Walter Blume watches the red and white Hereford bull enter the sales ring with the practised eye of a born stockman.
“Oh, don’t let that good calf go, boys,” he moans as he listens to auctioneer Bob Balog coax a few more dollars out of cash-strapped farmers and ranchers.
The Calgary Bull Sale is another casualty of the lingering BSE crisis now in its 10th month of international trade bans and uncertainty on the farm.
The bulls offered at Calgary provide a showcase for some of the best beef genetics in the world, but there were few takers this year.
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Blume has been at every Calgary sale since 1950, when as a 10th grader, he cut a week of school to watch 1,200 bulls sell nine hours a day for four days straight.
“I’ve spent a year of my life in this barn,” he said.
Blume Hereford Ranch is near Castor in east-central Alberta. Like other ranchers, his place has been hit hard by drought, grasshoppers and BSE.
Blume decided to cancel his annual fall sale and instead opted to sell bulls Feb. 13.
He sold 40 bulls to repeat buyers from British Columbia to Manitoba, and the animals averaged $2,700. For someone who has bought and sold bulls priced in the six-figure range, that sale was considered a blessing in this year’s conditions.
This year was also the first time he backed out of Calgary. Instead, Blume decided to stay on the sidelines as better-than-average breeding bulls were passed over.
“Going to Nova Scotia,” meaning “no sale” was whispered throughout the barns and the stands.
“Everyone was afraid of this sale and how we would sell these bulls,” said Blume.
He was a director with the Alberta Cattle Breeders Association for 33 years and understands the logistics of planning a sale of this size and quality that has been held for the last 104 years.
For Norm Parrent of Clyde, Alta., there was worry going into his 18th Calgary sale. He and Blume have bought each other’s bulls for years and admire the quality each produces. Unlike Blume, Parrent’s JoNomn Hereford Ranch needs this sale.
“This sale is our feature sale. This is our production sale. We bring our top end here,” he said after selling 10 of his 12 bulls offered.
With his solid reputation and good presentation, Parrent averaged $3,710, doing better than many other consignors of the three breeds on offer this year.
Yet he is confident many will survive the BSE challenge.
“Anyone with a good breeding program will survive this,” he said.
Parrent keeps a small on-farm feedlot where he maintains meticulous records, including carcass data. His program is geared toward providing better information for cow-calf producers and feedlots.
“The good cattle come from good programs and if you pay attention, you’ll get through,” he said.
Angus breeder John Lee of Airdrie, Alta., would probably agree. All six of his black Angus bulls sold for an average price of $2,633. Among the nearly 140 Angus bulls on offer, 102 sold and 33 were passed.
With 30 years of Angus experience, Lee knows the value of a good program and salesmanship. He did his homework prior to the sale, calling all his Canadian customers from past years. In the past, American buyers attended this sale in full force, taking at least 30 percent of the bulls back to the western United States.
Losing those contacts is a huge blow and adds to the uncertainty all cattle producers feel these days.
While he already downsized his herd due to drought and found an off-farm job several years ago, Lee said the helplessness persists as borders remain closed.
“This is our livelihood and every hour it goes by, it gets worse,” he said.
