Owner: Cash Carter
Location: Howe, Okla.
History: “As a youngster, I remember helping load cattle for the Poor Boy Livestock in Wister, Okla.,” auctioneer Cash Carter said. “I was interested in anything that had to do with the cattle and especially remember an auctioneer named Todd Tucker at Stigler where I first became captured by the sound and rhythm of auctioneering. By the time I was 15 or 16, I had developed my own chant and practiced when I was driving. My first auction was a chicken sale in Monroe, Okla., for Stan Daniels, a big job for me at the time. I went to college for a year only to discover that I could learn everything I needed from my father so we could work our cow/calf operation together. I also went to auctioneer school.”
The Present: “Auctioneering has changed since I first attended auctions. In the beginning, buyers had to be extremely good at estimating weight and were sometimes surprised and sometimes disappointed at the actual price, which was according to the animal weight calculated until only after the purchase. Now the cattle are weighed either individually or in groups so the buyer knows exactly what he is paying down to the penny. Another change is that some purchasers buy through order buyers, who follow instructions whether given beforehand or by phone as the auction progresses. Further, some auctions are carried on a live video where buyers purchase over the phone or through an order buyer while watching the sale. I currently work for Joe Don Eaves on Mondays at the Tulsa Stockyards and for Jerry Nine at the Woodward Livestock Auction.”
Philosophy: “This business really depends upon contacts. An important one for me was the late Danny Isaac, who owned Stilwell Livestock Auction. From him I learned the importance of working for highly reputable and morally upright people because reputation is everything. It was through Danny that I met Joe Don and through him that I met Jerry.”
Future: “While working for my dad is my full-time occupation, I will always save time for auctioneering because I have the same passion now that I did as a kid. I’m hoping in the future to pick up a few private cattle auctions, which are usually annual, as a way of expanding my contacts and business without giving up too much time.”
