SALEM, Ind. — Southern Indiana beef producer Ryan Batt
raises various breeds of cattle on his family’s club calf operation, Sinkhole
Show Stock.
He said they have been selling show cattle, both heifers and
steers, to 4-H members since they started the company back in 2005.
As they have built their business through the years, Batt
noted, they have bought a lot of show calves from other people and through
production sales. Most are females, which are bred to have offspring to be sold.
“It’s going pretty well. We’ve had a few champions at
Hoosier Beef Congress,” Batt said.
Youth who purchase the show cattle from him and his wife,
Laura, also have been competitive at the local level and at jackpot shows, he
added.
Besides selling show cattle, Batt also is the manager at the
United Producers Inc. stockyard in Scottsburg and serves as the Area 2 director
for the Indiana Beef Cattle Association.
He said he first got involved with the IBCA because he
wanted to build new relationships with other producers throughout the state and
learn more about where checkoff dollars are being used.
Batt also became an IBCA director to help educate local
farmers that don’t get out to attend meetings and county fairs, so they, too,
can know how the money is being dispensed.
With the help of his father and brother, he noted, Sinkhole
Show Stock also raises show pigs. They raise hogs strictly for show and have
around 20 sows.
The pigs are sold every spring at an auction at the local
fairgrounds, Batt said, because he prefers live sales, besides selling a few
calves online.
He added that they also rely on word of mouth for a portion
of their sales and returning customers who know the quality of livestock they
have to offer.
Batt said people also know who he is because of his job at
the stockyards and his ties with the IBCA.
“I don’t believe in charging (4-H members) excess amounts of
money,” he noted.