Cattle Country Video, Market presents ‘new brand in regional marketing’

Torrington — “We want to provide a more regional video auction that has more manageable numbers to draw buyers’ attention and to increase demand for this region’s high quality genetics,” states Torrington Livestock Markets co-owner Michael Schmitt of Torrington Livestock Market’s decision to establish Cattle Country Video.
“After being associated with a nationwide cattle video auction for 19 years it has become evident to us in the last four to five years that a more regional aspect of marketing needs to be created,” explains Schmitt. He adds that Western Video does a great job with video marketing and Torrington Livestock has enjoyed working with them for almost two decades.
Cattle Country Video will offer cattle from the Rocky Mountain and High Plains regions including Wyoming, Montana, western South Dakota, northern Colorado, northeast Utah and Nebraska. It will be headquartered in Torrington with local representatives across the service region. Valentine Livestock Auction is already on board as a member, and the Kearney and Lexington Livestock Markets are currently in the process of joining. T&L Livestock Auction in Utah is also involved.
“We think it is important to provide quality service to our region and get people in contact with a local representative. We don’t want to go to Oklahoma or New Mexico or California and market those cattle. We are marketing cattle we understand and sell every day,” says Schmitt.
“We are very blessed and fortunate to have such high quality cattle in this area. We believe the best cattle in the country are sold in this region and we get a lot of repeat customers because of the quality, genetics and performance,” adds Torrington Livestock Markets co-owner and auctioneer Lex Madden.
Cattle Country plans to provide more frequent, one- or two-day auctions with more manageable numbers as opposed to three- to five-day auctions that jump from region to region.
“Several buyers have commented that they are only interested in cattle from this region anyway,” says Madden.
“In talking to buyers last year we found it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to zone in for a three-day auction. If we have a six-hour sale that offers 30,000 head, it’s not hard to get a person to come to the sale or sit at the computer or in front of the TV and give us their undivided attention. Historically when we’ve sold cattle, a buyer will be interested in lots selling at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We would lose his attention and have to call him back because he wasn’t interested in any lots in between since they were from different regions. This format will enable us to keep everyone’s attention at one time,” states Schmitt.
The first auction is scheduled for July 1 in Cheyenne at the Little America Hotel.
“It’s an important location to us because that’s where we started. Our first sale with Western was held there, so going back to Cheyenne is like a homecoming for us. It’s where we started and where we’re going to continue from,” says Schmitt.
Cattle Country’s second sale will be held Aug. 12 in Gering Nebraska at the civic center and a third sale is slated for Sept. 16 in Ogallala, Neb. at the Haythorne Ranch.
“Every sale will be broadcast on www.cattleusa.com, of which we are a member,” says Schmitt, adding that along with attending the sale, they will be made available on Dish Network TV.
“The industry started with a sale barn and went to satellite in the early 1980s. Then in the late 1990s and early 2000s it went to Internet so we are unraveling that and incorporating the Internet in our auctions. There are four or five different places buyers can access to bid on cattle. I think that’s great exposure,” states Schmitt.
Cattle Country’s aim is to make their auction user friendly while providing uniform, high quality cattle in a manageable time frame.
“There won’t be a break in regions during our sale. Cattle will all be from this region, which consistently provides powerful genetics that are in heavy demand by the industry and they will be offered in longer streams that buyers demand,” says Schmitt.
Madden states that work is being done with multiple breed organizations in addition to certified and natural programs to provide options to both buyers and sellers. Schmitt adds that Cattle Country will have its own age and source verification program in addition to providing verified vaccination programs for cattle.
“We are bringing different levels of success to cattle and trying to identify and provide niche marketing options to our customers,” says Madden.
Cattle Country will have the ability to send text and email alerts on specific lots and track the number of hits a lot receives online.
“We will have the catalog online and if one lot is receiving a lot of hits we can go in and see who is looking at it. Then we can send those people an email alert when that lot is five minutes from selling,” explains Schmitt.
“All we’re doing is using proven techniques with modern technology. We understand what video marketing is after being associated with it for 19 years. Most of the wrinkles have been worked out during that time and we are able to take the good pieces and drop some of the things we felt were deterrents,” says Schmitt.
Cattle Country Video will bring over 20 years cattle marketing experience and two world champion auctioneers to the table. A trusted group of people are involved in the business that understand the cattle industry and are committed to quality. Schmitt comments that while change is hard he has really enjoyed the process and is very excited about the future of Cattle Country Video.
“We’re very excited about it and we look forward to doing business with our old customers in addition to many new ones. We strive to be fair and honest with both our buyers and sellers because that’s the way we live and what we believe in,” adds Madden.
For more information on Cattle Country Video call 1-888-3CATTLE or visit their website after April 1 at www.cattlecountryvideo.com. Heather Hamilton is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at heather@wylr.net.