Fire Destroys Arkansas Sale Barn, Devastating Local Producers and Economy

A north central Arkansas sale barn suffered a devastating fire last week, affecting many producers in the area as well as the local economy.

The blaze is believed to have started in the kitchen of the Wilf's Cleburne County Livestock Auction in Heber Springs, Ark., according to local reports.

Blake Wilf, the barn’s co-owner, told a local news source, it was all hands on deck moving the cattle out of the area as quickly as possible, transporting the cattle to the sale barn in Clinton, Ark. After a few hours of cooling off and some water, the cattle began selling later that day, Wilf says.
 

Meanwhile, when Brian Harris, Cleburne County Farm Bureau president and local producer, received calls from his father who had seen smoke rolling out of the building, two thoughts came to mind.

“Our first thought was, ‘I hope everybody got out okay,’ which they did, which was great,” says Harris. “The second thought was, ‘where are we going to go from here?’ because that’s our local barn we’ve utilized in this area for four generations.”

For many local producers, the sale barn was both convenient and cost effective. 

“That barn was a little smaller, so you didn’t have the shrink, and those cattle didn’t sit there as long as some at the barns that are a little bit bigger,” notes Scott Wingert of Wingert Cattle from Rose Bud, Ark.

Wingert adds, at the end of the day, shrink is simply money out of your pocket.

As a result of the fire, producers are now forced to look at other cattle marketing options. For most producers in the area, this means more miles of travel and more shrink.

“[Shrink] can be significant,” explains Harris. “I mean, it can be as much as 30 to 40 to 50 pounds on some of those calves. Especially this time of year in the heat, the more you stress [cattle], the more shrink they’re going to have.”

Longer distances to the nearest barn also may mean the cattle are delivered a day or two prior to the day of the sale, with extra transportation costs also a factor.

Harris notes, with cattle bringing premium prices, the losses are even more substantial. Figuring 50 pounds lost in shrink, hundreds of dollars are left on the table.

Not only a hit to local producers, the local economy may also experience challenges in the months ahead.

“That barn had just changed owners here recently, and they’d done such a wonderful job with the transition,” Harris adds. 

While increasing buyers to the sales, the new owners had recently reopened the sale barn restaurant, Cattleman’s Steak House, on a regular basis, Harris notes.

“It’s just a blow to our economy here in this area,” Harris explains. “Businesses are hard these days. It was really nice to see that going on.”

Wilf told a local news source that they are hoping to build back, as long as people are willing to work with them. In the meantime, a temporary sale location may be an option, Wilf adds.