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Spring auction sale
FTLComm - Tisdale - Wednesday, April 20, 2011
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The focus of Bruce Schapansky's spring sale is primarily agricultural equipment and all the tools that go with the business of modern agriculture. The yard was full of equipment for this year's sale and careful preparations by clearing the snow and having a excellent gravel base meant that there were only a few puddles to deal with although the area immediately south of the main building had just to much snow to be used.

The field east of the sale site was for trucks only as it was just to soft for cars and other light vehicles. A shuttle service with a coach moved people from the Tisdale Mall parking lot to the site with a bus every ten minutes.

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A large staff was on hand to handle the huge number of people in attendance with about six flag people just busy parking vehicles in the field. A tractor was on hand to ease stuck vehicles through the soft spots and a four wheeler ATV with a passenger cart busily moved people from the parking lot to the sales area.

Aside from the actual business at hand which is selling the consigned equipment, the logistics of an event this size are considerable. Washrooms, food concessions and just dealing with hundreds of people make this and each of the other sales through the year really remarkable. The whole show relies on a well trained and motivated staff who provide support to the actual sale and look after everything from security to starting up machines for sale.

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There have been years when the weather has made this third week of April sale into a winter day but this year, though it was cool, it was a bright sunny day and the perfect environment for buying and selling to take place.

Tisdale is the right location for a sale of this kind with highways bringing in customers from all directions, many travelling a very long way just to make a good deal in the tight margined business of agriculture. With farms getting steadily larger and profits hinging on careful management there is an excellent market for used equipment. Sales like this give farmers the opportunity to add some extras to their inventory that buying new would simply not allow.

Today the sales yard was quickly being cleared out as the sales from yesterday were dispatched to all parts of the province.

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