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Summary of the Hokie Harvest Sale IV
Livestock Update, December 1998
D. E. Eversole, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech
The 1998 Livestock Merchandising Class entertained a record crowd of prospective horse and beef cattle buyers at the 4 Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 30. Twenty-three and 22 lots of university beef cattle and horses, respectively, were sold concurrently at public auction in Campbell Arena (horses) and the Livestock Judging Pavilion (beef cattle) to 231 registered buyers from Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, and Florida. The beef cattle sale grossed $36,750 with a sale average of $1598, and the horse sale averaged $1738 with a sale gross of $38,225.
Three different breeds of beef cattle (Angus, Polled Hereford, and Gelbvieh) were sold with the Lot 27/27A topping the beef cattle sale at $2425. This Angus cow, a '93 daughter of R&J Distribution, posts a weaning weight ratio of 104 on three calves and ranks in the top 4% of the breed for WW (+39) and YW (+73) EPD. She sold to Clyde Cridlin of Christiansburg, Va., and her fancy 1-18-98 heifer calf, sired by Rito 9FB3 of 5H11 Fullback, sold to Thomas Thompson, Natural Bridge, Va.
In the bred heifer division, Lots 35A & 35B, were the sale toppers at $1475 and $1375, respectively. Lot 35A, a Rito 2RT2 of OB5 RR Traveler daughter out of a Pathfinder grand-dam sold to Over the Grass Farm, The Plains, Va., managed by David Lucas. He also purchased the Lot 35B lot which was a GAR Traveler 1489 daughter out of a Tonto cow.
The top selling horse was Lot 11, a 1996 dark bay Oldenburg gelding (16.0 h) named VT Gambit, which sold to Nancy Devenny of Pinnacle, NC, for $5300. Gambit was one of the highlights of the sale since his ancestors excelled as jumpers and in dressage. This gelding has a quiet, kind disposition and has tremendous movement. Lot 9, a 1997 liver chestnut Oldenburg gelding named VT Hermes brought $3900 from Lynn Williams of Casanova, Va.
The 61 students did a marvelous job of preparing for the sale. They gained "hands-on" experience in sale management, budgeting, cataloging, advertising, livestock photography, clerking, and health requirements. A special thanks is extended to Jeff Marsh and Smith Reasor for serving as auctioneers for the horses and beef cattle, respectively. Students Jessica Bryant, Scott Buchanan, Scott Donnelly, Brian Tusing, and Wes Westfall served as ringmen for the beef cattle sale whereas Mendy Beckman, Beth Bukoski, Ann Grippe, and Julie Huggins were bid-takers during the horse sale.
The Barbecue Committee, with assistance from the Block and Bridle Club in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, served a complimentary BBQ dinner to approximately 700 guests. Their support and cooperation are greatly appreciated.
The response from the buying public and feedback from the students in the class have been overwhelming in favor of continuing this student-managed livestock sale. Plans are currently underway for another beef cattle and horse sale on October 29, 1999.