A strong market and a record number of cattle through the ring was the perfect way for Allan Munroe and his family and staff to celebrate ten years as owner/operator of Killarney Auction Mart.
Munroe moved to Killarney in 2011 to manage the operation, and then in February 2015 they were able to purchase the auction mart. "It's been onwards and upwards ever since!"
"We had the biggest sale we've ever had on the 24th of February and Kyle Howarth says, 'Well, that's pretty neat, it's been ten years since you bought the place'. I thought that was pretty cool. We don't typically name our sales. We just do our job and do the best we can. So, we decided to call it an Anniversary Sale. So, that's how that came about," shares Munroe.
The auction mart tries to group similar sales together and many of those typically happen in March. However, with the U.S. tariff situation they decided to move the sale up into February to get ahead of any potential issues.
"We ended up with about 16 sellers at the sale and just within a hair under 1,700 cattle," shares Munroe. "It came together really nicely with big packages. We didn't start the sale until 10 o'clock, took an hour for lunch, and were done shortly after 3 o'clock. Everything really clicked," he adds. "It was a busy weekend getting ready for it, but it all came together and went really well."
The constant threat of tariffs from our neighbors to the south have certainly played with the markets, that on a daily basis.
"The market doesn't like uncertainty."
"It's uncertainty and no one knows what to do and you know these cattle cost a lot of money and there's a lot of risk at hand. You know, even if things are going well and we don't have that hanging overhead. So yeah, it's very, very frustrating and it's already hurting people," shares Munroe.
"You know, as things progress, we'll find out what is actually on the table," he explains. "Some people will decide to hold off for a little while and then just sort of see how it plays out. Monday's sale was strong. We had a lot of lighter cattle that are going to go to the grass. They're not going to get remarketed to go into the feed lots till into fall. So that buys a lot of time, and you know there is certainly a hope that certainly by fall all this will have been dealt with and gone away. So, you know, there's the cattle feeders tend to be optimists, and that's what's keeping those prices strong. It's always the ones are closer to the end that are going to take the first hit."
"Today things are still selling strong, but there is certainly more worry today that we're going to get his with these tariffs," he adds.
Looking back at a decade of fluctuating markets, droughts and rainy seasons, Allan Munroe has seen an ongoing ebb and flow when it comes to their customers and the beef coming through the gates. But these past few months have been record market prices.
January and February were very busy in the auction ring, with cattle producers trying to get ahead.
"January and February were absolutely outstanding for prices and we're still extremely strong .... guys selling cattle on Monday that's still the biggest cheque they've ever taken home from selling calves."
"It's really nice on a Sunday when we're delivering cattle, we're seeing some upgrades to the trailers that are hauling the cattle in and there are certainly smiles from the people picking up their cheques," he says. "We're saving a lot of money on stamps because no one wants to throw that cheque in the mail, they want to come pick it up and get a look at it. They'll watch the sale and see what's happening."
"We're in the time that everyone's been waiting for, and it's been really exciting, so hopefully this political situation can be dealt with, and we can carry on doing what we do and enjoy these times."
Munroe says the past 10 years have been a great run.
"We're just going to keep on rolling here and keep having fun!" he adds.
Please listen to more with Allan Munroe below!
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