Agricultural News
World Livestock Auctioneer Champion Bailey Ballou Believes Auctioning of Cattle to Remain Relevant- In the Field Video
Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:46:08 CDT
Oklahoma National Stockyards auctioneer Bailey Ballou has begun his year-long reign as the newly-crowned World Livestock Auctioneer Champion. Ron Hays recently spoke with him about the competition, the livestock auction industry, and being a spokesman. We have an audio interview with Hays and Ballou that you can listen to by clicking on the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of this story- and click on the PLAY button in the video box to see the Ron Hays In the Field Conversation with Bailey Ballou. (rest of our story about Ballou is under the video box)
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Even though Ballou hasn't been in the auction business very long, he has already made a big impact.
"I actually started selling livestock on '04 and '05. I got my first job with Waurika Livestock. They put me in the block and let me start selling cows. And I just kind of developed from there. I got a few jobs from there, but as far as auctioneering goes I went to auctioneer school in 2003 and really didn't get started in it until '04."
In his job at the stockyards, Ballou constantly hones his skills, seeing a huge number of cattle week in and week out.
"We see a big run of numbers and that's just your natural flow of cattle coming from the south and from the east going to the north and the west. And being in Oklahoma City and located on I-40 and I-35, we're right in the hub. So we catch a lot of cattle that are just traveling that way. And this is big-time cattle country that we're living in the heart of. So it's just natural for us to see the big numbers we see where we're at."
Ballou says one of the best things about the livestock marketing business is the people you meet and the connections you make. He says his job at the stockyards came primarily through the connections he's made over the years.
"Honestly, it probably came through the contest. I competed in 2010 when the Oklahoma National Stockyards hosted it. And was just kind of noticed there by a few of the guys who own the commission company and was probably picked up through there. And one of the house auctioneers that was there at the time actually worked with him in Waurika when I first got started. So he kind of also gave me the invite and helped me get in the door.
"What's really good about the contest is the social network it builds for you. It's also a business network. We can get to be friends with some of the guys, some of the competitors and you get phone numbers and stay in touch, but we make some business relationships, but it's also social as well."
The national championship pits the eight best auctioneers from each region of the U.S. and the Canadian champion in head-to-head competition. Ballou says each and every one of them knows how to sell cattle and how to do it well. What separates the winner from the losers, he believes, is the interview portion of the contest.
" There's 33 outstanding, world-class auctioneers when we get there. The interview process is something they really put an emphasis on in the last, probably, four to five years. They send you across the country for a year as you reign as the world champion and you're kind of asked to be a spokesman for the livestock marketing industry and also the livestock industry itself. So being able to articulate yourself and speak before groups or even livestock markets if you're asked to travel there is very important. So that interview process is very, very crucial."
As the new national champion, Ballou said he really loves to speak about the cattle industry and he's glad to be called on as a spokesman at this time.
"One big thing for me is anytime we're given the opportunity to put a positive light on our industry, I want to do that. Our industry is facing some battles right now in the public eye as far as livestock handling goes and I would like to put a positive message out there every chance I'm given.
"I think we have some common ground with the folks who are against us in the fact that we care about the livestock. That's what they care about. That's what we care about. We put our due diligence in to care for our livestock and I think if we can find that common ground, that's really important."
He said there's another issue he likes to speak about and it is even more important than the first.
"Just being in these livestock markets, the average age of the people you see working in there is probably 55 to 60 years old. I would really like to express to some of these folks to recruit their kids and their generations back to the farm and back to our industry.
"We've been preached at for so long, you know, I've heard it all my life, 'Go get an education and don't break your back, OK?. Go to school and go get you a job where you don't have to work hard.' And I agree, 100 percent. I want everyone to get an education. I think that's crucial. But, at the same time, I think there's some things worth breaking your back for. And this industry, this way of life, is one of them. I would really like to push, as I travel around, that kids come back home and carry this tradition on."
You can listen to Ron Hays' interview with Baily Ballou by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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