Superior Livestock Auction shares how it’s grown, and how producers benefit

Oct 7, 2008 11:53 AM

By Kindra Gordon

For most beef producers, Superior Livestock Auction needs no introduction. Since it’s beginnings in 1987, the company has built a stellar reputation as a premier video auction – and their numbers speak for their success. In 2007, Superior marketed just over 1.8 million head of cattle originating from 38 states to buyers in 26 states – representing $1.5 billion in sales.

How has the company gone from a start-up to star power in just two decades? Here’s a quick review at Superior’s history, newest ownership, and their outlook for the future.

Superior’s Start
In the mid-80’s, the idea of video auctions was still fairly unconventional. But, Jim Odle, owner of Odle Auctions, a video auction company in Brush, Colorado, and Buddy Jeffers, the owner of Amarillo Livestock Auction, and Amarillo Video Auction, had both been conducting video auctions with some success on a regional basis.

To take the concept to the next level, the duo merged their companies to create Superior Livestock Auction and a national cattle market for buyers and sellers. Up to this point, the auctions were not broadcast on satellite. Instead, cattle were videotaped on the ranch and then shown on closed-circuit TV in hotel ballrooms. Buyers had to travel to the sale site to bid.

So in January 1987, Odle and Jeffers gave broadcasting on the satellite a shot during their first auction at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. Over 87% of the cattle were sold over the telephone via C-B and satellite, even though some of the largest cattle buyers in the U.S. were present in the audience. That set the future for Superior and a new marketing tool for the livestock industry.

Buyers could now sit in the convenience of their homes or offices to view, evaluate and make selections from cattle across the county. Sellers benefit from the fact that their cattle are videotaped in their natural environment and don’t move until the delivery date.

In the years that followed, Superior made several new additions: In 1989, John McKinley, who grew up working with his father in the McKinley-Winters Livestock Auction in Dodge City, KS, purchased an interest in Superior Livestock. In 1994, Superior introduced one of the beef industry’s first national preconditioning health programs. In 2002 Superior Livestock Auction teamed up with RFD-TV on the digital dish.

Additionally, Superior has expanded its marketing reach with the Internet and a video production company. Presently, along with it’s successful national satellite calf sales Superior includes:

Superior Stampede, an Internet-based auction headquarterd in Visalia, CA, and offering bimonthly auctions online on opposite weeks of Superior satellite auctions.

Likewise the “Country Page” on the Superior Livestock Auction website allows for selling cattle daily via private treaty.

The final component of the company is Superior Productions, which specializes in video sales and promotion for the seedstock cattle and horse sector. The production company also produces several entertaining and educational shows broadcast on RFD-TV, including American Rancher, 20X, and TV Horse Source. Several new pilots are also being planned including the possibility of a show with Red Steagall.

“All of these things have increased the presence of Superior Livestock Auction in the marketplace and have enabled this company to market cattle on a daily or weekly basis,” says Richard Stober, who presently serves as general manager of the company.

Stober has been involved with the livestock industry for decades. He’s known Jim Odle since 1975. And, he’s worked with Dwight and Helen Mebane for the past 18 years. The Mebanes – who are California ranchers and feeders, as well as operate the Western Stockman’s Market at Famoso in McFarland, CA – purchased Superior Livestock Auction in the fall of 2007, which is beginning a new chapter in Superior’s history.

Continued Innovation
Today, the company has 45 employees with offices in Fort Worth, TX, and Brush, CO. Across the country there are 400 Superior representatives who work with buyers and sellers. So what’s ahead for this already successful business? Western Cowman visited with Stober to get the company’s pulse on the future.

When asked what factors have contributed to Superior’s success, Stober lists three key components – innovation in animal health programs, adding value, and being aggressive about adding buyers to the company’s base. He says, “Our programs are available to 50 million homes – that’s a lot of potential.”

Likewise, he says Superior has focused on building a respected reputation in their business dealings. Stober says, “There is buyer and seller confidence in marketing through Superior. Both parties know we are a company that follows-through on doing things the way we say it is going to be (i.e. health protocols, genetics, delivery, etc.). That’s key.”

In regard to the new ownership transition over the past year and a half, Stober also emphasizes that the Mebanes are committed to keeping Superior’s reputation at the same high level. Stober says, “We are continuing to work to improve information technology, but the management protocols, business practices, and relationships with representatives are the same.”

Stober says Superior’s success is also reflected in its long employee history – many of the company’s staff have been on board for 10-20 years.

In looking forward, Stober says Superior will continue to strive to be innovative in offering programs that add value for the buyer and seller. He says, “I say if you add value for the buyer, they will pay for it.”

As an example, Stober says in visiting with feedlots he often finds that the biggest concern isn’t corn or diesel – it is labor. Thus, Stober says, “Anything you can do to lessen the labor requirements on the cattle they buy and how they buy those cattle is a big advantage for them – which ends up delivering a better price for the seller.”

Specifically, Stober believes better health and verification protocols are an important value added tool. He says, “My advice to producers is to add as many incentives as you possibly can, so your buyer base grows. These value added programs have a minimal cost with a great return.”

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