CREIGHTON — A vision that began in the 1940s continues to draw farmers and ranchers to the community today.
The Creighton Livestock Market is in the midst of its 83rd year of operation. The sale barn at 1103 Peabody St. sells between 75,000 and 80,000 head of cattle annually to area farmers and ranchers.
The cattle market began in 1942 when a few businessmen on the town’s main street got together and sold stock to create a market. Since several surrounding communities already had markets, these men wanted to keep the farmers’ businesses in the community.
Harry Reese was hired to manage the market, which opened on August 1, 1942. The Reese family acquired ownership of the market and operated it until the late 1950s.
Longtime auctioneer Keith Saathoff just celebrated his 57th year with Creighton Livestock in December. He worked on his first sale in December 1966.
“I tell everyone I can retire, but I don’t have a hobby,” Saatoff said. “This is my hobby. I have been going to meet the people in the countryside for 50 years. I made some good friendships during that time.”
When Saathoff started, there were 93 markets in the state of Nebraska. Now there are fewer than 40. Creighton Livestock has the distinction of being one of the top 10 markets in the state in cattle sales.
“We have an impact of over $50 million,” he said. “There are many individuals for whom (they) process their annual income. If they have a strictly cow-calf operation or a yearling, that may be their only source of income for the year. We’re bringing a lot of people to town.”
Saathoff once owned the market. In recent years, ownership has passed to the next generation. The market is now owned by Joel Kum of Osmond and Ryan Siecke of Creighton.
“Essentially, many of us who grew up on the farm were told there was no money in farming,” Saatoff said. “I worry about who will farm this whole country some day later. There aren’t many young guys to take over the cow-calf operations either.”
The livestock market offers cows, calves and yearlings. Sales are usually Tuesdays. The sale order is baby calves, breeding stock, calves, yearlings and slaughter cows. Special breed cows are sold on Saturdays during the winter months.
Pigs and pig feeders were sold in the past. According to Saathoff, Creighton Livestock sold 117,000 feeder pigs in 1994. Larger farrowing units have led to the disappearance of hog operations from farmers over time.
When it comes to sale days, a lot of preparation takes place throughout the week to ensure success. Whether you’re going out into the country to visit farmers and ranchers, preparing yards, or doing office tasks, many employees are needed to complete the tasks. The market has six full-time employees and about 25 part-time employees who help out on sale days.
On sale days, the two familiar auctioneer voices that can be heard in the cattle arena are those of Saathoff and Ryan Creamer.
“Becoming an auctioneer is a God-given talent,” Saatoff said. “I enjoyed. It’s a way of life. It’s something I’ve been involved in for over 50 years.”
Over the years, the ways in which sales were managed have changed. Years ago, it took seven to eight hours to ship 1,200 to 1,400 head of cattle. Now, in the ever-changing world of technology, computerization has cut sales time in half or more.
“If someone had told me 40 years ago that I would be looking at a small screen in front of me, I would have said they were crazy,” Saatoff said. “Today we also rely on online sales.”
