The Auction Ring



            We made the long trek to the Northern Livestock Market (all of 4 miles from our hotel) and arrived there at 10am- well before the market was swinging into action.  The sale didn’t start till 2:30, but producers must unload their animals and get them checked in before it begins.  In order to unload animals, producers (or hired shippers) must have proper paperwork that shows where the animals came from and that they are up-to-date on any required TB testing.  This market is a little different than any other in the state because producers coming from TB areas do not need movement permits to take their cattle there.  They must have all their testing done, but they get to skip this added restriction by coming to this market.  In addition, all cattle must have RFID tags to move in Michigan, but this market allows producers to simply bring the tags in-hand as opposed to tagging them all before arriving.  It puts added work on the market employees to have to do all the work themselves, but it saves the producers another chore.



Tagging and matching back-tags at the market



          Danielle and I hung out in the office for a while seeing how cattle get checked in.  Producers bring all their information to the window and a market employee gives them “back-tags” for their animals.  These yellow stickers are glued onto the sides of the animals and matched with their RFID number so where they came from and where they are going can all be tracked electronically.  In addition, the TB testing requirements for each farm is checked.  If a producer unloads a cow that is not in TB-compliance than the cow must be sold for slaughter-only, meaning it must be killed within 5 days of the sale.  The technician also ensures that every back-tag gets matched with an RFID number so all the cattle can be tracked.  



Trying to wade through a sea of calves



            After seeing the office side of things, we actually got on the market floor to help match the tags and put IDs on the cattle.  Basically, we have a wand that you swipe near the RFID tag on the cow’s ear and it shows up on a PDA.  You then manually enter the matching back-tag number and the cow is off to the sale ring.  It sounds easy enough, but trying to do a pen of 20 calves that refuse to be sorted is more difficult than it sounds. 

 

      This whole process of tracking animals only applies to cattle.  Sheep and goats need “scrapie” tags, but those are handled by USDA and are not tracked the same way.  Pigs aren’t required to have the same identification because any pig that enters the market must go to slaughter—a mandate that was created to prevent psuedorabies. 

            After helping check in cattle, Danielle and I went to the auction to watch the sale for a bit.  It’s awfully tempting to want to raise your hand or nod when the bidding gets really heated, but we refrained.  The sale is quite the event in Gaylord.  The whole parking lot was packed when we left and the little diner attached to the sale ring was filled with kids buying candy and farmers discussing their latest purchases and sales.