Glen Hartle, LJI Reporter

Ron Hodgins has never been one to sit idle.
When he’s not raising purebred Bouvier dogs, or tending to his large greenhouse operation, or hosting and running the Pontiac Farmers’ Market each Saturday from May to October, or acting as the treasurer for the UPA (Union des Producteurs Agricoles), he’s actually running a robust farm operation complete with cows, donkeys, horses, chickens and peacocks.

Hodgins has been running his R & R Farms for some 20 years and comes by the craft honestly. His father Tom and his grandfather Herbert have farmed just up the road on the 7th Concession for generations.
Hodgins traces his own roots in husbandry back to raising rabbits for cash as a young boy and has a glint in his eye as he talks about his newest and most imminent venture: a bull auction.
Tuesday Mar. 12 will see a first-of-its-kind bull sale at Renfrew Pontiac Livestock auction house whereby year-old bull-calves from four local farmers will be up for grabs as an adjunct to the regular auction.

Joining Hodgins on the docket are producers Donna Courchesne and Andrew Simms of Bristol, Brian and Janet Rogers of Shawville, and Allan and Courtney Wallace of Foresters Falls.
Going back many years, there used to be auctions in Quebec at which cattle breeders could provide their livestock to the highest bidder.

A severe outbreak of bovine viral diarrhea changed things considerably and soon farmers were sending their cattle to a common feedlot location where rigorous tests and protocols were in place to ensure health and quality.

Locally, the Outaouais Bull Test Station Association was the primary feedlot option for producers. When its manager Garfield Hobbs closed it down, the conduit through which local producers were getting their livestock to a competitive market closed as well.
In the intervening years, producers have relied upon private treaty sales of the barnyard variety whereby cattle were priced for sale on a first come first serve basis. If the cattle were not sold in this manner, they were usually shipped and destined for beef.

But Hodgins’ hopes to change this with his new bull sale initiative.
For their part, Hodgins’ fellow consignors have skin in the game and are looking forward to both the auction and the future.
“We are grateful to Ron for this added opportunity to market our bulls to the beef producers of the region. We have two Charolais yearling bulls on offer in this inaugural sale,” Courchesne and Simms wrote in an email to THE EQUITY.

“We only have one bull to sell this spring but hope to have a few next spring,” Wallace said.
Auctioneer Preston Cull will make the call with Hodgins assisting and offering additional and contextual information for each bull that passes up for bid.

A first for the
auction house

Hodgins’ auction house of choice is the Renfrew Pontiac Livestock in Cobden, which has been in operation for 30 years.
The auction house is known for their Tuesday sales where one is likely to see as many animals from Quebec pass through as there are from Ontario. Typically, the cattle sold are destined for beef.
“We often sell heifers or bred-heifers,” says co-owner and farmer Matt Dick.
“This will be a first for us selling a bunch of bulls from one farmer or group of farmers in this way. There aren’t enough bulls to run a single event this time so we’re accommodating this sale within our usual Tuesday sale.”

For Hodgins, his vision of rebuilding a competitive showcase for local livestock producers for the purposes of breeding and carrying genetics forward is now seeing fruition and the wheels are fully in motion.
“The difference between me selling a just-weaned calf, which we call a stocker, for $3 a pound or selling a year-old bull that I’ve fed for the winter and one where I’m providing registration and guaranteeing their breeding should be substantial,” Hodgins said.
His pride in what he does shows as he flips through the auction catalogue taking time to explain the various lots and write-ups.

“EPD is the expected progeny difference and is what we use to evaluate an animal’s worth as a parent,” he said.
Located below each animal, or lot, are eight separate indicators helping prospective buyers get a better sense of each animal’s value and indicate each bull’s potential worth.
“Each animal is tracked with an ATQ [Agri-Traçabilité Québec] tag and this helps buyers know where the animals come from,” Hodgins explained.

The ATQ program, initiated in 2001, is concerned with the identification of animals, the identification of premises where animals are located, and the tracking of animal movements. The primary objective of this tracking system is to protect human health, animal health, and food safety.
Hodgins hopes that the sale this year shows potential and that by next year there may be enough participation that they can opt for a dedicated sale and one where they would make use of Direct Livestock Marketing Systems (DLMS) whereby broadcasts provide live video and audio to people around the world who cannot attend the auction in person.

In this scenario, potential customers are able to view the live video from the auction house as well as hear live audio of the auctioneer and can make bids online, which extends the reach of the sale.
“All of this for a sale which will take all of 30 minutes,” Hodgins laughs.
But it is clear that these 30 minutes mean the world to him and it is equally clear that he has put a great deal of thought, planning and effort into ensuring that they are 30 minutes well-spent.