The coronavirus pandemic has upended our lives and changed our daily routines. Events with months-long planning stages were cancelled, including county fairs and junior livestock auctions.
It was challenging for organizers, as county fairs rely on large crowds for their revenue, and now they were facing not having any events at all.
“My initial response to hearing that some fairs were going to be cancelled was disbelief because this was my eighth year in 4-H and I’ve shown at the county fair, state fair, National Western Stock Show, and many more shows for those eight years and until this, I never even imagined that shows would be cancelled for any reason,” David Vetter of Bennett, CO, told WLJ.
Many of the organizers scrambled to put their auctions together in some form, either virtually or both in-person and online. Many fairs used online auction platforms already in place, and companies such as ShoWorks and HiBid expanded their platform to include livestock video auctioning.
Once the decision was made to move forward with an online auction, social distancing protocols had to be put in place to judge, weigh-in, and process the animals.
Jay Carlson, agriculture programs director for California Exposition and State Fair, published the standard operating procedure (SOP) titled “Guidance for Sale of Junior Livestock Market Animals at Cancelled California Fairs Due to COVID-19.”
“The goal of the document was to prepare and establish proper guidelines for fairgrounds to receive junior livestock market animals and properly process these animals through the identified areas of inspections or checks and ensure the safety of these consumer-oriented products and transportation to packers/processors,” Carlson told WLJ. “This document also contains best practice guidelines for fairgrounds to implement to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Carlson stated the document was a basis for county fairs to use as guidance and they could modify it based on advice from their local health authority, the community and the financial situation of the fair.
The SOP covered guidelines for personnel, animal handling and the inspection of animals prior to the sale. Not only were biosecurity measures taken for the animals, but procedures were established to minimize exposure of people and the possible transmission of the virus.
In addition to the recommendation of washing hands and wearing masks, specifics of the SOP included: Only essential personnel should have access to the fairgrounds; fairground personnel or management should provide a detailed map with instructions for sellers to deliver livestock and stagger the delivery times; and preferably no one should exit their vehicle.
If someone needed to exit their vehicle, handlers should wear masks and bring their animals to designated areas. Sellers of livestock should leave the fairgrounds immediately after the animal passes inspection.
Biosecurity measures included keeping animal equipment and scales in a fixed area. Shared equipment (such as hoses, shovels, pitchforks, etc.) should be disinfected after each use. Cleaning also included non-porous materials such as leads, halters, ropes, trailer and gate latches.
Oregon
Some states that were not as strongly affected by the coronavirus had less restrictive protocols, but still observed social distancing and biosecurity measures similar to those established in California.
Jake Cheechov, auctioneer at Pacific Industrial Auctions and Appraisals, LLC, told WLJ some youth livestock auctions were a combination of in-person with online or online only.
At an auction in Coos County, the fair personnel organized a gallery-style format with a crowd of about 150 people in the stands practicing social distancing and the auction live-streamed with about 200 bidders. Those showing the animals were projected onto a screen to keep social distancing protocols.
Cheechov also described an auction with bidders and exhibitors present, but the only requirement was people had to wear masks, and the auction was outside rather than indoors. In an interesting twist, it was also one of the hottest days of the year, with the people crowded under the five oak trees in the area, and to Cheechov’s knowledge, nobody got sick.
Support and number of lots
Questions remained if businesses would provide the same financial support as they had in previous years and if the animals would garner the prices they had previously.
Anna Vetter of Bennett, CO, who participated in the Colorado State Fair with her Grand Champion market goat, told WLJ she was disappointed after the announcement was made to cancel the state fair. Vetter stated she was worried and “expected not to do great in the sale because I know a lot of businesses took a hard hit this year.” This year, her goat was purchased for $3,000 and her brother David’s Reserve Champion Lamb raised $5,500. Both animals were purchased by the Denver Rustlers, a non-profit supporting student exhibitors at the state fair.
The number of animals for sale was down compared to last year at the Colorado State Fair, which had 98 lots garnering $299,550 compared to the previous year’s 146 lots, totaling $508,550.
Carlson said the Sacramento County Fair had 400 lots of livestock for bidding, whereas, in previous years, there are usually 650 to 700 lots to bid on. He indicated that prices were close to the same as last year but higher on steers.
“I think that was in correlation to the time. There were some issues with the availability of meat in the grocery stores, and people were taking advantage of the opportunity to buy a steer,” said Carlson.
However, Cheechov, who usually works at five or six youth livestock auctions a year, stated the number of animals was down minimally.
All in all, Cheechov expressed that the agriculture community stepped up and pooled their money for fairs in rural areas versus county fairs closer to urban areas, which rely more on institutional buyers.
Cheechov did state there was some resistance to having the auction online in Glynn County with a “core group” of buyers who were disappointed the county commissioners moved to cancel the fair and hold it online.
Future of auctions?
Online auction formats are currently being utilized for livestock sales, with many companies either selling strictly online or having a hybrid model. Could online auctions or a hybrid model of both live and online be the future for junior livestock auctions at the county fair?
“I think people are finding out that the online auction thing is doable and something that can be complemented with the live auction,” said Carlson. He noted it is something that the California State Fair is looking at to use in the future.
“There is some advantage I think going forward to having an online presence,” Cheechov said. “There are buyers who just prefer bidding from their desks or phone rather than having to show up in person. But at the same time, there may be some buyers that I don’t think county fairs anticipated who were more active with a hybrid model of both live and online. I prefer having buyers in the stands and being there for the kids at the fair.”
Both Anna and David Vetter stated having the fair strictly online is not the same as “you don’t have the full effect” of getting to interact with the buyers and be with your show friends.
“I like to interact with the buyers, and I think it feels more like a sale with the buyers there,” said Anna. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea to offer bidding online, as some buyers may not be able to be there in person, but I believe that interaction and time to connect to a buyer in person is the very best.”
David pointed out that with a hybrid model, family members who normally can’t be there would be able to watch, and “people from all over could log in a bid on your animals. But I would like to see in-person sales remain and interact with buyers in person.”
Cheechov noted in the last six months, as a result of COVID-19, the auction industry as a whole has changed to an online format via live streaming and will continue in the future.
“I can tell you as an auctioneer for the last 30 years, I never thought I would be doing online-only auctions, but I do it all the time. The industry has changed. I don’t think it was anybody’s vision that someday the internet would take over this stuff.”
He stated that the auctioneering industry, including those who are not livestock auctioneers, pulled together to “help the kids.”
Everybody from organizers, auctioneers, parents and participants prevailed, and it appears many, if not all, of the fairs and auctions went off without a hitch. While the number of lots and the bidding amounts were down from last year, this year gives an outlook of possibly making changes in future years. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
