Over the years, South Branch Stockyards has had the reputation of being one of the few cattle sales that have kept the State Graded Feeder Sales truly special. The quantity of quality feeder cattle that South Branch has to offer in their spring and fall sales is well known and respected by cattle buyers and sellers. Not only the quality of the cattle, but the way South Branch has gone the extra mile in the grading and penning of cattle, whether it be trucking, the handling of the cattle, or care at the sale barn, it all adds up.
But maybe most important is how the cattle are cared for after weighing. At South Branch, the cattle are mostly in bigger feed pens with hay and automatic waters. This certainly adds value that buyers recognize. By producers working together to market their cattle through the graded sales, they are helping each other. I have noted first hand that South Branch prices have been very competitive with other markets and mostly a good bit higher.
I see no reason why this will change.
Brandon and Jackie Neely have put everything on the line to keep this market up and running. It is truly for the benefit of area producers to support their endeavor. When I first started, cattle producers gave me a chance and they deserve one too as all of us needed one. With an ending, there is also a beginning. Brandon and Jackie have been in the cattle business all their lives, literally from childhood, and have much experience with stockyards, sales, and processing cattle.
Gary L. Vance