Location: Southwest City, Mo.
Owners: Dallas Cooper; his wife Misty; their three sons; Denton (Sarah), Austin (Kalli) and Sterling
History: The Cooper family purchased the former Southwest City Sale Barn in October 2023 and held their first sale in the facility, which had been sitting vacant for about six or seven years, the week before Christmas 2023.
“We run a small farm operation,” Dallas said. “We raise sheep, goats, a few head of cattle, horses, and exotic animals. We’ve been in the exotic sale industry for some time, but it’s more seasonal, and what we do now is year-round.”
Products and services: Cooper’s Southwest City Auction Services sells miscellaneous items and all classes of livestock.
“We do poultry, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, mules, donkeys, just everything at Southwest City,” Dallas said. “We want to provide a good variety and options. With the way things are today, everyone has rabbits, a few hogs or sheep, and those are who we want to cater to: those smaller producers. For the local people, there aren’t a lot of options for people; they might have to travel to Joplin or Siloam, so we are right in their backyards.”
The Cooper family offers trucking to and from the sale, as well as gathering services.
“We are pretty-much a full-service outfit,” Dallas said.
Sales are held every Saturday, starting with miscellaneous items at 9 a.m., then going to poultry at 12:30 p.m. The first and third Saturdays are “hoof stock” sales. Cattle sales begin at 3 p.m., followed by sheep and goats, swine and equine. Starting in June, the first Saturday of the month will also be the horse sale. The second and fourth Saturdays are miscellaneous, poultry and small animals only. The market’s Facebook page is updated regularly to let buyers know what might be coming for the next sale.
Cooper’s Southwest City Auction is a family-owned and managed operation. Denton and Austin work at the barn, as do their significant others. Younger son Sterling is a member of the National Guard and the fire department but helps when his schedule allows.
“We have met a lot of great people and have received better-than-expected support,” Dallas said. “We have met people who have brought some new things and ideas that we will expand to in the future. The local community has been just great.”
