To the Highest Bidder

For cattle ranchers, all the hard work means nothing if they can’t bring their product to market and get a decent price. That last step often takes them to the fast-paced world of cattle auctions, where thousands of animals are bought and sold in a single session. The auctioneers who keep it all moving are considered real craftsmen and competition among them is fierce. Two of the nation’s best can be found in the tiny town of Torrington, Wyoming.

It’s a language all its own. A rapid-fire transaction that may be almost nonsensical to some listeners.  But to these Wyoming cattle buyers and to brothers Shawn and Lex Madden, it’s the dialect of deals, the chatter of successful commerce. The Maddens run one of the biggest cattle auction houses in the west. Between them, they have nearly 70 years experience mastering a loose-tongued lingo that helps sell up to ten thousand cattle a day.

If you don’t have a decent tone and rhythm, and people can’t understand you, they’re going to shut you out and they’re not going to listen. — Lex Madden, Cattle Auctioneer

The Madden brothers began working for their father’s cattle auction business when both were teenagers. They honed their selling skills and eventually became sole owners of the Torrington Livestock Market. Each year they auction as many as 300,000 head of cattle, brought in by cattlemen from Wyoming and eight other states throughout the west and Midwest.

We represent the seller, but we kind of, on the same hand, represent the buyer, because you have to have a bond and you have to treat both sides equally. — Lex Madden

That fair-handed approach towards buyer and seller is one reason the Maddens operate one of the west’s biggest auctions. But they also bring an auctioneering acumen to some very fast-paced proceedings. 

You see, both Lex and Shawn are winners of what’s considered the World Series of cattle auctioneering. Each year dozens of North America’s top talkers are invited to this event. Lex won it all in 1998 and his brother Shawn three years later.

They will judge you on appearance, voice clarity and quality, how you move the sale along, would you hire this auctioneer, bid-taking ability. — Lex Madden

People said "so you’re the world’s best auctioneer". I said I’m not even the best in my family. You know, I could get by, but the truth is, I mean, Lex is pretty sharp. He’s real talented. — Shawn Madden, Cattle Auctioneer

Besides speed and clarity, the Maddens say another essential auctioneering skill is knowing the cattle market moment by moment.  Some top breeds can fetch $1500 a head and the sellers count on the auctioneer to get them top penny.

The entire auction process reminds you of an assembly line. Cattle come off the trucks into specially marked pens. They pass through a quick series of metal doors into the auction arena. The auctioneers have to keep a sharp eye out for even the most subtle bid — a twitch of a sale card, a nod of the head. If you’re in the audience stay very still, or you may end up buying something.

An entire transaction often takes less than fifteen seconds. The animals are whisked out of the arena and back into holding pens to await transport. It’s up to cowboys and cowgirls like Cathy Kay to move them doggies quickly. It’s fast-paced, sometimes risky work since some cows get a little wild.

These auctioneers sometimes go for two or three hours without a break. The biggest challenges are fatigue and the occasional sore throat or head cold. 

And just like the rest of life, the cattle auction is going high tech with satellite TV and live internet auctions bringing in buyers from far away. But no matter how modern it all becomes, the Maddens say the most basic business practices won't change. They say the best people on earth are the ones in agriculture.They conduct business with a handshake. Their word is their bond.

Additional information:
For more about the ins-and-out of cattle auctions, check out the Torrington Livestock Market at www.torringtonlive.com  or give them a call at (307)532-3333.

If you'd like to see world champion auctioneers in action, go to the website for the Livestock Marketing Association at www.lmaweb.com The toll free number is (800)821-2048. 

Finally, to see all that Wyoming has to offer, visit
www.wyomingtourism.org