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Just a little
history . . . On September 28, 1979, Pineview Farms established and hosted the 1st Annual East Coast Simmental Classic, held at the family owned Virginia-Carolina Livestock Barn in Danville, Virginia. This first sale was a joint venture by Pineview Farms and several other local Simmental breeders. The East Coast Simmental Classic would continue annually for nine years, with the final sale held on September 4, 1987. For the duration of the nine year history of the East Coast Simmental Classic, it would serve as a production sale for Pineview Farms and many other Simmental breeders throughout the Eastern United States. The very first sale hosted by Pineview Farms under the Optimal name was held on November 7, 1987. This was also the first joint sale effort between Pineview Farms and Bell Farms, who at this time had not joined forces as partners, but had begun working together in their breeding and marketing ventures. The Pineview Farms & Associates Optimal Sale was established as a production sale for Pineview Farms and invited customers. The influence of Optimal Beef Sires was the highlighted attractions of the sale. This sale was held in Danville, Virginia, from it’s inception in 1987, through 1991. The final Optimal Sale, Optimal VI, was held November 7, 1992, at Shuffler Farms Sale Facility, which was actually still under construction at the time of the sale. There have also been two large female sales in the history of Pineview Farms. On May 13, 1989, was the Pineview Farms Cow Herd Reduction Sale, held in Danville, Virginia. On June 5, 1993, marked the Partnership Dispersal Sale of Pineview Farms and Double T Farms. This jointly owned herd of Simmental cows was liquidated at Shuffler Farms Sale Facility in Hamptonville, North Carolina, and basically brought an end to the red Simmental breeding program at Pineview Farms. The 1st Annual Optimal Beef Genetics Bull Sale was a joint effort of Pineview Farms, Bell Farms, Deep Creek Farms, and Shuffler Farms. The 5th Annual Sale, held December 7, 1996, was the last year Deep Creek Farms participated as a partner in the sale and it also marked the first year the Replacement Females were included. The Optimal Beef Genetics Bull Sale & Replacement Females continued as a three herd joint venture, held at Shuffler Farms Sale Facility through November 4, 2000. The 9th Annual Sale would prove to be the last year that Shuffler Farms participated in the sale and it would be the last year for the sale to be held at the Shuffler Farms Sale Facility. The spring and summer of 2001 brought many changes to the Optimal Beef Genetics Bull Sale & Replacement Females. It would be the first year the bulls would be raised on the farm, instead of contract raised at another facility. A new sale facility would be built at Bell Farms and the first “Pick of the Pen” Sale would be held. The Optimal Beef Genetics “Pick of the Pen” Sale procedure has become very popular with both purebred and commercial customers. The sale animals are penned uniformly, usually 4-8 head, in large grass pens, making it easy for prospective buyers to get in the pens and walk them around for good viewing. The sale animals remain in the pens for the sale. There is no sale ring and no animals enter the sale barn. Each pen has a display board in the sale barn with the sale tag number for each animal in the pen. The pick of each pen is auctioned with the winning bidder taking as many animals from that pen as desired for the winning bid price. This procedure continues until all animals are sold or there is no opening bid for any remaining animals. Any animals not sold during the “Pick of the Pen” auction are passed and available on a first come first serve basis at a minimum price posted on each pen. Since it’s inception, the “Pick of the Pen” sale procedure has been so successful that numerous other bull sales are beginning to copy it.
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