Sheep Industry News June 2022

The Last Word KYLE PARTAIN Sheep Industry News Editor

Watching AWool Sale

I n my mind, wool buyers are like the rock stars of the American sheep industry. It seems to me that these top-level sponsors of the ASI Annual Convention each year are always flying off to foreign lands and handling transactions that easily reach into the six figures and beyond. But my trip to Utah in late April allowed a look behind the wool curtain, and I have to say that rock star im age I had built in my mind took a bit of a hit. Representatives from Ameri

can Wool Services, Anodyne and Keese International were all on hand for a wool sale that month at Utah Wool Marketing, and it would be an understatement to say I didn't get the show I had imagined. As far as I know, no private planes or personal helicopters were involved in bringing these five men to Tooele, Utah, that day. There were no limousines in the parking lot, no personal assistants or entourages to be found. Plastic, folding tables spread around an open area in the

warehouse served as the stage for the day's festivities. Propane heat ers were the sole bit of luxury on a day when it was warmer – but windier – outside than inside. Three people – Utah producer Brian Bitner, Wyoming producer Vance Broadbent and myself – were on hand to watch the sale. With wool in the sale, Bitner had more of a personal investment in the proceedings than I did. Like me, it was his first time visit ing such a sale as his wool has traditionally headed to an out-of-state warehouse. But increased shipping costs made staying close to home with a portion of his clip a better financial decision. "It was interesting to see," said Bitner, who was also allowed to view each of the three bids on his lots. "That was fantastic, and much appreciated. It gave me some important information on how they valued my wool." That audience was down to one by the time the sale day ended, and even I left for a bit in the middle to tackle some work before returning to catch the not-so-shocking conclusion as the final lot of the day sold with the same lack of fanfare as the first. There was some action. Despite having inspected all of the wool the day before the sale, occasionally a buyer would get up from his table to inspect a sample that was coming up for bid. That was the case in this month's cover photo featuring Darrell Keese. For those who haven't been, the sale involved "sealed" bids. Utah Wool Marketing Manager Will Griggs announced each lot and gave the representatives of each company two or three minutes to write their bid on a sheet of paper. He collected the bids, an nounced which company had the high bid and moved on to the next. Buyers got helpful feedback at the close of the day during what Griggs referred to as the "confessional." Griggs went lot by lot announcing what the winning company bid for each lot. While it wasn't quite the spectacle I had imagined, the day proved interesting and educational. My image of wool buyers as rock stars might be forever dashed, but they're still good people to spend a day with from time to time. Will Griggs (standing in center) presided over Utah Wool Marketing's sale in April. From left to right, Haynes Burnside and Rick Honaker handle buying duties for Anodyne, Jason Bannowsky and Rick Powers with American Wool Services and Darrell Keese with Keese International.

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