darn nice smaller cows, suitable for the smallholdings, smaller farms and such are coming! Them big Holsteins scare me whilst that beautiful red one was supernice! ;-)
We used to have a big outdoor cattle & sheep market every month when I was a kid! It was great to watch!
You did well Tom, first time at market and although you didn’t get what you thought was best you got a good average! 😊
A day at the market & now a learning experience that you’ve had now to take away from it 👍👍
The hardest lesson learned is also the hardest lesson forgotten. We all learn from our mistakes Tom. I've made plenty, Keep Smilin.
Great to see how the auction of dairy cows works.
Thanks for the links to other social media farmers. Seen a little of Eve's channel, interesting that they just get in calved heffers and don't raise their own.
Great stuff hope you get some sleep at night soon.
Always thought it was about yield too, seen heifers do well at shows & sales that are dripping & pouring milk in the ring but that was pre-covid, things can & do change fast in farming. Every day is a school day so now you know a bit more about the market game. Great video again Tom & great to see new farms to consider following too 🐄🐄
Every day's a learning day Tom and you learn very quick. Better luck next time. Great video. Learn something new every time I watch your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Tom, thanks for taking us along
I understand your frustration, Tom! But you live and learn. Really enjoying this content, please keep it up! From Wisconsin USA 👋 😊
Don't stress to much about the middle cow. It's done and now you know what you can do so hopefully no more low bid buys. How's Harney doing better since Jo is feeling better i hope
Doing well thank you ☺️
Good evening from NZ. Tom, you never fail. There's reasons for everything. Love your work. Hope Mum and baby are doing well. Hello to the Ginger😊. Love and light to you all.🙏🙏❤❤👍👍😊😊
Once again a great inside in a field of farming that not a lot of people will have seen before. Very interesting watch and I'm amazed how the auctioneer keeps an eye on all the small nods, gestures, etc during the auction.
Life is a huge learning curve that’s always changing. Very nice educational video, learned a lot from it. ❤❤
Very interesting two videos on selling at market. This was a learning experience for all of us, including Tom. I bet you smash it next year at the Christmas market. And I found out what “luck money” means. I do think your best sales will be with your beef stock, work towards a rosette for next year.
Just wondering at what point the farm comes full circle. When Tom has upgraded and modernised everything on the farm that the only thing left is to either extend or to build a new cow shed.
Sometimes it’s better to be a small profitable business, than a larger unprofitable one.
Its never done and if he is almost done there are always new things to buy. If he doesn't want to expand he can invest in other things
He will get to a point where he only needs to worry about maintenance, and very often with family run farms when the reigns are getting passed over massive upgrades are done so then the farm is set for the next 20 years if they want to keep around the same size. And like the previous comment many big farms are running massive depts and only scraping by
For me it will never stop, farm shop is something to grow next tbh 🙈
Any sort of auction is a gamble and more likely to end in frustration than joy. You did fairly well and learned a lot. Learning makes what felt like a fail to you an actual win. I liked that the auctioneer was knowledgeable and clearly enjoying his work with the cattle and farmers.
Get into the Holsteins Tom!! Yes a bit more care and a bit more work but in the right environment under the correct management there’s so much more to gain!! And the new shed will help with that!!
In the 80's I worked for an Abattoir owner who bought every mad animal they sold at our local livestock market. It is a welcome site to see the animal owner walking his beasts around the ring, one can see their handling nature. Unlike my old boss who would buy any animal that cleared the sales ring of the most fearless stockmen.
You will get it right next time , discuss a reserve with the auctioneer and stand in the box with him so you can say yay or nay . You can also poke him to try and push it on a bit more. Once people know your stock , you will get regular buyers.
I was late to watching your last video so I'm going to put her here since it's newer. I'm not a farmer at all, I've just always found it an interesting topic. I've been watching your videos for I believe a couple years now and despite me not partaking myself, your channel has genuinely helped me improve my perspective on what goes on in the world around me. I live in Lincolnshire so farming is extremely relevant, nothing but fields here. But not only with farming, that improved perspective has helped me further respect the hidden inner workings of everything.
Long story short, you helped an already positive person see the world in an even better light through your humble farming. Big respect mate, and keep on being you, legend.
Ahhh amazing ☺️
Every mistake or frustrating loss is a learning lesson. She provided you with knowledge that is invaluable.
Happy new year Tom and your family don’t beat yourself up about market. Look at the bigger picture. You’ve got a lovely son and hopefully you work alongside you with his great grandad
Hay Tom love these videos off going to market.yes you lost on one its all a learning curve make the most of it thanks
Cows need good body confirmation, from my YFC days one leg on each corner , good stance , not on heels or toes, 4 teats at each corner of bag , good wide backend for ease of calving, and then it is down to buyer preference. So Tom ,as auctioneer says, you may have felt you lost abit on middle heifer, but if buyer feels they got a good deal, they will be back and maybe spread the word. of course it depend how often you sell at market, if it is just infrequent then you may be new kid on the block each time. its all a learning curve.
Hi Tom, your first sale of farm bred heifers was a good learning experience. Some farmers are in the market to buy replacement stock can be very picky as shown by the difference in prices. I think you did very well considering you bred the heifers and got a calf off them. You are a lot wiser now with what goes on at sales and as you say "if you present good heifers they will be bought by repeat buyers". In Aussie now your £1800 heifer would have made $3416 which is above our latest average sale prices which was $2800 in December. It's the start of a new adventure for the Pembelton Farm and I know you will take on the challenge with your usual style of rationally working it out. Good luck with futue sales. Chris from Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺.
Tom. You and your dad were both there. The auctioneer should have asked before knocking the second one down. But to be fair she didn’t present well in the ring, but he should have still asked!
Lesson to be learned is always put a reserve on what your selling if your not prepared to loose a bit.
Dont sell good cows
Great video tom welcome to the livestock Market I always hope the animals I sell go to a good home well done tom
Think of it as passing it along, the guy who bought that second one for 1250 got a great deal, 😊
Had a friend who wanted to be a livestock dealer, he had experience and contacts, but could not brea through, livestock markets are a very close community. Where we were it all depends on your last name.
It is always hard. You had to take the chance. Yes, you didn't get the number you wanted, but with the three you did very nicely. It is all a learning experience.
Very interesting , this was different cause there milkers .
Be grateful for what you got .
Thankyou for taking and showing us .
All new to me .
It all comes down to that time in the ring, the red one and the third heifer both looked like they will milk well, last for multiple lactations and deliver that dairy character to the next generation. The second didn't show well in the ring and with the other elements mentioned combined for a lower price than she was worth. Auction days are the best and worst of times but just remember that as a new seller good heifers like those will continue to fly the flag for your herd for years to come in the new herds they join. Also three less in the cowshed which is good for the herd when slightly overstocked.
Like you say Tom its a learning curve and like life, at auction you have to take the rough with the smooth. You shouldn't be to disappointed, you got a good prices for the calves and for the Red Heifer. 👍😊
How can you take cows to market after positive TB tests? I thought three was a year period after all testing negative?
That’s the gamble of a market. “Market” price is the price. There are always variables in markets. Whether it be cows or coins. Arguably the red heifer did better than you expected.
Treat it as a learning experience. Now you know what the buyers are looking for and why. You will do better each time you go.
best advice i got is sometimes its better to sell something with a discount than keep funding money into it as you might be stuck with it for long time and when you sell it for what you want than you have lost more than just be rid of it in first place.
It will be a bit but the sleepless nights will come to and end. My first son slept solid through the night at 4-5 months my second is 6 months and sleeps through the night a majority of the time.
A valuable lesson learnt, forget your perception of what makes a good animal, just like you have done you find out what the market wants to get the best prices, as with any auction looks are so important, better luck next time.
The reality of things at the moment is that the price of milk is shocking and only for the value of cull cows the market would be much worse, the situation in Ireland is worse as a large number of farmers are being forced to reduced numbers due to new nitrate rules. The little black cow wasn’t that poor a price really she was not very powerful. You might want to consider selling some of your older cows that might have a few issues rather than your heifers the cull cow price at the moment is good and the heifers are not really making enough to justify selling them in my opinion. Truthfully now that you are reasonably well set up to have a biggish herd maybe sell some of the beef cattle and keep the milkers it’s a hell of a lot easier to buy a few cattle for finishing than it is to replace dairy cows, just a thought, would be very interested to hear what the boss thinks.
2 out of 3 ain’t bad Tom, you do have to speculate to accumulate on many things in life and business, draw a line for today and go home and snuggle with Jo and Harvey❣️
Brings back a lot of happy memories of going to the sheep market in Ruthin (the old one), the Beast Market in Wrexham and the livestock market in Oswestry. Oswestry was my favourite. We'd have a packed lunch in the back of my great uncle's mini van, made by my great aunt and her food was always fantastic. Strange as it sounds, but seeing this footage brings back the smells and flavour of those packed lunches. We Welsh call Oswestry 'Croesoswallt' and the market was fondly referred to as 'Siswallt' - a kind of short form of the Welsh name for the town. Hearing 'Siswallt' being mentioned always meant that there was something exciting about to happen. I can remember having strict orders to not flinch during the auction in case the auctioneer thought that we were buying. As if the auctioneer was going to take a bid from a child 🤣, highly unlikely of course, but I suppose that was my great uncle's way of teaching us about how an auction worked.
Be nice see how they get on. And be good see market videos
Don’t beat yourself up Tom it’s a learning curve like everything else.
You won’t make that mistake twice if it’s cut that deep bud 👍🏼
Tom with your influence you could easily advertise online for those cows instead of market. Cheaper in diesel, market fees etc might get better proce
Don’t beat yourself up Tom they were 3 good heifers, but most farmers want big framed cows which are going to give a lot of milk but will probably only last 4/5 lactations.
If that tbh 🙈
Spot on with that . I never understood it . Father used to milk Guernseys and they went on for years , no foot trouble or anything and i worked on a dairy milking traditional friesians and they would go on for years. We never pushed them too hard, plenty of good forage and grazing and plenty of space.
Thanks
Being honest with the description of your animals in the sale will only benefit you in the long term. As you say, your reputation is everything in the ring. Buyers get to know which farmers have good stock and will trust these.
Sometimes lessons are costly. That's the first and last time you sell a cow without a minimum price on it. Deep breaths Tom. Next time you go, you'll be better prepared. All three cows are good cows, the buyers will remember they came from you. It's the first building blocks put in place for your reputation for selling good cows. Farmers talk, word spreads. Never underestimate the power of 'word of mouth.' Over all the trip to market was a positive one.
To me, that was just like selling a car, being I've been in automotive for 35 years. Your car isn't as shiny as your better model from the get-go. Plus the gas mileage isn't as good as some plus its paint isn't as shiny and clean plus a few bumps in it also. But its your car and you love it. Its a good solid car. Then you sell it for no reserve because you want it to be sold and don't want to stop the sale because others don't like it as well as you do since you've had it for a while. Anyway you've sold it for less than you wanted but you're still glad you sold it and you'll be back to hopefully sell to the same guy once he realizes that it was a GOOD car and maybe I'll bring another again. Great video and GREAT experience. Thanks for sharing your life with me.
The people that got your red cow are so lucky. She's a beaut!
All your cows are beautiful. I just have an extra fondness for the cows with color.
It's a learning curve, you know now. The lessons in life you never forget usually cost you money.
Don’t worry abt it Tom,these things even themselves out,the buyer got a bargain,he will look at your stock again in future,and when he puts the word round that you have good stock,that will increase the competition for your lots for sale,and I knew Evie Gibbons bought the red heifer,as I seen it in one of her videos,when we were all watching your tb stress,that’s how I knew you would pull through it,chin up chest out,don’t let it get u down😊
I’ve sent sheep and highlands and it really is the price on the day. Point to note: it’s a business and sometimes you have to put your heart to one side. I’ve a RUclips on my highlands etc and sometimes it’s not all about money, it’s about how you live.
In Ireland when you are selling stock in the mart you go into a little box beside the auctioneer and when the hammer drops you can say yes or no to the selling price , was thinking that man beside the ring was Evie gibbons dad ,
Hello to the moookshack couple, been up there a few times when working up that way 👍🏼
The Market is kinda like another business line for you Tom; it takes time to figure it out and decide what goes best, but once you get it figured out it'll be a good place to go with extra cows!
Thanks for the video Tom. ✌️💚🖖
Think at the end of the day your overstocked therefore have to make room to have more up and coming herds As you say it was all new to you and at the end of the day you have to maybe make mistakes to actually learn from them going forwards. I'm also wondering if their is a better time of year to sell, you kind of mentioned it in your video in the first moments of it that when they are in the field you don't have to worry about the overstock, I wonder if this also has a reverse to it where the buyers maybe take a bit more risk because they could just put it in the field for x amount of months without worry about the actual feeding of it as it would graze off the land. That would be interesting to find out
Enjoyed these videos….. growing up in Ireland and we were in markets like these all the time. In may cases they were in the centre of towns ( not any more though)
Great video dont put yourself down just keep trying you will get there your cows always look great and all the best for 2024.
I love short cows and crossbreed cows too ♥️
Taking cattle to market is like rolling dice.
It must be so scary for the cows to be in the centre ring, with the men calling out all the numbers with the auction. The cows must be thinking "I wish he'd shut up"😅. Noisy fella yelling at me"
Tom thanks for sharing the day at the market. Yes, you sounded very frustrated at the end. Never mind, you will learn & know for next time. So interesting watching the markets.
Tom go easy on yourself! Everything in life is a learning curve. Better luck next time PAL.
Michigan Rider 🐎
Never heard of swings and roundabouts. Getting in a bad mood won`t help it`ll just spoil your whole day / week. Remember if you don`t have a bad day you can`t have a good day....
its a new experience or atleast one your not as brushed up on currently the more you go the more natural your intuition for it will become really not a bad first weekend
So a few questions arose. Firstly if you had the space could you sell the milk from the extra cows?
On the supposition that you could sell the milk, could you convert the showroom into an extension of your cowshed?
If you couldn’t extend into the showroom , what would be the payback of a new cowshed?
If money and stress wasn’t an issue what old be your optimum herd size be?
Could you sell double the amount of milk you produce in a doorstep model?
Or is the plan to extend your beef herd?
We sell direct, if we could get more customers we would do so but we are pretty busy as it. It’s not worth the extra labour and stress for the extra cows we don’t think at the moment
well tom thats the sale barn, you make money, ya lose money, but at the end of the day you got a check and you dont have to feed em anymore
Live and learn farming is a gamble everyday you've to really watch out on market prices week in week out as it works like a stock exchange prices are up one minute there down next time tom you want to send cattle in do some research it will pay off 👍
The description link to the little big farmer doesn't work.
Easily found searching YT though.
Absolutely brilliant, informative video. Thanks Tom. Shame about the low price on one, but still thanks for sharing.
In our auctions you don't point unless your bidding, but yeah they have small gestures to bid. Most of our auctions have 3-4 rows of seating from the ring, you can only stand in the door way or near the seats. And absolutely no video'ing at all, but especially not at the ring. I like yours way better.
At ours you have 1 day for beef & dairy that are quality & then on the weekend you get the junk in those categories & everything else (goat's, pig's, sheep, sometimes horse's, dairy & beef cow's) I usually end up getting hosed. If you don't stay there in the ring area or on the premises, the worker's in the back will make backdoor deals with buyer's who really want an animal but don't want to pay much. Or they mix up your stock with someone else's. For me auctions are a last choice generally.
And none of the dairy cow's here get cleaned prior to being sold.
I think it was very fair trade on the day and was a good price to represent the stock you presented. Something to note as well that you sell your worst stock and keep your best for breeding. Well done anyway and hope to see you selling more in the ring.
Bet your mum will be happy when she sees you put a grooming brush on her kitchen table 😂
😂😂😂
It's interesting to watch the preferance of producers. I know in canada. we went through the same thing when BSE hit. everyone around me had these big continental bred cows Charolais Simmental etc etc. big 1800 pound cows. but you had 800 pound 10 month old calves. straight off the cow through the first pre sort of the year and you'd smash the market. BSE hit one case in canada. the bottom fell out of the market. You couldn't take a trailer load of culls into the ring and pay for the diesel to get you there And those exact same calves were at a %50 discount.. People started to realize that a 1200 pound cow that weaned %50 of its body weight was easier to pay for than the 1800 pound cow that only weaned off %44 of its body weight. It'd be really interesting to see the inputs a smaller cross bred herd such as yours in comparison to the big holsteins and see the break down of that cost of production. If its like beef cattle I was shocked when I saw that percentage of body weight weaned number. because in the mad winters you get where I am that essentially ton and a half + feed that you didn't need to buy or produce over 212 feeding season was a considerable .
It’s always tricky extracting value out of your crossy cows in the sale ring. If I sell, I sell off the ones I don’t like, which tend to be the bigger Holstein types that the buyers like. Look at this as an opportunity to sell cows that don’t suit your system as well as that 1200 heifers, keep them and sell the bigger lanky types. All the best mate 👌
I’m not from the uk but honestly I don’t care what the breeds big players use the only things I care about in milk is a unpasteurized A2/A2 protein
you a new kid on the block at market regular buyers need to get to know you and trust you evary day of life is a learning day chin up pal
great feedback ❤
Tom the day you don't learn something it's a bad day .Keep going Tom and learn from it .
A trip to market is always a gamble Tom, either selling or buying. It’s just what somebody is prepared to pay on the day. Another day might have been a different result. How long will it be before you get a few of those Holsteins?? 44 litres a day?? Wow!! 😊, less number of cows, but higher quantity of milk, got to be the way to go?
Tom you’ve learnt by your mistakes, but also learn the fact that it’s not necessary information you’ve been told as well regarding the market. What you’ve got to understand is when you sell the animals and how much you expect.. don’t forget, there were a lot of people during that period selling. And therefore if you’d sold on a different time you probably may well have made up a little bit more, but. You’ve made a name for yourself, the world oyster.
Just been checking out your vending machine video from 7 years ago. Can't get over how young you look.
All a learning curve, mate. Must be a daunting environment for the not so regulars to auctions. Never really thought about the different dairy breeds. What breed would be the premiership breed for milk production? i imagine there are other factors with the different as feeding costs, hardiness, and health issues, which are all to factor in when deciding what breed to run with?
As always, another fantastic video 😊
Animal density/square footage required per animal is also a consideration, both in shed design and pasture size.
@janetmaher1116 Thanks for taking the time to reply :) much appreciated.