What it Takes to be World’s Livestock Auctioneer Champ
For Wade Leist, it’s more than a fast cadence that draws and enthralls buyers.
by Jennifer Kiel, Editor, Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer
*Reprinted with Permission
At a Glance
- Wade Leist didn’t set out to be an auctioneer.
- More than 100 auctioneers competed from across the U.S. and Canada.
- Selling his own stock was one of Leist’s most challenging auctions.
As a youngster, Wade Leist would help at his parents’ auction at Northern Michigan Livestock in Gaylord, Mich., but he never thought he could be an auctioneer.
His father was an experienced auctioneer, but “I was pretty sure I didn’t want to be an auctioneer; it wasn’t on my radar,” says Leist, 44, who notes he looked at it as more of a gift rather than a skill.
It wasn’t until a truck ride conversation with older brother Ed that he considered it. “He told me he had an auction instruction tape and was going to try it,” he says. “I wondered if I could. If he can try it, and he doesn’t know how to do it, then I guess it is a learned skill, an acquired skill, and not a born skill. That’s when I figured, I’ll try to learn it too.”
It’s not just a rolling, fast cadence that draws and enthralls buyers at livestock auctions. It takes communication, confidence, attention to detail and familiarity with the animals on auction, says Leist, of Boyne City, Mich., who was named the Livestock Marketing Association’s World Livestock Auctioneer Champ.
The competition started with three preliminary qualifiers around the U.S. with more than 100 auctioneers competing from across the U.S. and Canada. Leist earned the title after winning the Torrington, Wyo., qualifier last fall, and then edging out 29 other semifinalists in Oklahoma City from June 12-15, participating in an interview competition and then selling on the block at the Oklahoma National Stockyards.
Leist’s path to world title
Leist’s father wanted to be an auctioneer at a very early age. “Matter of fact, he used to steal his sister’s lunch box and auction it off on the school bus,” Leist says. “But that wasn’t the path I was on at that time.”
He started out of high school with the sole plan to be a professional baseball player. “I did not have a plan B,” he says. “It was like, that’s what I’m going to do and if I have a plan B, I won’t put 100% into this.”
In college, he picked business as his major, but quickly found it wasn’t for him. He dropped out, got a criminal justice certification and started working at local law enforcement agencies while helping on the farm.
Both he and Ed, who is also an accomplished auctioneer, followed in their father’s path by attending auction school and completing it in 2004. While serving in law enforcement, Leist began building his auction skills and reputation. By 2018, he became a full-time auctioneer.
What makes a good auctioneer?
Leist says being a good auctioneer requires:
- Knowing the product value and how to merchandise the item.
- Being a good and clear communicator, while keeping the audience interested.
- Varying the cadence.
- Having a pleasant demeanor that is generally likable.
- Having respect for and appreciation of the producer and the time devoted to raising the animal.
- A sense of business that commands respect from all parties.
“There’s definitely an element of business with a sale, a contract and a transaction,” Leist says. “But intertwined, there is some room for some lightheartedness and humor, but if you swing the pendulum too far that way, it becomes quite annoying.”
He regularly sells at Mitchell Livestock Marketing in Mitchell, S.D., flying out on Tuesday night, selling Wednesday and Thursday, and flying back that night. He also sells at United Producers Inc., St. Louis, Mich., at Gaylord, and a few other seasonal auctions.
He sells cattle, but when he’s occasionally at the Gaylord stockyard, he might be selling sheep, goats, pigs, horses and all classes of cattle.
Being effective as an auctioneer requires work. “If you are not working on something, then you’re getting worse at it,” Leist says. “I truly think the best skill an auctioneer can have is the desire and the ability to strive to get better until they’re not doing it anymore.”
Selling his own stock
Etched in Leist’s memory is a Gaylord auction in September 2022 — a dispersal of his own animals. He inherited a horse leasing operation — supplying camps with horse riding programs — when his grandfather passed away.
“We sold 100 of our leased-out horses that day,” he recalls. “It was the most challenging, one of the most rewarding, fun and saddest auctions I’ve done. The build-up to that day was agonizing. I had to choke back tears, but then there were times when I was smiling because it was going really well. And then there was this overwhelming feeling of gratitude and satisfaction.”
It’s a feeling he relates to producers. He knows firsthand.
“I grew up in a cow-calf operation working for my father and my grandfather,” Leist says. “I know what it’s like to wake up at midnight to care for cows calving. I know what it’s like to have a cow chase you out of the pen while you’re trying to tag her calf. Or, to be out in the field tending to a sick calf when it’s literally 20 degrees below zero and a 40-mile-an-hour wind blowing. And I also know how it feels not to be appreciated. I want producers to know that I appreciate their trust in me, and I value what they do. I thank them for what they do, and I truly care about their success. That’s what I want them to walk out knowing.”Being named the World Livestock Auctioneer Champ also comes with some emotions. “There’s elation, relief, anxiety, joy and surprise, and ultimately, honor and humility,” he says. “I have such a deep admiration for the other contestants and how hard they work and how talented they are. To be the one chosen is so humbling.”
Leist to travel U.S.
As the new champion, Leist, who is also husband to Sarah and father to four daughters, will spend the next year traveling the country, sharing his auctioneering skills with other livestock auction markets and acting as a spokesperson on behalf of the association and the livestock marketing industry. It’s something he looks forward to — and a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly.
“To have auction market owners invite me to come and represent them means a tremendous amount to me,” he says. “Competition is the best way to determine value, and auction markets provide that in a face-to-face business with the closest relationship with producers of any other method of marketing.”
