The Rural Voice, 1989-10, Page 33culture and Food in Emo, has played
an active role in the RRCA's sale
overhaul. In his view, the sale stands
to gain from O'Donnell's experience.
"Our idea is that the man who's
doing the sorting for this sale probably
sees and sorts more cattle in a week
than most producers would in a year,"
he says. "The man's a professional.
He can't play favourites because he
doesn't know anybody in the area.
So all he can do is call them as he
sees them."
O'Donnell's expertise was also
called upon to assess the sales -barn
facilities. To improve efficiency,
some of the cattle pens are being
renovated to create buyers' pens, into
which purchased lots will be streamed
directly from the auction floor.
The sale ring will also be recon-
structed, to accommodate a brand-new
bank of seats built especially for the
convenience of buyers.
"These days, nearly all the buyers
come equipped with a calculator and
writing pad," Morrish notes. "We're
going to give them a work space for
their equipment, a cup of coffee and
so on. It seems to be a trend in the
newer rings, and the buyers take
advantage of it, so we're going to try
it here at Stratton."
A considerable amount of research
has gone into planning the 1989 sale.
Two delegations of local cattlemen
toured sales yards in Grunthal, Win-
nipeg, Inwood, Brandon, and Regina
looking for ways to improve effi-
ciency and attract more buyers.
Gary Sliworsky, red meat advisor with OMAF, at the Stratton sales yard, which is
being renovated for the comfort of buyers.
about which direction we were go-
ing to go in," he adds, referring to a
proposal by a Manitoban to lease and
operate the sales yard. "The fact that
it was one of the options we seriously
considered and then rejected generated
a lot of interest. What came across
was that we were giving up —
although that wasn't the case — and
the fact that we didn't choose that
option pleased a lot of people."
"It's got them quite interested, and
I feel that's going to translate back
into cattle numbers coming into the
sale."
Local cattlemen are confident that
their feeder offerings are of a quality
This year's Stratton sale marks a turning point for the Rainy
River Cattlemen. The efforts to bring the sale up to date and
into a competitive market that spans east and west are a
departure from the tried and true methods of the past.
The RRCA is targeting consignors
too. The combination of a spruced -up
sale plan and a lower commission rate
is intended to convince local cattlemen
that the October 21 auction is an
opportunity too good to pass up.
"The response, so far, has been
positive," says Morrish.
"There was quite a flap this spring
that can compete far beyond the
district's boundaries. To buyers,
however, quantity can count for as
much as quality. In an effort to meet
the needs of buyers looking for larger
sale lots, the RRCA is gearing up to
put its all into one fall sale instead of
two as in years past.
Nomination forms arc still coming
in from consignors, but indications are
that the Stratton sale will showcase
anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 head.
"The general feeling in the dis-
trict," says Morrish, "is that the calves
are going to come in. And I think
we're going to get a fairly heavy run
of yearlings, though maybe not what
we'd originally predicted. Quite a
few yearlings have been sold already.
Prices have been good; the fellows
thought they were almost too good
to last, so they've been shipping."
"We based our figures on 2,000
head and we're looking for around the
3,000 mark, but I think we're going to
level out at about 2,500. That's my
estimate right now."
This year's Stratton sale marks a
turning point for the Rainy River
Cattlemen. The efforts to bring the
sale up to date and into a competitive
market that spans cast and west arc a
departure from the tried and true
methods of the past. Morrish points
out that, in the end, the success of the
sale depends most of all on the pro-
ducers themselves. When October 21
rolls around, it's how many times the
gavel comes down that really count
"From a director's point of view,'
Morrish declares, "the only thing I'd
like to stress is that of all the ground-
work the directors have done, the main
ingredient we need to make the whole
thing work is the cattle."0
OCTOBER 1989 31