The Smith family took over Leflore County Livestock in 2010 to keep a local auction for farmers going
A big plus in the livestock auction business is the owners and/or management team being active cattlemen themselves and therefore up-to-date on the best way to ensure the welfare of all livestock on their premises.
The Leflore County Livestock Auction in Wister, Okla., is an example. Owners Mark and Cheryl Smith have a substantial cow/calf herd managed by their son Levi, who is also the field man for the livestock auction and an order buyer. Donny Martin, manager, has a personal cow/calf operation as well. Consequently, they understand how to present buyers with the healthiest and most viable animals possible, which means ethical, supportive care while at the sale barn.
This auction house has been in business for more than 50 years and was started by two cattlemen who saw a need for farmers to sell livestock locally rather than having to travel an hour or more away.
In 2010, the business came up for sale. Mark knew what was true in the past was even more true now and purchased Leflore County Livestock Auction to continue to meet those needs.
“Our typical seller has 100 acres with a cow/calf operation, a full-time-off-the-farm job, and takes off early on a Friday before selling calves in order to round them up and be ready for the Saturday sale,” Donny said.
Mark, who is semi-retired from the auction business, is in charge of the financial portion of the business and can always be found on site on Wednesdays. Levi searches for prospects and services clients, which can mean evaluating animals for sale, rounding them up or transporting them to the sale barn where a veterinarian is available for vaccinations, preg checks or whatever else a seller might want.
An example of the personal but professional relationship that exists between the auction and clients is a total herd disbursement of 100 Brahman cattle. The seller had sold in Wister for years and called Levi explaining that he was ready to retire and wanted to sell the entire herd.
The auctioneers, either Roger Hoffman or Raymond Boydston who both buy and sell on those Saturdays they are not auctioneering, will announce upcoming sales during the preceding auctions.
“The buyer and I discussed the importance of the correct timing of the sale. We selected early September because that is the time when they will be fat, slick and pretty as well as the whitest, a highly desirable selling trait,” Levi said. “We always want to get the most money for the customer and therefore get as many details as possible such as whether the cattle have had shots, are dehorned and castrated, etc. Specific information from the buyer provides our auctioneer the opportunity to showcase each animal or group to highest advantage. We are commission based so going the extra mile means return customers and invaluable word-of-mouth advertising.”
A sale is held every Saturday with a sale of 1,000 head being a good sale. The sale is supported by an additional staff of 18: three ladies who help Tammie Rogers, the full-time office manager, and 15 others working in the ring or the pens. The sale begins at 10 a.m. with the sale of goats, sheep, pigs, horses and a few llamas. Cattle sales begin at 12:30 p.m., with stocker/yearling calves followed by bulls and then cows. Because of the client base, many sales are single animals or small groups up to eight.
Similar animals from the same seller are grouped so buyers get the best price for each one. An example is that a seller may have 25 calves with some weighing 400 pounds and others 500 pounds or perhaps an Angus-based group and a Charolais-based group.
The glue among all the parts of the Leflore County Livestock Auction is Cheryl.
Her deeply Christian values pull all of the various aspects of the business into an ethical unity.
“God is my hero thanks to my mom,” Levi said. “He has lifted us up through the lean years, and we strive to provide a good and honest sale supported by the love of family. If you walk with God and do the right thing, even if it costs you money, everyone wins. That’s why we draw clients from Arkansas and Texas as well as Oklahoma.”
Several years ago, a piece of property just across the road came up for sale. That land has a barn and an extensive pen system awaiting future business expansion with use beginning in the not too far distant future.
