Cattle Country Video first sale success for buyers and sellers

Cheyenne – Cattle Country Video held its inaugural sale July 1 and 2 in Cheyenne at Little America, where 38,000 yearlings sold July 1 and 13,000 calves sold July 2 for a total of 51,000 head of Rocky Mountain and Northern Plains region cattle marketed through the auction.
“We have the best cattle in the U.S. to offer for sale in the Rocky Mountain and Northern Plains regions. We started this to take care of our customers and to focus on the high quality cattle they produce,” explains Cattle Country Video owner and auctioneer Lex Madden. “Buyers said they were tired of four- to six-day sales and could not physically sit on the phone or in front of the computer for that amount of time. They were supportive of our idea of a one- or two- or three-day sale with a focus on good cattle.”
“I felt the sale was very representative of the local Wyoming and Nebraska cattle. It’s certainly a lot more personal being involved in a regional sale. I feel cattle on the Western Video Auction and now Cattle Country Video bring more than they do with Superior because they receive more personal representation,” says Niobrara County cattle producer Shannon Bruegger, who sold both calves and yearlings on the auction.
Buyers and sellers alike responded to the regional emphasis of Cattle Country Video. Of the 300 lots offered, 296 sold. On July 1 approximately 350 people were fed lunch at Little America and roughly 250 were in attendance July 2.
“We are very excited and feel blessed at the response and amount of support we received,” says Madden. The sale was originally scheduled to run for one day, but when consignment numbers more than doubled original estimates an additional day was added.
“In two days our website had 920 people log on to watch. The technology is there today and things are changing. We’ve received a lot of positive buyer and seller feedback in regard to watching the sale online,” notes Madden.
Breed representatives from the Angus, Red Angus, Charolais, Saler, Hereford and Limousin breeds were also in attendance to provide information to buyers, sellers and representatives. Madden says if there is an opportunity to make a few extra dollars per head through a breed supported program, producers should be aware of it.
“We have people who want to buy for those programs, so I wanted the people from the breeds there telling us to be involved in them,” he explains.
A very active market was seen both days of the auction despite a high corn market. “Considering the economy, I thought they did a good job selling the cattle. My calves sold really well, while my yearlings were toward the end of the sale and the market softened a little by then. The cattle that sold early on Friday were certainly at the very top of the market. Overall, I thought it was well run and everything went very similar to any video sale I’ve ever been on,” notes Bruegger.
Cattle Country Video will host their second sale Aug. 12 and 13 in Gering, Neb. The filming deadline for that sale is July 28.
For more information visit cattlecountryvideo.com or call 1-888-3-CATTLE. Heather Hamilton is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at heather@wylr.net.