Doug Thomas is providing local dairy farmers with customer service tailored to their needs
WALNUT GROVE, MO. – The only constant is change. This aphorism may be somewhat trite, but it’s true – and it most certainly applies to the dairy industry. For the past 23 years, Doug Thomas has served as the manager of dairy sales at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center.
His goal as dairy sales manager at Springfield Livestock Marketing Center is to provide the smaller dairy farmers with an advantage and provide them with excellent customer service, tailored to their needs. Springfield Livestock Marketing Center hosts dairy cattle sales on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m. While it is not mandatory, sellers are encouraged to call ahead to consign their cattle, which will be advertised on the Center’s webpage and Facebook.
“We sell everything from bottle calves to milk cows in all breeds,” Thomas said. “We will also come to your farm and look at your cattle, as well as have trucks available to haul to or from your farm.”
Doug can be reached at 417-840-9316 and Josh Boyd can be reached at 417-299-2177. They can coordinate with trucks and trailers to get your livestock to the market.
Thomas doesn’t bring his work home, but he does come home to a pretty similar environment – he and his wife, Judy, raise Brown Swiss and Jersey Show cattle on their property in Walnut Grove, a small suburb of Springfield. This is no surprise, though, as Thomas has been around cattle all his life. He was raised on a fifth-generation dairy farm in Rogersville, Mo.
“We grew up milking by hand and selling in five-gallon milk cans,” he said.
He’s passed this cattlemen instinct to his five grandchildren, all of whom assist with raising and showing the cattle on their farm. He added that his progeny feed all show cattle on a consistent schedule and ensure they receive the best care possible.
“We are so blessed our grandkids want to show dairy cattle and continue the legacy in the dairy industry,” Thomas doted.
The family travels to dairy shows several times a year, including the Ozark Empire Fair in Springfield, Mo.; the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Mo.; the HOA Brown Swiss Show in Stillwater, Okla.; and the Lone Star Jr. Extravaganza Dairy Show in Wichita Falls, Texas. Thomas has also judged many dairy shows in this four-state area.
“The dairy industry has struggled and changed, and it does so on a daily basis,” he said. “Bigger corporations have robots and carousels for milking, while most of the smaller farmers milk using milkers.”
As society at large progresses rapidly, so too does the world of dairy farming. Anything that can be consumed can – and will – be sold, and anything that can be sold races to the top priority of major corporations. These wealthy firms have invested millions of dollars into technology that streamlines the process of milking cattle; the quicker dairy products can be distributed to the masses, the quicker money flows in.
Formed in 2002, Springfield Livestock moves nearly 200,000 animals yearly through their state-of-the-art sale ring. Hosting buyers from a half-dozen states and cattle coming from a 90-mile radius of Springfield. The facility offers four acres under roof along with hay and water in pens. In addition to the regular sales and various special sales, they also offer a space for agricultural meetings, host cowboy church and lease office space.
