Bagley Livestock Exchange Hosts Auctioneer Championship

By Bonnie Kirchman

“Lots of good quality cattle here today,” auctioneer Zach Ballard told the crowd at the Bagley Livestock Exchange on Saturday, January 18th. He added, “Won’t find ‘em any better.” 

Ballard, of Mitchell, South Dakota was not only working to sell cattle at the exchange. He was also one of around 20 contestants who had travelled to Bagley to compete in the 2020 Greater Midwest Livestock Auctioneer Championship. The contestants came not only from the Midwest, but also from far away (and warmer) states like Florida and Idaho. Blizzard-like conditions did not keep them away from the opportunity to show their skills and compete with their peers.

Cattle are big business in this area. This is evident at the Bagley Livestock exchange, owned by Joe Varner and Billy Bushelle. Here, west of Bagley, cattle are bought and sold at auctions held every Thursday as well as special sales events like the one held Saturday.

It takes many people to make the livestock auctions happen. Buyers come looking for cattle to purchase. Sellers come hoping for good prices on their cattle. Trucking firms are involved in hauling the livestock from the seller’s place to the auction barn and on the buyer’s land.

There is also paperwork to be dealt with for each sale. Edie Kilen and Diane Sherer work full-time Monday through Friday in the office at the Bagley Livestock Exchange.

And all of these people need to be fed. Linda Klinkhammer manages the busy kitchen at the Exchange. She offers a wide range of food, from roast beef dinners and hot beef sandwiches to chili and wild rice soup. 

The auctioneer plays an important role in this whole business. The sellers rely on the auctioneer to bring the best possible price for the cattle they brought that day. Buyers also want to be treated fairly. Both are relying on the auctioneer’s knowledge and ability to share important information about the cattle. The auctioneers’ skills at getting the crowd interested and involved in the sale are essential for bringing the best possible price. The auctioneer must also be able to scan the sales arena, looking for interested buyers as the price quickly increases. The auctioneers must do this all while calling out the bids and maintaining their individual version of the auctioneer’s high-speed chant.

The contest held at Bagley gave the auctioneers the opportunity to put their skills to the test. Janet Flateland Mueller coordinated the event. This is the third time she has organized a contest like this. In her role as coordinator, Janet had many responsibilities, including the purchase of jackets and other clothing for the contest. She also organized the catalog that listed this year’s contestants as well as past winners. On the day of the championship, she supervised the entire process of obtaining scores from the judges and recording these.

“One point can make a big difference,” Janet said, emphasizing the need for accuracy in totaling and recording the scores of each contestant. Mary Bjerga was the ticket collector, serving for the first time in this role. One of her duties was to collect the official judge’s score sheets from each judge when the contestant completed a round. Sisters Abigail Walton and Kiersten Walton were also first-time workers at this contest. Abigail tallied the score sheets and Kjersten entered the scores on the computer.

Tim Enderson, Jerry Reisch, Gordon Reisinger, Harold Stewart and Wayne Wilde were the judges for the auctioneer contest. Each judge has many years of experience in the various aspects of the cattle business. Tim Enderson, for example, lives near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He runs a feed business that caters to cattle producers and also buys and sells cattle. Enderson “has been around cattle and sale barns since he could walk.” Judge Wayne Wilde of Shevlin has been in the cattle business since 1975 and currently has over 500 head of Black Angus. Wilde was wearing “two hats” in Saturday’s event. Not only did he judge the auctioneers, he also brought cattle from his own herd to sell.

The auctioneers were judged across five categories, each having a maximum score of twenty points, for a total of 100 potential points. The qualities of the performances that were rated included skills such as proper use of the microphone, voice quality, clarity, and auctioneer chant, and bid catching. The contestants’ appearance, poise, and salesmanship were also evaluated. The auctioneers also needed to demonstrate their knowledge of livestock marketing.

The field of 19 who started in the auctioneer contest was narrowed down to ten finalists. These ten received belt buckles and went on to another round, working the crowd and selling more cattle.

Wade Leist of Boyne City, Michigan was named the 2020 Greater Midwest Livestock Auctioneer Champion. His contest sponsors were Northern Michigan Livestock and Frank Leist. As winner, Leist took away $1,500 and another belt buckle.

First runner-up of contest was Quest Flesner of Hannibal, Missouri. Flesner was sponsored by F+T Livestock Market and Al Dames. He received $1,000 in prize money along with an additional belt buckle.

Ed Leist, Wade’s brother, took the second runner-up prizes of $500 and a belt buckle. Ed Leist was sponsored by Northern Michigan Livestock, Rovenna Auction, Frank and Jan Leist, Randy Lettinga, and Vern Lettinga.

As to future competition opportunities, Janet Flateland Mueller said this: “All but the champion can enter the 2021 GMLAC which will be held in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. The champion will be invited to be the emcee for that event if he is able to make it.”

As the auctioneers took their turns selling, they expressed appreciation to both the buyers and the sellers. One auctioneer thanked the consigners for “putting good cattle in front of us”. Another added, “If it wasn’t for the buyers, we’d all be fruit salesmen.” They emphasized the good reputation of the cattle from this area. And in the end, these auctioneers sold over 3,000 head of cattle as they demonstrated their skills and helped promote a profession that is essential to the cattle business.