EXPLORING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Presenting at the 2022 Cattleman’s Profit Roudup during the Annual American Gelbvieh Convention, Aaron Burke, Superior Livestock Auctions (SLA), shared the importance of utilizing all of the tools available to maximize return to the operation.

Growing up in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Burke is no stranger to the beef industry and was a customer of Superior Livestock Auctions long before becoming an employee—an advantage he says helps him to better serve and understand the customers he works with.

“I started selling cattle with Superior before I ever started working for them –to have the opportunity to get your cattle out there in front of that many buyers was something that I felt like I couldn’t pass up,” Burke says of what he shares with producers about the opportunities he feels are left on the table when all options aren’t explored.

Burke shared that in 2021, alone, Superior Livestock Auctions sold around

BY LAURA HANDKE

1.5 million head of cattle through the three different marketing methods that his presentation was focused on.

Video auctions, with bi-weekly sales; the Country Page, listed on the SLA website; and print catalog sales opportunities are the marketing headliners SLA leverages to help producers discover the best prices for their cattle.

Bi-weekly video auctions are broadcast on television, every other week throughout the summer months. Summer sales season sees the SLA team on-site in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Wyoming and Colorado.

“Those sales will last a week, each, and we will see somewhere between 200,000 to 250,000 head of cattle sold at each sale.”

Another way SLA markets calves for producers is via their Country Page on the SLA website.

“It’s kind of like eBay for cattle,” Burke jokes. “We get your cattle listed, along with the delivery date you commit to, stick an asking price on them (lot of cattle) and go to work.”

In 2021, SLA saw more than 130,000 head sold via the Country Page. Finally, SLA offers a private treaty option, which Burke says is the marketing outlet that he sees the most head sold through.

“I sell probably 20% through the video auctions, maybe 10% through the Country Page and everything else is sold private treaty,” he says. ‘A producer will call me and maybe say, ‘I’ve got a lot of 800 lb. steers that I need to move next week’. I get busy on the phone calling buyers and get them sold.”

SLA also utilizes a print catalog that is sent to around 65 buyers that have registered to receive one. The straightforward process lists the cattle for sale and buyers can contact the sellers.