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Wade Leist didn\u2019t set out to be\u00a0an auctioneer.<\/li>\n
More than 100 auctioneers\u00a0competed from across the U.S.\u00a0and Canada.<\/li>\n
Selling his own stock was one of\u00a0Leist\u2019s most challenging\u00a0auctions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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As a youngster, Wade Leist would help at his parents\u2019 auction at Northern Michigan Livestock in Gaylord, Mich., but he never thought he could be an auctioneer.<\/div>\n
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His father was an experienced auctioneer, but \u201cI was pretty sure I didn\u2019t want to be an auctioneer; it wasn\u2019t on my radar,\u201d says Leist, 44, who notes he looked at it as more of a gift rather than a skill.<\/div>\n
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It wasn\u2019t until a truck ride conversation with older brother Ed that he considered it. \u201cHe told me he had an auction instruction tape and was going to try it,\u201d he says. \u201cI wondered if I could. If he can try it, and he doesn\u2019t know how to do it, then I guess it is a learned skill, an acquired skill, and not a born skill. That\u2019s when I figured, I\u2019ll try to learn it too.\u201d<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s 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\u2019s World Livestock Auctioneer Champ.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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Leist\u2019s path to world title $\"\"$ <\/span><\/h2>\n
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Leist\u2019s father wanted to be an auctioneer at a very early age. \u201cMatter of fact, he used to steal his sister\u2019s lunch box and auction it off on the school bus,\u201d Leist says. \u201cBut that wasn\u2019t the path I was on at that time.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He started out of high school with the sole plan to be a professional baseball player. \u201cI did not have a plan B,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was like, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do and if I have a plan B, I won\u2019t put 100% into this.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In college, he picked business as his major, but quickly found it wasn\u2019t for him. He dropped out, got a criminal justice certification and started working at local law enforcement agencies while helping on the farm.<\/div>\n
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Both he and Ed, who is also an accomplished auctioneer, followed in their father\u2019s 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.<\/div>\n
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What makes a good auctioneer?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Leist says being a good auctioneer requires:<\/div>\n
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Knowing the product value and how to merchandise the item.<\/li>\n
Being a good and clear communicator, while keeping the audience interested.<\/li>\n
Varying the cadence.<\/li>\n
Having a pleasant demeanor that is generally likable.<\/li>\n
Having respect for and appreciation of the producer and the time devoted to raising the animal.<\/li>\n
A sense of business that commands respect from all parties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s definitely an element of business with a sale, a contract and a transaction,\u201d Leist says. \u201cBut intertwined, there is some room for some lightheartedness and humor, but if you swing the pendulum too far that way, it becomes quite annoying.\u201d<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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He sells cattle, but when he\u2019s occasionally at the Gaylord stockyard, he might be selling sheep, goats, pigs, horses and all classes of cattle.<\/div>\n
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Being effective as an auctioneer requires work. \u201cIf you are not working on something, then you\u2019re getting worse at it,\u201d Leist says. \u201cI truly think the best skill an auctioneer can have is the desire and the ability to strive to get better until they\u2019re not doing it anymore.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Selling his own stock<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Etched in Leist\u2019s memory is a Gaylord auction in September 2022 \u2014 a dispersal of his own animals. He inherited a horse leasing operation \u2014 supplying camps with horse riding programs \u2014 when his grandfather passed away.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe sold 100 of our leased-out horses that day,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was the most challenging, one of the most rewarding, fun and saddest auctions I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s a feeling he relates to producers. He knows firsthand.<\/div>\n
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$\"\"$ \u201cI grew up in a cow-calf operation working for my father and my grandfather,\u201d Leist says. \u201cI know what it\u2019s like to wake up at midnight to care for cows calving. I know what it\u2019s like to have a cow chase you out of the pen while you\u2019re trying to tag her calf. Or, to be out in the field tending to a sick calf when it\u2019s 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\u2019s what I want them to walk out knowing.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Being named the World Livestock Auctioneer Champ also comes with some emotions. \u201cThere\u2019s elation, relief, anxiety, joy and surprise, and ultimately, honor and humility,\u201d he says. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Leist to travel U.S.<\/span><\/h2>\n
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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\u2019s something he looks forward to \u2014 and a responsibility he doesn\u2019t take lightly.<\/div>\n
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\u201cTo have auction market owners invite me to come and represent them means a tremendous amount to me,\u201d he says. \u201cCompetition 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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What it Takes to be World\u2019s Livestock Auctioneer Champ\nFor Wade Leist, it\u2019s more than a fast cadence that draws and enthralls buyers.<\/h2>\n

What it Takes to be World\u2019s Livestock Auctioneer Champ
\nFor Wade Leist, it\u2019s more than a fast cadence that draws and enthralls buyers.<\/h2>\n