Page 22 - 2020 NZ Hereford Magazine

end of the day with a folder for the client full of all the information “That’s completely the opposite to selling bulls. Bulls are
from the day. They’re fantastic.” around 95% sold at auction and 5% private, and probably
90% of the bulls sold are registered. In the sheep job, 90% are
“ONE MORE BID SIR? YOU DON’T WANT TO GO sold privately and not many are sold at auction or registered.
TO HIS FARM TO SEE YOUR BULL.” However, the number of on-farm ram auctions is definitely
growing. I don’t mind doing the rams, it’s a nice change, but my
Auctioneering is about knowing the buyers as well as the bulls. passion is more in the cattle side of it.”
“So many people travel now and will go to the South Island The phrase ‘selling ice to Eskimos’ comes into mind.
or North Island to look at bulls. We, as agents, go and look at “As long as I’m selling, I don’t mind what I’m selling.”
them and quote them to clients. Then all of a sudden you’ll start He loves auctioneering at charity auctions.
hearing a bit of chatter about certain bulls so you can always “I once sold a $1500 Dick Frizzell print for $10,500. And
guess where the most exciting bulls are going to be for the year. used my phrase ‘imagine having to go to his place to see your
Then it’s just a matter of who comes out on top.” picture’. That was a good one. I sold a Ford Ranger ute for
Sometimes that’s the case. Sometimes it’s not. $56,000 for the Cancer Society. I don’t give to charities, as
“Sometimes you pick out one you like from a line-up of bulls. such, but I’m more than happy to give my time and I probably
He comes into the ring and you give him a big build up and do 10 or a dozen charity auctions a year, everything from black
tell everyone what you like about him. Then he passes in or tie right down to ladies’ meetings at a pub. They’re fun. There’s
gets one bid and you look around at everyone thinking, ‘really, nothing serious about them and you can cut loose.”
am I the only one who sees that?’ Sometimes it is hard to find Funnily enough, the strangest thing he’s ever sold at a charity
those high prices. The bull I sold at $62,000, we all knew it was auction has been a vasectomy… no EBVs necessary!
going to go well. We thought it might have been a $20,000
or $30,000 bull. Then it becomes very subjective. What’s the “…ANY MORE BIDS? NO? ALL DONE, I SELL HIM
person prepared to pay? What’s it worth to them?” AT $10,000. ALL DONE? DONE.”

“THE FEMALE LINE TO THIS PEDIGREE IS A
LOADED DICE.”

It isn’t always the highest dollar figure that stays in Cam’s
memory.
“I sold a stud bull at Kevin and Jane McDonald’s, Kairuru
Iceman, for about $3000 to Noel Smith when he was still
going at Newcastle. I remember seeing the calves coming out
of Noel’s and they were just fantastic and they were from this
$3000 bull that we only got one bid on.”
Regardless of the value of bulls, or the number of bids on
any bulls, it’s critical an auctioneer keeps an auction moving. Proud to be associated with the
“If they do sit on bulls too long, people lose focus and 2020 World Hereford Conference
you lose their attention,” says Pip Robinson from Kokonga
Herefords, who rates Cam as an integral part of their stud team. Welcoming delegates to
“Cam is our voice and is the buyer’s voice back to us.” New Zealand
Kokonga has recently changed from a public sale to one
on-farm.
“I like the tradition of the on-farm sale where people come
out, bulls are sold in the ring and go back out into the paddock,
you have a drink and something to eat afterwards; it’s generally
a great environment.”
“It’s also time for you to spend with your clients, which doesn’t
always happen in a commercial saleyards environment,” Cam says.
“EXCEPTIONAL DEPTH THROUGH THE
PEDIGREE HERE.”

As a stud stock agent, Cam covers the top of the North Connecting people through agriculture globally
Island, essentially from Taupo north to Cape Reinga with a few
in Taranaki and one as far south as Dannevirke. He sells all
T : + 64 7 981 5856
breeds, from the big numbers of Hereford and Angus to the
E : info @ agritravel . co . nz
smaller Simmental, Charolais, Limousin and Shorthorn.
W : www . agritravel . co . nz
In summer, he moves to rams.
20