Lane Pruitt keeps things simple at Mid-State Stockyard—raising cattle the practical way and mentoring the next generation along the way.
DAMASCUS, ARK. – At Pruitt’s Mid-State Stockyard in Damascus, Arkansas, where hundreds of cattle pass through each Monday, success isn’t about shortcuts or high-tech solutions. For Lane Pruitt, it’s about working smart, managing cattle with care, and investing in the people who help make it all happen. Practicality drives every part of the operation – from well managed pastures to reliable marketing and loyal help.
While technology creeps into the cattle business, Pruitt stays focused on the basics: healthy grass, herd health and honest relationships. It’s a no-frills mindset that keeps both the stockyard and his own herd profitable.
“I’ve been in and out of a livestock auction all my life,” Pruitt said, “My grandparents owned one when I was a kid.”
Pruitt has been in agriculture his entire life, growing up on a dairy farm with a beef cattle operation and working at several stockyards during college. After years of renting and leasing livestock auction facilities, he purchased his own barn in Damascus, where he’s been running Pruitt’s Mid-State Stockyard for more than a decade.
Although his wife of 12 years, Ashton Pruitt, works elsewhere in town, their daughter, Myleigh Pearl, gets an early taste of livestock auction life – just like Pruitt did – working in the stockyard café.
Alongside the stockyard, Pruitt runs a commercial cattle operation averaging around 1,000 head at a time, ranging from stocker grazers to stock cows to feeders. His management is grounded in grass-fed production and minimal reliance on machinery or costly feed.
“If you don’t have grass, you’re not in the cattle business,” Pruitt said.
Instead of relying on high-dollar loads of feed, Pruitt prioritizes growing quality forage by investing in grass seed and fertilizer. Through rotational grazing and low stock density – supplemented with liquid feed and mineral to maintain gut health – Pruitt minimizes input and maximizes pasture performance on his sizeable operation.
“I own one tractor. I don’t own any hay balers or hay equipment,” Pruitt said.
Aside from feeding hay in the stockyard pens and during snowy weather, Pruitt lets his cattle feed themselves in well-managed pastures.
“You don’t have to cut that stuff down and bale it up to feed it back to them,” Pruitt said.
The practicality doesn’t end with herd management – it carries into marketing too.
“Everything that we own, other than what goes to the feed yard, gets sold right here – start to finish, to the sale barn,” Pruitt said.
How many cattle he keeps depends on the market, and right now, Pruitt said he’s keeping them sold. But like anything in agriculture, the cattle market fluctuates.
“If you’ve got a thousand cattle out there, they’re worth this today and they’re worth this tomorrow,” Pruitt said.
Although the highs and lows are no surprise, Pruitt said one misconception still hangs around – that the man running the show is out to cheat folks.
“We work on commission, so I want them to all bring $2,500,” Pruitt said.
Aside from the numbers and cattle, Pruitt’s operation relies on the people who make it all work. In the office, his secretary, Sarah Wiedower keeps everything in check and running smoothly.
“I couldn’t do it without her,” Pruitt said.
When it comes to hands-on roles behind the scenes, most of Pruitt’s team members have their own cattle herds, so they’re on the same page when it comes to treatment of the cattle.
When you have 600 cattle to run through with only two guys on horseback in the pens and three pushing them through the ring, “it’s worth your time to get somebody that can do it,” Pruitt said.
Finding good help can be tough, but Pruitt said the right people make all the difference. Over the years, he’s given chances to young people fresh out of school and second chances to those with troubled pasts – providing opportunity and guidance.
“If you can help somebody once out of 50, it’s worth it,” Pruitt said.
“I’m really big on helping kids out of high school – there’s been a lot of kids that I’ve kind of helped, get them going good and they go on and make it. It’s just pretty neat,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt also invests in the community by annually sponsoring the Cattlemen’s Association and the local county fair premium auctions. Supporting these local institutions reflects his dedication not just to his business but to the people and culture around him.
When asked about his business philosophy, Pruitt was clear: “Don’t ever tell a lie, be honest and it’s all good. The truth is the truth no matter what. Tell it like you see it.”
