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

Good Company and Pink Lightning

I already shared with you the business end of my trip to Oklahoma and Kansas so I think it is only fair that I share with you the rest of my adventure.  I have great friends and colleagues that are always coming up with ways to entertain, so there was never a dull moment!

Rodeo Announcers Shop Talk- Justin McKee, Me, Wayne Brooks

I helped Justin and Jeannie McKee gather cows on Thursday and Friday mornings.  On Friday, I had just hopped off my horse and was getting ready to hit to road to Gas, KS when Wayne Brooks pulled up.  Wayne is a former PRCA Announcer of the Year and was in the area to work the State Fair rodeo.  He had the morning off and decided to drive up to see Justin.  It was a pleasant surprise on both ends to run into each other.  The three of us, Wayne, Justin and myself, stood around and talked announcer shop for a while before I hit the road.  It never ceases to amaze me how small the World is some days.

 Friday evening was enjoyed with good company and lots of laughs.  Thanks to the always entertaining Andrew!

The Bird Hunting A Team- Charly, Me, Blaine, Mike

 Saturday morning started with a hearty breakfast at the Copan, OK truck stop.  We then headed off pheasant hunting.  Brian Little, our host, along with the rest of the participants all decided to add some friendly competition to the hunt and place a wager on the team that could bring in the most birds.  My team consisted of Charly Cummings, cattle buyer Mike Lotz and his son Blaine.  Sadly, I had to leave the hunt early in order to catch a plane in Wichita, KS.  However, our team still won the competition!  I don’t know if that shows how good Charly, Mike and Blaine are or how the rest of the boys need a little more practice…hmmm?!

 

 I want to give a quick shout out about Blaine Lotz.  He is a hard work young man and an aspiring auctioneer.  I first had the pleasure of meeting him when he was a student at the Western College of Auctioneering last year.  He is currently President of his FFA Chapter and is active in the livestock industry.  He was at the sale Thursday helping his dad buy cattle.  It is great to see young people so involved with the livestock marketing industry.  I look forward to hearing about his continued accomplishments.  Hats off to you Blaine!

 Finally, the story of my trip would not be complete without mentioning Jay Romine and his pink moped.  I thought my rental car was small until I saw him on Pink Lightning!

Jay Romine on Pink Lightning

Just a reminder that next Saturday, October 23 is the second of the 2011 WLAC Quarterfinal events.  It will be in Ponoka, Alberta Canada and will start at 10:00 AM GMT.  As always, the contest will be broadcast live on LMAAuctions.  You will not want to miss this event as it will be a true World showcase of Livestock Auctioneers.  There will be contestants from the US, Canada and Australia competing!

The Mini Auctioneer’s Convention

First, my apologies for not updating you for a while; between finishing up the rodeo season and getting ready for fall runs, I have not had time to breathe!  Not to mention I needed to spend some time catching up with the family.

 I did hit the airport/road again this last week and headed down to Oklahoma and Kansas.

 I arrived in Tulsa Wednesday afternoon and drove up to Lenapah, OK to stay with my friends Justin and Jeannie McKee.  I had the privilege of eating at Russell McKee’s “cook shack” on Wednesday evening.  (Russell, Justin’s father, is a former LMA President) His REAL home cookin’ was awesome!  I am pretty sure it topped my experience at Waffle House. 

 Thursday was a big day at Coffeyville Livestock Market with their Anniversary Sale.  Over 2,300 head of bred cows, yearling cattle and calves crossed the auction ring and there was a house full of buyers and spectators for the entire day!  The sale got underway at around 11:30 after their appreciation lunch of burgers, beans and Coffeyville Livestock caps.  –Collecting market caps is one of my favorite perks of this job.

 Brian Little and Jimmy Ted King have owned and operated the market there in Coffeyville for 6 years and have built quite an impressive business.  Southeast Kansas has a lot of competition when it comes to livestock markets and Brian and Jimmy Ted have work hard to earn and keep their clients.

 It’s tradition that Brian invites a few other WLAC competitors and friends to make an appearance at the Anniversary Sale, and in attendance this year was Jay Romine from Kentucky, Charly Cummings from Yates Center, KS, Andrew McDowell from Illinois and his father Alva.  As you can tell, the trip kind of turned into a mini auctioneer’s convention.

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 Friday we all headed to SEK Stockyards, LLC in Gas, KS.  Charly Cummings is a partner in the market.  I was very excited and pleasantly surprised to see Lanny Ireland, the 1996 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion at the sale.  I had a nice visit with Lanny.  He has certainly been an influence in my bid calling and it was great to finally have a few minutes to sit down with him and talk about the business. 

 All in all, it was a very memorable weekend with some excellent auctioneers and friends.  Thanks to Brian and Charly for inviting me to be a part of their sales…it’s a trip I’ll remember for a long time! 

 To all of you who have submitted questions about how to become a livestock auctioneer and requesting tips and tricks of the trade: I have not forgotten about you and am working to answer your questions.  I will premiere that section of the blog site on October 20 and should have video uploaded by the second week in November.  I appreciate your patience!

The Beef Wagon

My first day in the South was a huge success.  I have been nothing but impressed with everything from the scenery to the hospitality and I cannot wait to see the cattle today!

I landed in Atlanta, Georgia and joined LMA Rep John Kissee for the journey to Montgomery.  Once in Montgomery I settled in and caught my breath before heading off t0 the dinner reception.  The reception was hosted by the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) and was in the Cattlemen’s Building in downtown Montgomery.  The building’s first floor is appropriately called the Mooseum, and is full of educational facts ranging from the history of cattle in Alabama to the different uses of cattle in everyday products.  It is a place where anyone can go and find out something interesting and new about cattle production.

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Alabama Cattlemen’s Association also has the Beef Wagon that they use at offsite events to promote the consumption of beef at offsite events.  As you can see in the pictures it is a very eye-catching  van that gets the point across.  It is one of the ways they reach out to consumers and the public to educate them about what their food. If you are ever close to Montgomery, I encourage you to stop by and see the Mooseum for yourself and expand your knowledge of the cattle industry.

As you have already gathered, I am a firm believer that education of the public and our youth is the key to effective policy and the survival of the Agriculture industry.  Many people have no idea where their food comes from and it is our job as agriculturalists to start the conversation about production agriculture and educate the public about what we do.  Once agian, I encourage you to talk to people about agriculture and all of the positive things that we do for the world.  All it takes is one person and one conversation to make a difference.  Stepping off of my soap box now…

Along with the opportunity to look around the Mooseum, we also enjoyed a delicious NY Strip dinner prepared by Mr. Ed P Whatley and his catering crew. Dinner was of course enjoyed with good company and humor.  I had the opportunity to sit with the host of today’s contest Mr. Jerry Etheredge.  Jerry is a very prominent member of Livestock Marketing Association and is the chairman of the WLAC Committee.  He has helped in making the contest a continued success and his efforts as a host and committeeman have not gone unrecognized.  His wife Tay and daughter Sterling were also at dinner.  The two of them, along with all of the staff at the stockyards, have gone above and beyond in showing me what Southern hospitality is all about and I truly appreciate it!  Thank you ladies!

Last night was a wonderful way to kick off the first Quarterfinal event and to honor Jerry Etheredge and Montgomery Stockyards for all of the hard work they have put in to make this contest a success.   With that, I am going to get to work.  The contest is about to start and I am the lucky emcee!  I cannot wait to see all of my colleagues sell and check out the new talent.  I will let you know on Wednesday what it feels like being on the block and not competing.  I have plenty of practice behind the microphone, so I am not nervous but more excited to get the show started!

Good Luck to all 29 contestants! Check back on Wednesday for pictures, video and details about the last leg of my Southern adventure!

From Scorchin’ to Sellin’

Last weekend I was in Yankton, South Dakota for the Riverboat Days Rodeo.  Everything was great about the weekend, except for the weather.   I am not one to complain, and complaints about the weather are the worst, but when I am an hour into the rodeo and my papers are already wet from the humidity, I think the weather is worth mentioning.  Friday was hot and humid with no air movement while Saturday a cool breeze kept the humidity to a low 95%.  What that means is, it was hot enough to fry an egg and humid enough to steam some veggies!  I guess it is all part of the rodeo announcing experience, but this last weekend was a scorcher for my record book.  Lucky for me, once the last cowboy rode I was able to cool off in my truck and enjoy quality time with my family as we headed off for Faith, South Dakota on Sunday.

Monday was the 50^th Anniversary sale at Faith Livestock Commission Company, Inc.  Gary and Scott Vance had a nice lineup of yearling cattle and quite a handful of sheep to sell.  I was so thrilled to be a part of this big event and even more excited to sell with three of the area’s most respected auctioneers, Doug Dietterle, Seth Weishaar, and Dale McPherson.  Doug and Seth have been selling at Faith for some time now and over my travels and conversations with producers and buyers in South Dakota I have heard nothing but great things about these two men.  Dale was an auctioneer at Faith for a long time and came back for the event with his wife Dorothy.  Much to everyone’s delight, he did get up on the block and sell for a bit.  While he was up there I sat next to a buyer that had bought from him many years ago and he told me Dale hadn’t skipped a beat since he last saw him 20 years ago! 

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That conversation once again reminded me of one of the unique characteristics of the livestock marketing industry, the personal relationship.  Even after 20 years, the cattle buyer and auctioneer still remember each other and can pick back up where they left off.  Memories like that are not made by just doing business but by taking time and caring about the people in the business.  Even with the integration of technology, that underlying characteristic of the industry has not changed.  Only in the world of agriculture do you find a gem like that!

Alright, I will stop bragging about the industry and get back to sale day.  The sale rolled through the 6:00 hour. There was a larger than normal buying crowd and the market was active all day.  After the sale we all headed downtown to enjoy the Vance’s customer appreciation dinner.  We had delicious burgers, beans and good company after a day’s work—food is always better after you work hard.  McKay and I got out the guitars for a while and then called it a night.  He sure has an eye for the spotlight.

Tuesday morning we headed out of Faith around 10 AM and after a few stops rolled into the driveway at 10 PM.  It was full day of travel, but well worth the push to get home and put everyone to sleep in their own beds.  Things look like they may slow down for the month of September, but the WLAC Quarterfinal Competitions start up and LMA puts me back on the road, or I guess it will actually be a plane, to start the quest find the next World Livestock Auctioneer Champion.  There are 30 contestants entered in the Montgomery event and it looks like it will be a good year of tough competition.  It will be great to see everyone again and to attend a competition without the stress of competition.  I think I need to start getting some jokes lined up so I can entertain while I am the emcee.  Any suggestions?  Hmm…Knock knock….

Check out the WLAC links to find out more information about the qualifying events and how to enter.  Each of the contests will be broadcast live at www.lmaauctions.com so you can watch from home.  The deadline for entry into the second and third contests is 3 weeks away, September 13.  Go to www.lmaweb.com to download an entry form.

 

For anyone wanting to get their feet wet in a livestock auctioneering competition, mark February 12^th on your calendar for the Greater Midwest Livestock Auctioneer Championship.  This year it will be held at St. Onge Livestock and Faith Livestock’s own Dough Dietterle is helping to organize it.  I had the chance to be in this competition a couple of years ago and it is open to the world and a lot of fun!  Check out www.gmlac.com for more information.