Local Sale Barn Continues to Move Economy Forward

BROKEN BOW—When driving through the Sandhills it can be easy to forget that there are approximately 90,000 more cows than people living in our area. Custer County ranks second as a top beef cow county in the United States, with nearly 100,000 cows residing. And those cows serve as the basis for a $12.1 billion impact to the Nebraska economy, according to the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources beef site. The Nebraska Beef Council reports agriculture as the number one industry in Nebraska with cattle production representing the largest segment of the industry. Local sale barns contribute to that $12.1 billion by bringing in buyers and sellers from the surrounding areas. Broken Bow Livestock owner Wendell Brott says a given sale can often bring 600 people to town, who will likely buy and sell their livestock, stay overnight, shop, dine, and fuel their cars while visiting. “We’re drawing cattle from a 150 mile radius, clear from the Sandhills to the Platte Valley, to east and west,” Brott said. Originally from the Ogallala area, Brott and his wife Kathy have more than 30 years of livestock experience. They have managed the Broken Bow sale barn for the last five years. “It’s a good community, lot of good cattle up here, we enjoy what we do that’s why we’re here,” Brott said. Kenzie Ryan works as a clerk at the sale barn in Broken Bow assisting the auctioneer by weighing cattle and corresponding with office staff. When asked about the economic impact of the sale barn in the local community, Ryan said it helps out buyers and sellers beyond the borders of Custer County. “We really need the sale barn because we draw from such a large area. You’ve got your Stapleton people, you know, where else are they going to go? They’ve either got to go North Platte or clear to Valentine. And you know, we have a really large area that we service, take care of,” Ryan said. According to an article published by Grit.com, the Livestock Marketing Association reported that approximately 1,000 livestock auction barns were in operation throughout the United States as of 2009. Broken Bow Livestock was established in 1991 and a typical sale sees nearly 1,000 cows, feed cattle, grass calves, steers, or bulls. Recently, the sale barn saw one of its largest sales with nearly 5,000 cows. “I think it’s tremendous for the city to have this kind of traffic. Any town I think cherishes their sale barn,” Brott said.