Hokie Harvest beef cattle sale, swine auction comes to Virginia Tech Oct. 29

27 Oct 2010

Virginia Tech students from the Livestock Merchandising class run the annual Hokie Harvest Sale.

Virginia Tech students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are making the final preparations for the 16th annual Hokie Harvest beef cattle sale and swine auction on Friday, Oct. 29.

The swine sale will start at 4 p.m. in the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Arena, and the beef cattle sale will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Animal Judging Pavilion. Both locations are on Plantation Road in Blacksburg.

The Hokie Harvest Sale will offer

35 head of registered purebred cattle, including Angus, Hereford, and Simmental;
21 commercial cows;
19 yearling bulls as herd sire prospects;
Two commercial boars; and
Five commercial gilts, three of which are pregnant.

The 2010 Livestock Merchandising class, which includes students in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences and the Agricultural Technology program, are managing the Hokie Harvest Sale. This class teaches the students how an actual livestock sale works and lets them experience handling the animals. Students are required to attend a livestock sale before the Hokie Harvest Sale to gain insight into making a sale run properly.

In addition, guest lecturers also teach the Livestock Merchandising class how to operate a successful livestock show. Cattle and swine lectures address marketing, advertising, herd health, photography, and many more topics.

The students must also participate in a committee with certain duties for the sale, which include advertising, clerking, clipping and photography, animal display and sale prep, food and beverage, decorations, or sale ring, load out, and clean up.

For more information about the beef cattle program and the Hokie Harvest Sale, visit the Beef Cattle Center website or contact Dan Eversole at (540) 231-4738 or Chad Joines at (540) 231-6280.

For more information about the swine program and the swine auction, visit the Swine Center website or contact Mike Ashby at (540) 231-6250 or Cindy Wood at (540) 231-6937.

Written by Lauren O’Neil of Linthicum, Md., a junior majoring in dairy science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.