Springdale Sale Barn Thrives

Harold Sargent is a reluctant legend.

The principal owner and manager of Springdale’s Farmer’s Livestock Auction Inc., Sargent has had an ownership in the business since 1967 and controlling interest since 1977. He and two other partners, Ken Eddleman and Josh Lockhart, draw cattle from as far south as Russellville and even Oklahoma and Missouri.

On sale day every Friday, Sargent can be found perched above the sale ring “setting cattle” (setting the starting bid price) for the hundreds of individual farmers and commercial buyers on hand. There are several competitors within a 140-mile radius — Fayetteville, Siloam Springs, Decatur, Ozark, Fort Smith, Green Forest, Harrison, Marshall, Stillwell, Okla., and Joplin, Mo. — but the Springdale Sale Barn has still become the largest weekly livestock sale in Arkansas.

Strong cattle prices this year have brought 45-50 cents per pound on slaughter cows and 55-60 cents per pound for bulls. That means the average cow is selling for $600-$700 and the average bull is a little more. Some 400-pound calves have brought as much as $1.35 per pound. The firm’s average customer sells 10 to 20 head per year through its auctions.

Lockhart said at the company’s big sales, it will run more than $1 million worth of cattle on a Friday. Farmer’s Livestock, which employs about 55 people, gets 3.5 percent of the gross.

Cattlemen like Tim Selleck, who was recently checking in a trailer of cows from his own 270-acre operation in Gentry, said the reason farmers flock to Springdale is simple.

“I’ve always gotten a fair deal here,” Selleck said. “I’ve had better luck here than any other place. Harold and them are always right with me. Everybody knows they’re real fair.”

Sargent said urban growth in Northwest Arkansas has pressured the cattle market by putting a lot of farmers out of business. Many have sold their farms to move out west or quit raising cattle completely. That, he says, has a lot to do with the sale’s expanded geographic reach.

The Fayetteville and Siloam Springs sale barns both run their sales on Thursdays, said Washington County Livestock Co. Owner Billy Joe Bartholomew, and that has slowed business some in Fayetteville. Bartholomew’s sale averages about 200-300 head less per week than Springdale.

“We’re doing pretty good, but if the numbers ever fall real far off then we’ve had it,” Bartholomew said. “That’s just because of where costs have gone and how much land here is now covered in houses and airports and things. The next decade will be tough.”

But both Lockhart and Eddleman said the main reason Springdale continues to attract big crowds is because of its focus on individual farmers. They agreed Sargent’s commitment to get farmers the most for their animals has made their sale the dynamo it is.

“I like for them to come and feel like they can get top dollar for their livestock here,” Sargent said. “We treat ’em all the same whether they’re selling one or 100.”