DRY AS A BONE column in Bush Telegraph by Gerard Walsh - A lighter look at rural life

LAST week, we headed to Sale Corner with eight steers and two heifers.

I would rate the heifer sale as seven out of 10 and the steers 5/10 which isn't too bad with near-record temperatures drying everything out.

Today I am going to try to highlight the seven stages of a Warwick cattle sale, Walsh-style.

The decision: I decide it is time to sell and seek approval from the CEO.

The CEO usually says "sell”. Should have sold a week earlier after that rain but you can't recreate history.

The re-think: It is getting dry, I see in the media there are 12,000 cattle yarded at Roma.

Will we or won't we sell, it will be the worse sale of the year. I say to myself to stop being negative.

The call: While I booked the cattle in a week before, the Monday morning call to the agent is the serious one.

He tells me the market could be back a bit, no point in not telling it as it is.

The Monday crunch: Will I go online searching for the prices in Toowoomba or will I call my agent to see if he has heard what has happened at the Toowoomba sales?

In the end, one wonders if it matters. If the prices are down, perhaps they will be even lower next week. If up, take the money.

The yarding: We yard the cattle, there is still the chance of sending a few less if the pre-sale nerves kick in.

One steer last week decided he wanted to stay and headed out through a tiny gap between the truck and the loading ramp. We have the timber for a new loading ramp but rails don't work in a pile.

I have decided without consulting the CEO that steer can stay for three more years and go towards the 2021 farm rates. At least he likes the place. The last four-year-old bullock we sold made $1700.

The hope call: I sometimes ring the agent to confirm how many we have sent.

But really that is the excuse, I just want to highlight the good points of our cattle for the introduction at the sale - calves straight off the cows, steers have been on grain, anything that might add a few dollars.

The visit: I sometimes look at our cattle at Sale Corner before I go to work on a Tuesday, they always look worse the next day.

If at the sale, I sometimes tell prospective buyers about our cattle.

Remember telling Howard Gross about our angus steers a decade ago when he was buying for Jack Rush from Texas. Think he might have bought one pen and we both still remember the day. That might have been an 8/10 day.