I'm not sure what defines a "real big money" deer. Is it the $100,000 kind? If so how many of those do you think even exist in the world, much less the owners are willing to sell them?
Is it the deer over $30,000 $20,000 over $5,000?
The number of auctions are out of hand. But that said I am not sure if I buy into the theory they are driving down the prices. Here is why. The deer being sold are on someone's farm somewhere. All deer owned by someone must either be sold or eaten. I don't know about you all but I didn't get in this to eat my deer. So we sell what is extra to us. Either off the farm or at auction. Either way they do end up for sale and being moved. So what difference does it make if it was a farm sale or at auction? The same number of deer still get sold, give or take a few deer here and there.
But I still say the number of auctions are over the top. I personally enjoy the heck out of going and chatting with everyone. But there is no way I am dragging my butt to an auction every other week. Hotels, gas, food, booths, ads, beverages
and someone has to tend to the farm. Again I enjoy them very much. For me it is more fun than a family get together at Christmas time. I have made some good friends and it is always fun to see them. But it is out of hand!
And as Michael says numbers of deer is an issue. I personally owned 8 breeding age does on my farm in fall 2009. And 2 of those are not the quality of pedigree for auctions, but they throw big shooters so they have stayed so far. (This is their last summer here) I don't have the numbers of deer that I can keep consigning to auctions every other week. I was asked to be in the Indy Mid America, Chupps, Midwest Select, Top 30, Mid America, Eastern Ohio, NADEFA sale, the Buckeye, and I have been asked for donations from many orgs of which some preferred fawns. Where do I get all the animals for all those sales? I own 28 deer total on my farm!
I actually have been thinking about this auction stuff a fair amount lately. My desire would be to consign to 3 auctions in the country each year. Attend those sales and have a booth setup. Then attend the NADEFA conf and my state org's conf. I would love to attend some other state org's main meeting for the year as well. But again that is a lot of traveling. But what 3 auctions and what state orgs? The politics of this stuff makes me SICK! I get along with everyone in the auction business. I have made many friends in the deer business. Fact is there are only 3 people so far in deer that I won't do business with. Everyone else has been GREAT and I am happy to have made so many friends.
As long as I am blowing off some steam here I will mention this as well. This past weekend I was asked from 6 different orgs for a donation. That is on top of the 7 others that had asked over the past few months. I feel horrible that I am not able to give to each and every one of these orgs. It is important that everyone help in any way they can. But what is a decent enough donation? Then add that up if you gave that to everyone that asked. Now some out there will say that to donate a straw of semen costs little to nothing if it was your buck. Yes, I agree. But I also feel that everyone donating semen adds to the decline of the semen market. So donating semen has to be limited. How about fawns? That goes back to the number of animals a farm has available to move. And we could do the same thing with fawns as the semen has done as well. So then what? Certificates? I have started that, but I can see issues with those as well. Maybe do like I did for one donation last year. I bought a chainsaw and donated that. That's cool, but now add that up if I buy 13 chainsaws and donate them to everyone that asks.
A friend of mine has a policy that I like and have adopted. If someone from that state org has purchased from me in that year, I donate to that state org. It shows appreciation for someone in that state doing business with me, and gives incentive for others to do so as well.
The national orgs like NADEFA and the Cervid Livestock foundation and such of course get donations as well.
There is a long winded post sure to tick someone off. But I call it like I see it.
If your looking for donations go ahead and call me. All I can do is say no or yes. Same with consignments for an auction. My fawns haven't even been born yet and I am already stressing over what to consign to where.
Maybe someone will come along and buy me out and hire me to raise the deer for them. Then we can get as big as they like and have more animals to consign at sales.
Did I mention I like going to sales?
