I have stopped buying at farm auctions after having been run one too many times.  It's not my comfort level anymore.  Proxy bids are sometimes a joke, too.  It doesn't matter what your proxy is, when the sale stops right on the bid, I'm not convinced it is legitimate.  That has happened to me at more than one auctioneers sale.  While me proxy is my top price, the draw for me at most auctions is to attempt to find bargains that make the effort worth while.  Fair is fair, but cheating is still cheating (or worse).