Liniers Cattle MarketThe largest cattle market in the world
Liniers cattle market is the major livestock trade centre of the country, holding several particular characteristics that make it unique worldwide. Bidding between byers take place here daily, and the so settled final price rule the value for the whole national livestock. Fifteen percent of the cattle marketed in Argentina are sold at Liniers Cattle Market. Prices at Liniers tend to set the mark for the rest of the country. Most of the cattle are sold to local supermarkets and packing plants for consumption in the Buenos Aires area. The other 85 percent are marketed in local auctions or directly from the farmer or rancher to the packer
Buddha, out tour guide, will be happy to take youVisit the Liniers Cattle Market located about an hour drive from Teresita bed and breakfast Contact Information
The first thing you notice is how clean it is. No flies buzz around your head. And the pens - built on concrete and brick bases-are relatively free of manure. Also noticeable is the lack of noise: no calves bawling for their mothers, and no mothers bellowing for their calves. Most are good quality. Predominant breeds are red and black Angus, followed by Hereford. Very few long-eared cattle are at the facility. Some 15 percent of the cattle marketed in Argentina are sold at Liniers Cattle Market. Prices here tend to set the mark for the rest of the country. Most of the cattle are sold to local supermarkets and packing plants for consumption in the Buenos Aires area. The other 85 percent are marketed in local auctions or directly from the farmer or rancher to the packer. Some 9,574 head were sold the day we were there. Fifty auctioneers work the sale on a catwalk above the cattle, moving from pen to pen, followed by buyers. Once a pen was sold and the pay weight established, sale data-available to both buyer and seller-was entered into a computer. Tom Paben of Waller was impressed with the auction. "It's really amazing how they run that many cattle through there that quick," he said. "The quality of the cattle were real fine. They had a lot of finish, slick hair ... they were in very good condition." Paben noted, after converting kilos to pounds and pesos to dollars, that the cattle brought about 32 cents per pound. "I'm glad I'm selling in my market," he said with a laugh. "But really, we don't know what their feed cost is and their land use cost. I don't know if that's a good price or not, but it sounds awful cheap to me."
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