A Livestock Merchandising Class With a $328,000 Bottom Line

Dec 01, 2025

By Marya Barlow

The auctioneer’s chant filled the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Arena as more than 100 buyers packed the stands, eyes fixed on video screens showing cattle up for bid.

Students scanned the crowd, signaling offers and recording sales. Behind the scenes, classmates tracked online bids and coordinated logistics from serving food to loading cattle onto trailers.

For students in the Livestock Merchandising class, the Hokie Harvest Sale is more than an auction. It’s the culmination of months of planning and one of the School of Animal Sciences’ most enduring hands-on learning traditions.

Now in its 31st year, the course has given more than 2,060 students a front-row seat to the business of animal agriculture and raised almost $4.5 million through the sale of 1,554 head of cattle, 433 horses, and 46 swine. Proceeds go back into the School of Animal Sciences, funding teaching, research, and herd improvements that strengthen Virginia Tech’s livestock programs.

Source : vt.edu

Video: Research in Action | Swine Cluster 4 - Activity 8: Precision Feeding with Dr. Aline Remus

Research in Action is a video series from Swine Innovation Porc that highlights the people and projects driving innovation in Canada's pork sector.

In this episode, Dr. Aline Remus (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) explains how precision feeding is helping producers improve efficiency, reduce feed costs and lower environmental impacts while supporting animal health and welfare.

As part of Swine Cluster 4 - Activity 8, this research is advancing precision livestock farming by tailoring nutrition to the needs of individual pigs or groups of pigs. The project aims to reduce feed costs, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient losses, and develop practical precision feeding systems that producers can confidently adopt on-farm.

By bringing together researchers from across Canada and around the world, this work is helping transform innovative research into practical solutions for a more sustainable and competitive Canadian pork sector.