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Adele Uptmore, owner/manager of West Auction, is not shy about talking of the important role auctions play in marketing cattle.
By Lana Robinson
Field Editor
For well over a century, local livestock auctions have served as facilitators of commerce and capital in Texas communities. Texas is the leading cattle state in the nation with 13.8 million head or 15 percent of the total U.S. cattle inventory. According to state agriculture figures, cattle had a total economic impact of $14 billion on the state's economy in 2004.
"Most of the time the amount of business done here doubles the amount of business in the community, at least that's what my banker tells me," says Adele Uptmore, owner/manager of West Auction, Inc. going on 26 years. "This is money generated from the good earth, not generated from government that goes to another entity. That's what makes it double in respect to what it does for the community."
Uptmore says cattle auctions also make it possible for individuals and families to immediately convert a commodity to capital when needed. "At an auction market, this is the commodity you can get a check that is bonded in your hand 15 minutes after the animal sells and go to the bank with it. Where else can you do that?"
In addition to her love for cattle, Uptmore reveres the people who raise them. "They make their living from the good earth. That makes the people we work with genuine, sincere and hardworking. They may not have a whole lot of money in some instances, but they have quality values—the kind of values that make this world turn. That's what's great about being in this business," she says. Uptmore says the auction company's goal is to get their customers the best price possible for their livestock. "We try to get him the best market for the kind of cattle he has. Thigpen Cattle Company (Chilton), Capitol Land & Livestock Co. (Schwertner) and Ellison Carter (Santo)—those people come every week and leave $30,000, $40,000 or $80,000 every week, and you know their check is good," she says.
Proper handling of cattle is also a high priority at West Auction, Inc. "We don't use a lot of hotshots. We have five in the yard on sale day. We don't allow boys on the alley to have a hotshot. That's something I'm real big on. I'm also big on keeping things clean, and we do have a clean facilty," says Uptmore.
In a typical week, 1,100 or more cattle are run through the West Auction. Cowmen from about a 50 to 75 mile radius haul their cattle to be sold here. Alliances have been touted as the best way to get premiums for superior cattle.
In response, Uptmore insists, "The auction barn is the best alliance that ever happened. The packer buyers, order buying companies, and country buyers are three alliances that have always been at the auction barn, for 150 years."
According to Uptmore, order buyers from all over Texas and Oklahoma regularly attend and buy cattle at the West Auction. Cattle bought here go predominately to the Panhandle and throughout the Midwest."One of the great things about order buyers is they are very loyal to you once they start coming, once you've established a relationship. You have the kind of cattle they want, and they will be here on a regular basis. Thigpen came to our very first sale and has been coming for 25 years. Capitol Land & Cattle is another regular. Ronnie Austin out of Ringley, Oklahoma buys a truckload every week," she says. West Auction, Inc. employs 26 workers for their weekly auction. They come from all over Texas—ticket writers, weigh masters, and starters. People in the office only work on Thursday, which is the sale day. An additional six or seven students, high school and college, fill in and work the alley, says Uptmore.
The Uptmores work at educating local cattlemen on ways to improve their herds. West Auction, Inc. holds a number of Extension meetings onsite that focus on improvement of cattle. Messages are enclosed with mailed checks that keep their customers informed of industry developments. And a lot of the education is one on one."It's communication, really," says Uptmore.
"Sometimes, a local cattleman brings some cattle in that are not quite what the market is looking for, so you make suggestions. You sit down when you hand him his check and discuss what he has. Say, for instance, you ask what kind of bull he has and ask would it be possible for him to get a little better bull. You can improve the calf crop with that one animal. Ted (Adele's husband) is a great asset when it comes to that. He's pretty long winded. When someone keeps bringing the same kind of cattle, he might say, 'Hey I'll let you borrow this bull for a year and see what you come up with.' We've done that. In just about every instance, it has helped. You can buy a $1,200 bull. Let that customer borrow it, with the requirement that it has gained weight when it is returned, and let him bring his cows and see the difference in prices. You can usually sell him two bulls like it. He's the one who wants to improve because it hits him in the pocketbook. It's not hard to talk about. "
Auction celebrates 25 years
Uptmore recalls details of the acquisition of the sale barn 25 years ago with amusement.
"It was actually into a corporation, and the auction had failed three times. During the board meeting, they asked if anybody wanted to buy the place. My husband, Ted, held up his hand. He came home and told me. I said, `Have you lost your mind? We don't know anything about running a livestock auction.' He assured me that there were so many people with money, we wouldn't have to worry. Someone else would buy it because they just wanted the amount of the note that was held against it. They gave us a week. Nobody else came forward. Anyway, Ted's brother, financially, was very stable. He had commented that if some business came up in West, he'd be interested in partnering with Ted. I don't think Jim meant the auction barn. At the time, he was in Europe. He returned the day before we were to go to the bank. It was not an easy deal. They looked for somebody to run the place. Jim looked at me and said, `You're sensible. You can run it.' We really had no choice. It was 21 percent interest, or $2,250 a month. We had five children in school. We worked real hard and slowly turned it around. It was tough. We had some lean years. It's a good business."
Uptmore says as the mother of five, cleaning was something she knew how to do, but the value of cattle and how to market them was a difficult learning process.
"We had cattle of our own, but we were not in a situation where you had to watch the market every day. Suddenly, I had to watch the market every day, talk to customers every day, learn the kind of cattle they had, and pretty well tell them what kind ofmarket they had. And there's a difference in the market according to your cattle. There's a difference between a Longhorn and a number one black," she notes.
Today, Brian Uptmore, their son, tracks market activity, serves as auctioneer, and also runs the back of the barn.
"I'm 66. It's time to turn some of that over to someone else," his mother says. "Brian's very interested, and good at it, and loves it. He loves the people, and the cattle. He has cattle of his own, and has since he was 14, and now he's 36. The other boys help out, but Brian has taken over most reins."
A high note in Uptmore's auction experience occurred May 26, 2005, when proceeds generated at their sale day commemorating their 25th anniversary in the business hit a high of $1.3 million.
"We had 1,645 head that sold for $1.3 million for our customers. We had the circumstance of a very high market and quality cattle, a Brangus herd—several strings of calves, absolute number ones—that all came together at one time. We probably won't get that again, but what made it so great is that people were grinning with every check we handed out. They were getting that money, and looking around at others receiving their checks. All of our buyers were right there, absolutely trying to make it the best sale possible. We had 15 different order buyers and 16 packer buyers. They came up with the money to make it a success. It was a pleasure."
While serving as the 2004 president of the Texas chapter of the Livestock Marketing Association, Uptmore focused on promoting the positives about local livestock auctions. She notes that 55 percent of the cattle in Texas are sold through one of the 142 Lone Star auction markets.
"We collect the money that goes to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) for brand inspection. We collect the dollar per head promotion that goes to the Texas Beef Council, and we collect insurance money that goes to the insurance company," she reports.
Uptmore says recordkeeping at cattle auctions falls under the auspices of the federal government, which is a "good" thing, to make sure the money is there to cover checks given to customers.
At the state level, the Texas Animal Health Commission has an employee at the West Auction every Thursday, along with the TSCRA brand inspector.
"Information collected here goes into a database so the animal can be identified," she says.
Uptmore says just about every member of her family has some kind of connection, great or small, to the West sale barn.
"Our son, Tim, for example, is a general contractor who put the roof back on here when a tornado hit us in 2000. At one time, we all were working in here—some full-time, others part-time. We now even have three grandsons who work here. It's a family situation we take very seriously," she says.