Profiles: An Auctioneer's Calling

Kyle Shobe: World Livestock Auctioneer Champion

As a youngster, Kyle Shobe would play behind the auction block while his dad auctioneered cattle at the weekly cattle sale in Lewistown, Mont. One day, when his dad needed a break, he sat six-year-old Kyle on top of a stack of phone books in the auctioneer chair, angled the mic just right and instructed him to "start ’em and I’ll be back in a second."

Recently, the 28-year-old University of Wyoming graduate completed his year as the 2010 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion for the Livestock Marketing Association. Shobe has used the skills that he learned inside the cattle ring to speak to government leaders, livestock producers and consumers across the country about the impact that live auction markets have on local and state economies.

As food production continues to be scrutinized from every angle, livestock markets have a growing responsibility to educate producers about national livestock issues, network with neighboring businesses about livestock industry activities and be open to questions from
consumers about the animals that pass through the sale ring.

A productive animal agriculture industry—witnessed by the thousands and even millions of dollars that are transacted during each and every sale across the country—is important to the vibrance of rural economies. The auctioneer’s chant, while a cherished part of our agriculture history, is also crucial to true price discovery in our market system.