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Summary of the Hokie Harvest Sale V
Livestock Update, December 1999
Dan Eversole, Extension Animal Scientist, Virginia Tech
The 1999 Livestock Merchandising Class entertained an enormous crowd of prospective horse and beef cattle buyers at the 5th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 29. Twenty-two and 23 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 208 registered buyers from Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Kentucky. The beef cattle sale grossed $37,125 with a sale average of $1,688, and the horse sale averaged $1,551 with a sale gross of $35,675.
Four different breeds of beef cattle (Angus, Polled Hereford, Gelbvieh, and Charolais) were sold with Lot 32 topping the beef cattle sale at $3,100. This Angus cow, a '94 daughter of Tehama Bando, was an embryo donor in the Virginia Tech Research Herd and sold with a fancy August heifer calf at side sired by Rito 3X25 of 5H11 EXT. She sold to Carey Arehart of Staunton, Va.
In the bred heifer division, Lot 40A, was the sale topper at $1,700. This black, polled Gelbvieh female is a daughter of DDM Mr. Sherman Tank and whose dam is a "Dam of Merit." Stephen Fanning of Bland, Va., purchased this outstanding replacement female.
VPI Renaissance 8H52 (Lot 47) drew the top bid from Gerald Good of Elkton, Va., in the yearling bull division. This Angus bull is a son of Sitz Traveler 8180 out of a DHD Traveler 6807 daughter. He sold for $1,950.
The top selling horse was Lot 20, a 1995 Bay International Sporthorse mare (16+h) named Majarlika, which sold to Holly Reynolds of Trevilians, Va., for $3,600. Majarlika, which means "royalty," is a tall, attractive young mare. She was presented at an inspection of the International Sporthorse Registry in September 1998 and was accepted into the Pre Mare Book of that organization. Lot 25, a 1983 Bay Thoroughbred gelding named Jubilee, brought $3,150 from William Arbogast of Staunton, Va.
The 82 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 Paul Coleman for serving as auctioneers for the horses and beef cattle, respectively. Students Maggie Boyden, Bel Alton, Md.; Craig Brown, Staunton, Va.; Todd Caudill, N. Tazewell, Va.; Eddie Wagoner, Independence, Va.; and Adam Wilson, Abingdon, Va., served as ringmen for the beef cattle sale whereas Bryan Grace, Hamburg, N.Y.; Chris Mina, Forest Hill, Md.; Beth Blackwell, Waynesboro, Va.; and Meredith Rausch, Springfield, Va., 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 over 650 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 27, 2000.