Well, on Friday I saw that it was one of my secretaries’ birthday so being the nice boss I am I told her to take the day off that is on Sunday.
We had a very good sale Thursday with 95% of our sale being extremely nice cattle. Some cattlemen like to throw that word of northern cattle around like they are far better than ours, I would like to debate that on a lot of our better cattle.
Some of my friends and buyers give me a hard time saying I am wound too tight about making sure we run a speedy auction and keep it going. But I bought cattle out of auctions from a very young age and full time for 20 years. And during that time I realized how important it is to keep the sale going without stops. Anytime you stop and start a lot of buyers lose interest and then are not paying attention sometimes until the cattle are sold.
I am very picky who auctioneers for me. They have to be 100% honest and never show favoritism by selling out quick to their buddies. I want an auctioneer who is fast. I stay in the ring from start to finish never leaving the ring to make sure we get full value for the cattle. I put a price on cattle risking a lot of my money to put a floor the cattle, plus enabling us to run a speedy auction.
I have too many full-time employees in order to have enough sale day to run a speedy auction plus take care of the cattle. An honest auction that is working for buyers and sellers I don’t think there is a better way to buy and sell cattle.
Last Thursday evening we got a nice rain, which surprised me, but very welcomed.
I know sometimes my sense of humor is a little ornery but life is too short to be a stick in the mud. Last week we were reminded that after the cold week of weather that we all better check our bulls to see if they are still fertile so to put it bluntly their balls may have frozen.
So at the breakfast table last week with several ranchers, I reminded them they better check their bulls. And then to one rancher that is built pretty close to the ground, I said, “Frank, I am worried about you too with you being so short.”
A friend of mine stopped at the sale and I said, “I would invite you to go eat but I know you are busy today.” He said, “No, I’m not busy I can go.” I said, “Oh, I just heard someone say that you were out to lunch.”
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
