Posted on June 7, 2010 - by Russell

Longhorn Round-Up Sale

Sell Your Cattle at a Quality Sale…. and Have More Money Left in Your Pocket at the End of the Day. 

 The Longhorn Round-Up Sale on October 30, 2010 will allow you to do just that - sell your cattle and keep more money in your pocket.  The fee for this sale is a $50 promotional fee and a straight 10% commission with a maximum commission of $300. No other fees, no hidden expenses, no higher percentages if you don’t make a purchase at the sale.

How Can We Have a Quality Sale and Keep The Sale Fees Low?

Simple.  I will be cutting my expenses for managing the sale by taking advantage of today’s modern technology such as Internet websites and email.  One of the biggest savings will be the sales catalog.  There will only be an on-line printable catalog with color photos, pedigrees, comments and breeding information available to anyone interested in Longhorn cattle. 

This on-line catalog will not only help in cutting costs, but will help promote the sale and the cattle to thousands of potential buyers who are not currently in the Longhorn industry. With the on-line catalog I will save thousands of dollars by not having to pay for typesetting, printing and postage. That’s more money I can use to promote the sale.

Making It Easy For Consignors

As a consignor you do not have to select your consignments and pay a large consignment fee three or four months in advance.  This will save you time and money.  However, do keep in mind the earlier you consign the more promotional exposure your consignment will receive online.

By controlling the sale expenses, I will pass along these savings to the consignors in several ways:

·         The $50 non-refundable promotional fee per lot at the time of consignment will result in a pretty large savings, especially for those who consign multiple lots to the sale, leaving more money in your pocket. 

·         The commission you will pay is based on how well your consignment sells. If it sells for over $500 you will be charged a 10% commission fee up to a maximum of $300.

·         The $50 non-refundable promotional fee will be all you pay if you PO your lot or if your consignment sells for $500 or less.

Low Cost, But Lots of Exposure

The Longhorn Round-Up Sale will be promoted in offline and online media. More people get their information on the Internet than from any other source so we’ll have a special emphasis on Internet marketing. Here are a few of the marketing media options for promoting the sale:

• Longhorn Source: The catalog will be featured on this website. It attracts over 15,000 visitors per year and over 9,000 page views per month – all by people who are specifically interested in Longhorn cattle.

·         Longhorn Round-Up Blog: I’m reformatting this blog to better promote the Longhorn breed with information that won’t be found anywhere else. The blog currently has several hundred visitors each month and is growing.

·         Longhorn Round-Up Facebook page: Facebook is growing exponentially and many Longhorn breeders and those interested in the breed are participating on Facebook on a daily basis.

·         Internet Advertising: I’ll be placing ads with geographic targeting as well as some rural/local publications to persuade beef cattle producers of the economical benefits of Longhorns.

·         Texas Longhorn Trails magazine: The Trails has a monthly circulation of over 4,700 copies making it the most widely distributed Longhorn publication in the industry.

·         American Classifieds: An important low cost resource that gets the ads in front of people with rural, farming, and ranching interests.

Help Stabilize and Grow Our Market for All Breeders.

It’s no secret that severe droughts and a weakened economy have impacted the prices for Longhorns. We all need to work together to help promote and market our cattle in the most affordable way possible. That is the number one goal of the Longhorn Round-Up Sale.

A low cost sale isn’t enough to continue to move this industry forward. We have to educate breeders and potential buyers about this great breed of cattle. The fact is that people who have come into the industry in recent years have only been exposed to a single trait focus: tip-to tip horn measurements.

Beyond Tip-to-Tip: How To Market Longhorn Cattle

I love big-horned Longhorn cattle as much as anybody. However, this breed has far more important attributes that need to be talked about to increase marketing opportunities. Hardiness, disease resistance, browse utilization, calving ease, fertility, longevity and lean beef are traits that breeders should be breeding for because these are the traits that can make Longhorns a viable part of the commercial cattle breeding industry. Just because the bull or cow has 80 inches of horn, doesn’t mean the progeny will, and it doesn’t mean the progeny don’t have value. The truth is that our industry has not done a good job of marketing our cattle beyond tip-to-tip. It’s time to change that.

Announcing a Free Educational Seminar

With the help of several Longhorn breeders we will be hosting a free educational seminar in conjunction with the sale on Friday evening October 29, 2010 focusing on two main topics: “The True Cash Cows of the Industry” and “The Danger of Single Trait Selection”.  More information on these topics will be available at a later date.  If you would like to volunteer to help with the seminars or need additional information, please contact the seminar coordinator Gail Kocian at 361-798-6774 or gail@krazyklonghorns.com.

By providing educational services, promotion and affordable marketing we can stabilize and grow our market for the betterment of the breed, which benefits all breeders.

Open to Everyone.

The Longhorn Round-Up Sale is not an association sale, invitation only or select sale, but a true open consignment sale, which means everyone is welcome. We will accept ALL registered Texas Longhorn Cattle without any association membership requirements. I would encourage you to be a member of one of the breed associations, but it is not required. The sale cattle will NOT be screened prior to acceptance in the sale, but please remember, your consignments represent your program.

To take advantage of this affordable marketing opportunity plan on joining us on October 29 and 30 as a consignor to the Longhorn Round-Up Sale at the West Auction Barn.  The auction barn is conveniently located just outside of the town of West, Texas on Interstate 35 at Exit 351.  The West Auction barn with a café on the premises will provide a clean and comfortable setting for both the seminars and the sale. 

For consignment forms and additional information go to longhorn-roundup-consignment-form_edited , round-up-requirements_edited , health-requirements_edited , sale-waiver_edited . You may also contact me directly by phone at 409-381-0616 or email me at russellh@longhornroundup.com.

I’ve been in the Longhorn business for over 30 years and I’ve never been more excited about the possibilities of this breed than I am right now. Join me in promoting this extraordinary breed of cattle.

Sincerely,

Russell Hooks

Sale Manager

Licensed Auctioneer # 13717