On Saturday more than 250 buffalo are going up on the auction block at Custer State Park's annual auction.
And the crew at Custer State Park were hard at work on Friday ahead of Saturday's annual buffalo auction.
"Today we're sorting the animals out so we have them in the proper order to bring them out and run them in," Custer State Park's program resource manager Gary Brundige said.
Saturday's auction will be slightly larger than those of recent years because of the drought conditions facing much of the state.
"We were looking to this year to rebuild the herd a little bit, but with the drought conditions we had we actually added some animals," Brundige said.
A total of 256 buffalo will be auctioned off to buyers from around the country. Brandon buffalo rancher Gene Reaves hopes to be one of them.
"Yep, we're looking at bringing in some future breeding stock, possibly two or three heifer calves and a couple bull calves," Reaves said.
Reaves may have some competition, as the event typically draws between 50 and 75 registered bidders.
"Depending on how the prices go, some will be here watching and some will be here buying," Brundige said.
Brundige anticipates that the prices will be comparable to last year; around $1,000 for calves and between $2,000 and $2,500 for adult buffalo.
"They're a very reasonable price for a good looking and good quality animal. So that's the reason why we came back this year," Reaves said.
"We're looking forward to a good sale tomorrow. It looks like prices should be good, comparable to last year, so we're pretty excited to have a good sale tomorrow," Brundige said.
The buffalo auction is scheduled to go from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The money raised by the sale will go back into the park.
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