After three preliminary qualifiers around the US with over 100 auctioneers competing from across the US and Canada- the thirty best traveled to Oklahoma City this week to compete in the 2024 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship at the Oklahoma National Stockyards. The thirty semifinalists were narrowed to ten finalists on Saturday afternoon- and Wade Leist, Boyne City, Michigan heard his name called Saturday night at the awards banquet. Wade will spend the next year driving the custom-wrapped World Livestock Auctioneer Championship pickup all over the country to showcase his auctioneering talents and promote the livestock industry.
At the banquet, Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays got the first media interview with the new champion- and Leist says he was shocked to hear his name called- “You look around the room- you see thirty guys who could win it- you know there is only ten in the running at that point- the reserve and runner up have been named- you keep looking around and think which of these other 8 are going to win it-I guess I was the last one that I really thought would so it feels good.”
Leist adds that the passion to be an auctioneer and sell cattle for a living is about helping cattle producers succeed financially- saying that is based on growing up on a small cow calf operation- “I know what it’s like to look at cows at midnight and check cows at 4 am and I know what it’s like to try to nurse a calf back on a heifer that is not accepting it- and I want them to get paid for that work and to be appreciated for that work and I want them to get the best possible price through a competitive market- that’s why I love what I do.” Listen to Hays and Leist by clicking on the listen button below:
Leist was sponsored by Mitchell Livestock Marketing of Mitchell, South Dakota; Northern Michigan Livestock of Gaylord, Michigan(Owned by his family) and United Producers of St. Louis, Michigan.
Also being honored on Saturday night by the LMA- Reserve Champion Dakota Davis, Waukomis, Oklahoma; Runner-Up Dean Edge, Rimbey, Alberta, Canada; High Score Rookie Jace Thompson, Billings, Montana; and High Score Interview Barrett Simon, Rosalia, Kansas.
Hays talked with Dakota Davis after he had learned he had made the finals in Oklahoma City- listen to their conversation here:
The awards banquet concluded the 2024 annual meeting of the Livestock Marketing Association- they will meet in Omaha, Nebraska for the 2025 convention next June.
