News Detail
Crawfords bid farewell to
Clarinda Livestock Auction
11/19/2008 2:07:57 PM
CLARINDA LIVESTOCK AUCTION, located next to the Page County Fairgrounds has been a valuable part of the Clarinda agribusiness community for the past 61 years. The business will be sold at auction on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
By KENT DINNEBIER
Clarinda Herald-Journal
George and John Crawford are following some valuable advice they received from their father as children.
The two brothers have announced that on Wednesday, Nov. 26, they will be selling Clarinda Livestock Auction during an absolute auction.
"Our father always used to tell us when we were kids, 'Never make a decision too quickly but once you make a decision never look back.' This has been a hard decision for us, but we're excited to see new buyers take it to a higher level," George Crawford said.
Crawford explained the decision to sell the business, which has been owned by the Crawford family since 1947, was made for health reasons and other family business interests.
Clark Crawford purchased the sale barn from the city of Clarinda and the property on which it sits from the Clarinda Park Board in 1947.
Clarinda Livestock Auction is located at 1208 East Garfield St. near the Page County Fairgrounds in the southeast section of Clarinda. Since Clark Crawford first purchased the property, George Crawford said the business has had a good working relationship with the Page County Fair Board.
"We have had a close relationship with the Page County Fair Board. A lot of the people on the Fair Board actually do business with us and we let them utilize our facilities during fair week," George Crawford said.
After purchasing the barn and property, Clark Crawford sold the business to his father, George Sr., and a Mr. Taylor. However, a few years later Clark Crawford bought out Taylor and ran the business with his father from the 1950s until 1982 when George and John Crawford purchased their grandfathers interest in the business.
"When my brother and I bought into the barn, the business involved our late father, our late grandfather and our fathers' brothers Dale and Wade," George Crawford said.
Over the past decade another generation of the Crawford family has become actively involved in the operation of Clarinda Livestock Auction as John's son, Clark, named in honor of his grandfather, served as Barn Manager.
"His hard work and assistance has been invaluable to the operation of the barn over the last 10 years," George Crawford said.
Meanwhile, Paulette Parrott has served as the Office Manager for Clarinda Livestock Auction for 19 years and Gary Rupiper and John Shuler have served as the livestock auctioneers for many years. Sis Woods has also been an important part of the team at Clarinda Livestock Auction for a number of years as the manager of the cafe at the barn.
"I am going to miss the people we've worked with over the years. The cattlemen are a wonderful group of people," Crawford said.
Clarinda Livestock Auction holds community sales on Tuesdays and special sales on Thursdays. Over the past five years, an average of over 20,000 head of cattle has passed through the sale barn.
"Some of the bigger sales we've had over the years have been pretty stressful, but it's wonderful when you finish one and realize everything worked," Crawford said.
Soon after George and John Crawford bought into Clarinda Livestock Auction they were confronted with the Farm Crisis of the 1980s.
Although cattle prices are currently down, George Crawford said he expects the industry to rebound with higher prices once the United States economy begins an upswing.
"Prices relate more to overall economic conditions than just agricultural conditions now. Cattle numbers used to impact pricing, but now the driving factors are overall demand and the overall economic situation. Third world countries are demanding more and more protein and with millions of mouths to feed, we feel the outlook
for American cattle producers is outstanding," Crawford explained.
In preparation for the sale of Clarinda Livestock Auction on Nov. 26, Crawford recently asked the Clarinda City Council to endorse the continued operation of the business within the city limits.
"I was very happy the City Council wants the sale barn to be a part of agribusiness community in Clarinda in the future. I see this as a beginning, not an ending," Crawford said.
With a strong understanding of auctions, Crawford said the family trusts that process to handle the absolute sale of the business and bring in a new operation by the first of the year.
"This was a very difficult decision for us, but we are excited to see who the new buyer ends up being and we feel that buyer will serve the fine agricultural community of Clarinda well. We are also going to do everything we can to facilitate the buyer and make sure they have a fine operation," Crawford concluded.
