Held the 2nd and 4th Saturdays each month the Clay County Goat And Poultry LLC USDA Stockyard is convenient and a great source of information to start the process and planning for getting goats. I had the opportunity to meet and sit with the owner, Richard, who was willing to share is vast knowledge and experience in goats to get me to start thinking about goats the right way. He explained that while they used to move 500 goats a day through this auction, the supply is very different than it used to be. The majority of the goats sold were for kill, and were less than 30 lbs, and 4-5 months old. These days there is a high demand for this size goat in the food market. They predominant buyers prefer un-altered goats so young bucks were intact instead of being castrated since that is what the buyers prefer. I have started a buyers journal on what we should be looking for and how we should approach building a herd. I have started to formulate a plan for fencing, shelter and protection for a small herd that we can expand overtime if things go well. If not, it will be easy to make money on the goats if we decide to sell.
Observations
The auction started right at noon and moved very quickly. It took me some time to get used to the auctioneers banter and some translation services from experienced buyers to know what was happening. By the end, I was able to understand the lingo and was beginning to understand what to look for. The sale barn was warm but comfortable and friendly. An all around enjoyable experiennce.
Actions Taken
Listen! Ask Questions! Watch the process.
Next Step
Start a buyers journal and develop a strategy to building a herd in my budget. Return next month.