Preparations continue for the Ichthys Cattle Enterprise bull and bred heifer sale to be held at our headquarters on Friday, March 8 at 11 am. We are planning to have this sale regardless of weather. I met with our county road supervisor and he said they plan to have both access roads to our place, 1900 (off of  Hwy 136) and Road N (off of Hwy 78) open if there is a storm.

If you are a new customer please visit with your bank account representative regarding an ACH transfer beforehand in the event you get some cattle purchased. An ACH is like a wire transfer but it doesn’t cost anything. We will be able to provide you with our account information at check-out so you can quickly authorize a payment. Thank you for your understanding regarding this situation.

Hauling Options: We have some very good news regarding hauling options. Craig Whisenhunt (803-682-4620), a commercial hauler from South Carolina, plans to be at our place on Saturday, March 16 with a 36’ stock trailer. The trailer has 3 dividing gates which make 4 compartments By then, the cattle that need to be hauled out of state should have their health papers ready to go. He is willing to accommodate, within reason, multiple parties who want to pay for hauling. Though I am willing to share contact information please know that the arrangements to haul and the hauling fee are between you and Craig, or whoever you make arrangements with. Please contact him as soon as convenient to speak for room on the trailer, it will be on a first come, first served basis. I know it is not possible to be exact when telling him precisely how many cattle you plan to buy. However, please don’t speak for the entire trailer if you really don’t plan to purchase that many. We are trying to help out as many customers as possible, we appreciate your cooperation.

Also, Mr. Jimmy Weathers (405-313-4070) from near Oklahoma City just off I-35 plans to purchase some cattle and may have room on a 22’ trailer to bring some back that far. He won’t be picking his up until the next week.

Also, Garth Lloyd, Arbela, MO with a 24’ trailer, 660-216-0366, also not picking up until the next week.

PLEASE, if you are planning to bring a trailer, to have room on the trailer and are willing to help someone with hauling, let me know and I will publish your name and number. I pursue win-win situations and if someone is willing to haul your cattle for an amount that is less than what it would be worth to you in your own time and expenses you get a win. The hauler gets a win if they can pay for all or part of their expenses doing this. If you are going to inquire of someone who can haul please don’t expect them to do it for nothing and I exhort you to be generous toward them for helping you…you might just make a new friend as well.

Sale format: We plan to use a Cowboy style auction in which bids will be called relatively slowly and you will be able to understand what the bid is. Each bidder who is at the sale will be issued a card with their bidder number. Once a lot opens for bidding you will hold your card in the air if you are interested in that lot and will keep it in the air until you no longer want the lot at that price or until all other cards are down. If you are the last person with a card in the air you own the animal. The DVAution representative will have a paddle with a “1” on a side and a “2+” on the other side. He will hold up the paddle with the appropriate side showing, if there are internet bids (if multiple bids a 2+, and a 1 if there is only one left). If he is the last one with the paddle in the air the internet buyer will own the animal. Our sight unseen bidding representative will also have a 2-sided paddle and will bid similarly to the DVAuction rep. If we have 2 or more SUS bids he will show the 2+ and if he only has one bid he will show a 1. We will also have some phone numbers available for phone bidding if someone has an internet connection not working. Please note, even though this is a Cowboy auction we believe we can sell animals FASTER this way. If a lot comes up for sale and there is no interest in the first few seconds we will move on, we do not beg 2 minutes for a bid. I expect us to be able to sell all 170+ lots in 2-3 hours, maybe much less. I don’t like having my time wasted and I assume you don’t either. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the bidding process.

Note: Though this may sound strange, as long as there are 2 bidders still in the running for an animal, those two bidders are considered to be tied for the bid. You only win the bid on an animal if you are the last one holding up a card (or having the internet rep, SUS rep or phone bidder do it). If 2 bidders put down their card at the same time, and if neither one wants to raise their bid, the person with the LOWER card number (buyer number) wins the bid.

1. DVAuction proxy bidding is a great way to be a bit more relaxed during the sale (or not even watch the sale) and to ensure that you are bidding what you want to bid on the lots you want to bid on. If you go to this page: https://www.dvauction.com/events/88633/lots and log in to their site you can place a proxy bid that will only rise to the amount needed to win the bid. I strongly urge you to consider this option if you are not going to be at the sale. I once had a good friend tell me he went to a farm sale looking to buy a combine and was willing to go up to $5000 to get the bid. He took the machine home for $12,000. Maybe a proxy bid would have saved him enough money to take his wife out to eat so he could explain how disciplined he is!? Proxy bidding will also help avert any internet connection problems you have during the sale. A perhaps: You could enter a proxy bid on every lot you are interested in then also be at the computer to use the click to bid if you get a similar itch as what my friend had. I won’t be disappointed if you bid more than your proxy!

2. Click to bid is available to those who want to bid online during the sale. As mentioned above you are welcome to enter a proxy bid but then change your mind to a higher amount with the click to bid.

3. Sight unseen (SUS) bidding: If you would like to submit your bids to us prior to the sale we will handle your bids with integrity. We will not bid higher than is necessary to get the animal.

4. Phone bidding: We will have some phone numbers available to use during the sale in case you have an internet problem.

5. In person, at the sale: We would love to see you and hope you can make it.

God’s grace to you and may we soon see some warmth to start growing some grass!

Lanny