A Visit to Corn Husker Country

I had my wisdom teeth yanked out yesterday, so I had a little time to put some thoughts together about my recent trip to Ogallala, NE.

 I first met Dwayne Mays several years ago while I was attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie.  He introduced himself following a benefit auction I was working and invited me over to Ogallala Livestock to sell for a day.  I never could make it fit in my schedule before we moved back to Montana.  A couple of weeks ago, I finally had an opportunity to make that trip!

I was really looking forward to working beside Dwayne and the Schow’s.  Following the contest in Oklahoma City last summer, Dean and Leah offered to drive my new truck for a while, since we were heading the same direction  (Jodie and I hadn’t planned on bringing 2 vehicles home).  So, Dean and one of his grandsons hopped in the Chevy and headed north, while Jodie and I followed.  Our coordination with the weather was impeccable, as we all drove straight to the middle of a Kansas hail storm.  We ended up staying in Concordia, Kansas for the night to let the system blow over and had a good laugh about Dean’s driving and timing.  Jodie and I took off early the next morning in our two separate outfits, but I was honored to have a former World Champ put the first 300 miles on the pickup…and almost just as honored that he was responsible for the first 18 dents!  

                Roy Barta, the LMA Executive Officer for the region picked me up at the airport in North Platte and we had a good visit on our way over to Ogallala.  It was the 55^th Annual Stock Show Special at the market and sale day had 7500 head of feeder cattle in the pens and a ring full of buyers!  Dean and I shared some laughs during a few newspaper and TV interviews, and then the sale got underway.  The cattle out of that Sand Hills country are awfully impressive.  There  were loads upon loads of even, green calves throughout the entire day.  I saw some familiar buyers and had a chance to visit with quite a few consignors too.  Mike Nuss even made the trip down from Minitare, Nebraska to say howdy.  Among all the highlights was the chance to visit with Jerry Speck for a while.   Jerry is a former owner of Ogallala Livestock and a very well-known cattle man in this part of the country. 

                The band had a show to play in Billings on Friday night, so I was off and on the plane by 5:30 Friday morning.  A side note about the band- Kyle Shobe and the Walk Em’ Boys- we will be making a guest appearance at the 2011 WLAC Awards Banquet in Greenville, South Carolina! 

A big thank you to Dwayne, Dean and Kevin as well as Scott Van Winkle for the opportunity to be a part of a grand day.  You run a very impressive operation.                                                                                                                                                         

On another note, I’m headed to St. Onge, SD this weekend for the Greater Midwest Auctioneer Championship.  It looks like there are over 40 auctioneers competing and I am excited to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones.  If you’re in the area, you’ll be able to tune in on the radio for the finals.  I’ll have more information about it this week.  Doug Dietterle and Justin Tupper have been working hard at putting that together.

The 4^th WLAC Quarterfinal is only a month away in Bloomington, WI.  Can’t believe the Semi-Finals are only 5 months away! 

 If you are not already become a fan of Livestock Marketing Association on Facebook and confirm your attendance to the 2011 WLAC—click on the EVENTS tab!

LMA Daily News Briefing Appearance Announcement

I just wanted to share with you the brief article that was run in today’s LMA Daily News Briefing.  It talks about the Special Sale I will be working with Dean and Kevin Schow at Ogallala Livestock Auction Market, Inc. on January 20th.   Be sure to check out Ogallala’s website and don’t forget to read the rest of today’s livestock marketing news!

3 talented auctioneers, including 2 world champions, working Jan. 20 special sale at Ogallala, Neb., Livestock Auction Market

      If you enjoy the sound of a talented auctioneer, you have three reasons to be at the Ogallala, Neb.,  Livestock Auction Market, Inc. on Jan. 20.

     That’s when World Livestock Auctioneer Champions Kyle Shobe and Dean Schow will work a special cattle sale at the market.

     Also sharing time in the auction block will be Dean’s son, Kevin. He will compete in the 2011 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC), in June in Williamston, S.C. 

     Market co-owner and president Dwayne Mays said his very talented team of auctioneers will be selling an expected 7,500 – 8,000 feeder and stocker cattle, “from many of our area’s top producers.”

 Shobe is the current champion.  Dean Schow was named world champion in 1980, following competition in Templeton, Calif.  He and Kevin regularly sell at the Ogallala market.

     Asked about appearing with the Schows, Shobe said, “I believe listening to, and watching talented auctioneers work, is a great way to improve your skills.  Working with a fellow world champion like Dean is bound to be an educational experience for me.

     “And I wish Kevin all the best at this summer’s contest.  He’s shown he’s a very talented auctioneer,” Shobe said.

     This will be Kevin’s fifth time in the contest. He finished among the top ten finalists in 2009 and 2010.

   Dean Schow said he was “excited about the opportunity to work with Kyle. He’s a fine young man, a very talented auctioneer and a great spokesman for (LMA).”

Kevin Schow Selling in the 2010 WLAC Finals

 

Merry Christmas

For you faithful Blog followers, there’s more to come in 2011! It’s been a flyin’ couple of months and I haven’t made the time to keep the posts current…thanks for your patience. I have a lot to tell you about, so stay tuned, it will be up shortly. For you “younger” auctioneers, I’ll have more talk on “becoming a livestock auctioneer” in January. In the mean time, please feel free to email or call; I’d love to visit with you. Until we meet again, from my family and everyone at LMA, have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
~KS

A busy November

Wow…it’s been a busy month of November.  I’ve had to transition from Livestock Auctioneer to Antique Auctioneer back to Livestock, to Ranch Equipment to Real Estate and back to Livestock all in a 3 weeks time! 

Following the Burlington Quarterfinal, we held a large 2-day Western Memorabilia auction.  The merchandise was owned by Leonard and Spunky Llewellyn of Martinsdale, MT, and included an original Charles M. Russell letter, a book signed by General George Custer, 12 Bob Scriver bronzes, original western art and many one-of-a-kind historical items.  Cary Aasness, 2005 International Auctioneer Champion from Dalton, Minnesota, and his wife Anita, lent us a hand for the weekend.  It turned out to be a phenomenal couple of days with over 500 registered bidders; everything sold very well.  Beyond the monetary aspect though, the auction was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.  To stand in the presence of four simple pieces of paper, knowing that Charlie Russell himself penned the script, sketch and signature, was absolutely incredible.  The Custer book came out of his personal library at Fort Lincoln, Dakota and was signed in pencil with several marks throughout the book where Custer, in his genuine arrogance, corrected the author’s grammar.   Most importantly, we became very good friends with some people we may have never met, had it not been for the auction business. 

Leonard was born and raised in the small rural community of Martinsdale.  He went on to fly over 150 air combat missions in Vietnam and then piloted Air Force One for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.  He was literally a living book of  U.S. and western history and quite willing to share the knowledge he had gained in his years of life.  He’s also proof that no matter where we come from, anything is achievable!  Leonard passed away one week following the auction, but we all will cherish the relationship we had with him forever.

The following week we had a large ranch equipment and hay auction, just an hour south of us in Harlowton for the historical Muir Ranch.  The ranch sold recently and this was a liquidation of the equipment and 700 ton of hay.  We got lucky on the weather and had a beautiful day for the auction.  It only warmed up to about 25 degrees, but there was little wind and we had over 300 buyers registered for the sale.  There was plenty of interest in the tractors, feed pickups and Haybusters and again, everything sold very well including the hay, which averaged $57/ton for straight grass. (Considering the fact that hay is in abundant supply in central Montana this year!)

That is a brief update of my most recent endeavors.  From here on out I should have a little more free time to update more frequently.  I apologize for the gap in my posts.  Until we meet again, Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!