More than three thousand head of cattle, including calves, will be auctioned off today and tomorrow in Williams Lake.
Although it might not be the largest sale of the season, Lyle Alberts, President of BC Livestock, says the sale has big benefits for local ranchers.
“This is the big cheque for all of the ranchers in the area. This is sort of once a year when they get their paycheques…so they get their paycheque, and then they figure out how much money they have and then they either go downtown to buy a new pickup,or tractor, or whatever it is they need to keep their operation running.”
Alberts, says although the markets were pretty flat during the last few years, prices this year have slowly improved.
“There’s a lot more optimism now in the industry, but we have a few years we have to get good prices to get back on a level track…It’s been pretty bad for a few years for a lot of people.”
Alberts says the majority of the buyers are professionals from Kamloops or the coast.
The Special Calf Sale is expected to wrap up around 9 pm tonight at the Williams Lake stockyards with a regular sale taking place tomorrow.