An Austrian Cattle Auction

On Thursday Dana and I had the chance to be the "official observers" at an Austrian cattle auction. Or at least that's what we called ourselves! We woke up a half hour earlier to milk the cows before heading with our host to another area of Austria, about an hour and a half away. We helped weigh the calves that were being sold and waited for the auction to begin. No, it did not start on time! Some things don't change.  This allowed time for Dana and I to start our observations. We noticed a few booths set up selling boots, buckets, and other farm supplies. There was also a table of craft items like tractors made out of vines, baskets and butter molds. Plus, two stands had baked goods and what our host would call Austrian fast food.

Unlike a sale in the US where Holsteins would probably dominate the breeds, Fleckvieh were the most common breed sold with a few Pinzqauers and only a handful of Holsteins. The sale of the calves was very different than what we were familiar with at home. Everyone selling a calf stood in the oval shaped arena where the calves were also tied. The owner then brought their calf forward when it was time to sell. They held on to the calf in the small open area while a man said prices and somehow saw the bidders as well. Those seated in the built in bleachers around the room bid. The auctioneer only spoke the price, there was no auctioneers call. Also, no bidding takers were around to yip and holler when someone held up their bidding number. Dana and I were slightly saddened by this, that's our favorite part of auctions! The farmer had their calf in the ring as the price was being said, but if the price was too low the farmer simply waved his hand and the calf was a no sale. The calves sold for €400-600. While the selling was still going on, buyers walked into the arena and picked up their newly acquired calf.

There was a short break between the calves and cows so Dana and I decided to get some lunch. We enjoyed Leberkäse for the first time! This is a slice of warm wurst on a Semmel roll. We enjoyed it immensely! Much more than each of us thought we would!

When it was time for the cows, the bleachers filled up and one at a time, a farmer brought their cow into the arena and walked her around for all to see. It reminded us more of a show rather than an auction. The auctioneer spoke a little faster this time but there was still no auction call. We decided that Austrians look for different traits in their cows than we do.  The cows Dana and I liked best sold for less than others we didn't like as much. The cows sold for €1500-2500. Regardless of attachment, it appeared to Dana that the bigger or fuller the udder, the better.

Although the organization of the auction was different than in the US, there were plenty of similarities.  Number one was that the farmers all gathered and chatted with each other, most wearing clothes that they would potentially wear to the barn. However, the younger attendees were dressed more nicely. As we often see also in the States, people were enjoying all varieties of food from the venders before the sale even started. Toddlers were playing in the sawdust and there was the smell of manure in the air. There were also more sellers than buyers at the sale.

A few differences included men wearing Austrian hats and jackets, people smoking whenever and wherever they wanted, and the beautiful view of the mountains when you walk out of the sale barn. We agreed the mountains we a super nice touch! We missed having the fast talking, hard to understand auction callers but we couldn't understand this time either as no one was speaking English!

We had a wonderful trip to the auction and enjoyed this simple task of day to day life on the farm.