While the expressed purpose of hosting a weekly auction is buying and selling livestock, we all know that a good portion of the folks making themselves comfortable in those worn-out bleachers show up with no intention of letting go of a single penny.

“Somewhere down in Texas” could be the start of countless phrases related to the cattle industry. Somewhere down in Texas, someone is working cows, saddling a horse for a long day or preparing to sell their calves at the local sale barn.

“Shrink, the unpaid loss of weight, is essentially an important cost of marketing,” says Chris Bastian, a professor in the department of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wyoming.