FARMER: Power of the hammer (From Somerset County Gazette)

FARMER: Power of the hammer

12:42pm Monday 28th May 2012 in Farmer

THE ‘power of the hammer’ is evident when disposing of livestock, machinery, fodder, property, land and grass keep and not forgetting Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s Fine Art rural sporting sales, writes DEREK BISS, partner at Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

2012 to date has eclipsed all previous years in recognising the transparency and other marketing benefits of putting whatever it is ‘under the hammer’.

The monthly collective property auctions over five centres continue to go from strength to strength with large entries and almost 100% success rates.

Feverish bidding in the land market pushed prices per acre to record levels this week at Sedgemoor’s Collective Land Auction where 22 acres reached £14,000 per acre.

The Biannual Sporting Sale held at Priory Sale Rooms in Winchester Street, Taunton, drew worldwide attention, and saw one ecstatic owner of an Indo-Portuguese mother of pearl dish, which historically was used as a milk bowl for a farm cat and unsuccessfully sold at a local car boot sale for £5, realising £4,000 to a London dealer, showing the power of the auction system.

Once again grass keep auction prices far exceeded prices achieved for similar land sold by private treaty. Those vendors brave enough to test the auction system were rewarded with prices reaching £157 per acre.

With a record number of machinery dispersal sales already conducted by us this year more and more vendors are recognising the financial advantages of testing the trade using the hammer approach.

Walford Cross rings bells with practically every farmer within a 50 mile radius of Taunton, as over its 58-year history nearly every farmer has attended this annual event at least once in their lifetime. This year 35 Partners and staff members alike were in attendance to service the requirements of 246 different vendors and 780 different purchasers selling and buying the 3,000-plus lots that went under the hammer between 9am and 6.30pm in atrocious weather conditions, which clearly did not deter the interest factor that led to a record turnover for a sale at Walford.

The auction system at present typifies that old English adage: “He who dares ...”