There are some questions which seem to be, in current terms, the trending questions. I've shared a few in recent Rayner Reckons. The latest trend is associated with the upcoming round of northern NSW bull sales. I'm pretty sure most people have been asked "are you coming to our bull sale?"
In my previous career with the NSW DPI, as the District Beef Cattle Officer, getting out to bull sales was an important part of the job. There were a few reasons for this. Being at sales gave me a chance to catch up with producers, see what was happening in the seed stock sector, and get a feel for the optimism people had for the year ahead.
Being at a sale was also a great opportunity to talk to producers about how to understand EBVs; what to look for in structure or muscle and even to create some discussion about target markets.
In many ways being at a sale also helped the vendors.
There's no doubt the lead up to and the morning of a bull sale are some of the most demanding times bull breeders will face. They need to speak with existing clients; meet and get to know new clients; make sure the agents are fully briefed on the day and arrange countless other things to make sure the sale goes to plan!
So having the local beef cattle officer at the sale was a good thing. The vendor & agents would often encourage producers to chat to me about those things such as EBVs or the merits of bulls, confident their clients were getting good reliable advice which may help producers buying bulls at the sale.
In developing RaynerAg, attending bull sales is still one of the key services I like to undertake. However, I've had to make some decisions about how and why I go to sales. The simple matter is my business is to provide advice to clients to help them run their business more effectively. When I attend sales now I have to do so to provide that service, and I now have to make that a business decision.
Quite a few bull breeders have asked me if I will be coming to their sale this year.
Several have offered me an opportunity to receive a rebate if I bring clients along who purchase bulls a the sale, similar to that offered to agents introducing new clients.
I've actually chosen to decline this offer.
I'm determined to offer my clients advice which is independent, and not driven by the need to earn commission on sales, be it bulls or animal health products etc.
Instead I've offered the vendors an alternative suggestion. For a fixed fee I will attend their sale day and be on hand to provide purchasers with advice on the bulls. This includes understanding EBVs, comparing bulls in the catalogue, caring for the bull when it is delivered, as well as other questions the purchaser might have. Because I'm not working on a commission purchasers can feel confident in asking me to compare bulls and also to present advice which is truly independent.
The vendors can also feel comfortable knowing that they can steer clients towards me to address their questions and concerns about bulls. This just gives the vendors a chance to work through their sale day with some more support and be confident their new and existing clients are not being neglected!
I reckon this service may not be for every bull seller this year. However for the breeders I am working with, they have told me their clients were happy they had the option (if they wanted it) to seek some help or to bounce some ideas off when looking at the bulls in the catalogue.
I'm looking forward to the sales I'm going to this season. I definitely looking forward to continuing to help producers and bull breeders achieve their goals in buying and selling bulls which will make a positive difference in beef enterprises in the next few years.