Stilwell Livestock Auction
Owners: Danny and Elizabeth Isaacs
Location: Stilwell, Okla.
Company History: Danny and Elizabeth bought the sale barn in March of 2008. They had their first sale on March 12, 2008. The Auction is quite a family affair, with Elizabeth’s parents, Bill and Beverly Patterson, running the café that serves home-cooked meals during the sale. Even the children get in on the action and do all they can to help Danny and Elizabeth. Lauren, age nine, has even learned how to print her own check on the computer for the work she puts in. Danny jokes she’s already more proficient than he is with the computer. Their other daughter is Ashley, and Luke, the youngest of the bunch, is six months old.
Products and Services: The cattle auction is every Wednesday at noon, and starting in August they’ll be starting at 11 a.m. to better serve their customers' needs. On the third Friday of the month, they have their dairy sale that starts at 11 a.m. Trucks and trailers are available at all times for customers, and Danny does on-farm appraisals. Cary Bartholomew, one of the former owners of the Washington County Livestock Auction, recently joined the team as a field representative servicing western Washington County, Ark.
“The thing we do best here is customer service. We’re a family just like everyone else’s. We know how it is, and how hard it can be sometimes. We’ll work for anyone big or small,” Danny explained.
What do you see in the future?
“I’m currently putting in new pens. I like to sell in the order they come in. More pens will give us the chance to keep the cattle together. I think if you make the effort to get here early, you should sell early. I’d also like to expand the sale to about 1,200 to 1,400 head per week. I wouldn’t want to get too big though. I don’t want the little guys falling through the cracks. The little guys are what keep our doors open," said Danny.
By Stephanie Burroughs
