Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 113: Barrett Simon on Mentorship, Marketing, and Making a Name in the Auction Ring

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113: Barrett Simon on Mentorship, Marketing, and Making a Name in the Auction Ring · CattleUSA Daily

0:00
Welcome to another episode of the Cattle USA Daily podcast.
0:03
Today we are welcoming Barrett Simon on to the podcast.
0:07
He is another one of our King of the Ring contestants that we are
0:10
welcoming on to Schermer about his story and just his life and
0:15
his experiences as an auctioneer within the cattle industry.
0:18
And this conversation is so fun because we interviewed Neil a
0:22
few episodes ago now. It's probably been a week or two
0:25
by the time that Barrett's is going live.
0:27
And Neil was a major mentor for Barrett.
0:30
And so it's so fun to be able to follow those two up with one
0:33
another and just hear both sides of that story and just hear more
0:38
about Barrett's, that kind of uncharistically different
0:41
journey that he has taken as an individual in the livestock
0:45
marketing, that aspect of the cattle industry.
0:47
So without further ado, let's go ahead and jump into this episode
0:50
with Barrett and hear it straight from him.
0:55
Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
0:59
the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
1:02
shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
1:06
passionate advocate for agriculture here to keep you
1:08
informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
1:12
episode. Barrett, welcome to the podcast.
1:18
We are so excited to welcome another one of our King of the
1:21
Ring contestants on to share a little bit more about yourself
1:25
and your story and all of the things.
1:26
I would love it if you could just take it away and share more
1:28
about yourself. Absolutely no.
1:31
I appreciate you having me on, Lauren.
1:33
This is an exciting thing to get ready for.
1:36
And when we talk about the king of the ring and and I know it's
1:38
going to be a blast when we're out there.
1:40
So not only for me to get to share a little bit about myself,
1:44
but then kind of follow it, follow along and TuneIn and, and
1:48
hear some about the other guys that are out there competing.
1:50
I I've really enjoyed that so far.
1:53
And I'm, I'm sure the, the podcast to come will be great as
1:56
well. As for me, I think a big part of
1:59
how I got started or, or what my story is, is maybe already been
2:03
there to some degree on your podcast.
2:06
And so I did get to tune into Anil Berets and I'll elaborate a
2:10
little bit for those that maybe didn't listen to that podcast,
2:13
but he nailed it. He notched a lot of it.
2:16
Of course, he was there for a lot of it when when I just got
2:19
started. But when I graduated K State, I
2:21
actually took a job in North Central Kansas.
2:24
And not unlike many others, fresh out of college or or early
2:28
in our careers, I wanted to bring something home.
2:30
And it became, it became that question of, well, what what is
2:34
that going to be? Is it a new enterprise?
2:36
Is it, are they new practices? What equates to dollars that you
2:40
can bring home and kind of make room for yourself on on a family
2:44
ranch? And I grew up in the Cal calf
2:45
business and I know, I know people in the background in
2:48
business or the, the yearling grazing business, they ask all
2:51
the same questions. You know, I think that's
2:53
extremely normal for somebody. But I knew that was my plan was
2:57
to, to try and get, get back closer to home and be engaged,
3:00
be involved and the production side of the business.
3:03
And so like I said, I took a job within the extension system and
3:07
I was a couple 100 miles from home and really didn't know
3:10
anybody and let alone have a, a clientele or a customer base
3:14
that that I knew I was going to hit the ground running, get
3:17
started with. And so I kind of naturally just
3:19
gravitated and to, to several livestock markets in, in the
3:24
area that, that I was to cover. But Mankato livestock right up
3:28
there close to the state line was literally like three blocks
3:32
from my office. And so I got to know Neil and
3:36
his business partner, Scott Green, of course, Kelly, his mom
3:39
and, and John Russell as well. And, and started showing up
3:42
there and, and taking what I like to call kind of extended
3:45
lunch breaks on sale day and, and sitting around there.
3:49
But what I found was at those markets, it, it not only added
3:52
some credibility to what I was trying to do, but it put me in
3:56
front of and introduced me to a heck of a lot of people.
3:59
And so they, like I say, they never shooed me away or told me
4:03
to kick rocks or anything like that.
4:05
And so I just started going right up the road on Thursdays.
4:08
They were getting a bunch of cattle in, I'd get off work and
4:11
I'd just go straight there and, and hang out for an hour,
4:14
whatever. And, and that grew into packing
4:17
the work boots and an extra pair of jeans and, and literally as
4:21
soon as I clocked out, so to speak, going up the road,
4:24
changing my clothes there in the market, getting Outback and I
4:27
started unloading trailers or I was pushing cows, the vet,
4:30
whatever. And, and like, say, I know there
4:32
had to be times where they thought, man, is this kid ever
4:35
going to leave? But like say, I really didn't
4:38
know anybody up there. So that's just what I did.
4:41
And you know, the interesting thing with that is I got to meet
4:45
them and and that's just a great group of people, but their
4:49
customer base was a phenomenal group of people as well.
4:52
And so like, say that market and some others did a lot of good
4:57
for me in my professional life, introducing me to those folks
5:00
and, and things of that nature. And then it got to the point
5:03
where I'd come home on weekends, of course, and, and help my dad
5:06
or do whatever with those work in pairs in the spring, pregnant
5:09
cows in the fall, putting up, hey, whatever the, the seasonal
5:13
task was. So I'd leave, they leave their
5:15
market on Friday afternoon, I'd have a three and a half hour
5:19
drive home and I'd practice and then I'd drive back up there on
5:22
Sunday evening for three, 3 1/2 hours and I'd practice.
5:26
And you know, I, I did The funny thing to me and Neil shared some
5:30
of it when I, when I switched roles and then started working
5:35
for the Red Angus Association, I was still going to be exposed
5:38
to, to livestock marketing and in a pretty significant degree,
5:42
but that was going to be more on the purebred side of things,
5:45
more production sales. So I was still going to get that
5:48
auction fix, if you will, that that some of us just are drawn
5:52
to, a lot of people are drawn to.
5:54
But I moved away from, from that community and did move closer to
5:57
home. And that could have easily been
5:59
the end of the story. But I, I think that says a lot
6:02
about Neil and his family and his crew is that it wasn't the
6:07
end of the story, You know, and everybody up there, employees,
6:11
other auctioneers, they say, hey, when are you coming back?
6:13
Don't forget where we're at. Stop buying your travel, stuff
6:16
like that. And so I was, I was complaining
6:18
to Neil one day. He was actually down in my part
6:20
of the world. And I said, man, I've reached
6:21
out to a couple people and, and nobody wants to hire me that the
6:25
first question is, where'd you go to auction school?
6:27
Well, I hadn't, I guess I tell people now that I went to
6:30
auction school of Hard Knocks, which is in Mankato, America,
6:34
but I, I hadn't. And so that was kind of the end
6:36
of the conversation. And I remember it was there in
6:38
the, the parking lot of one of the, the markets more local to
6:41
me. And Neil said, well, you're not
6:43
that busy, Just come up Saturday.
6:45
We've got a consignment sale. And so I went up and I sold some
6:48
stuff off tables and, and yadda, yadda, yadda, like we all start.
6:52
And he said, Oh, you're doing fine, Just just stay up there.
6:54
Now they took me off before they sold tractors and aluminum
6:57
trailers and, and things with that significant value.
7:00
But I got, I got a lot of practice that day.
7:03
And he's right, it was a week, maybe 2 weeks later.
7:08
And he said, hey, you can get off work Friday, come up and
7:11
we'll have you sell the Packer cows.
7:13
And when I got off the block after the Packer cows were done,
7:16
he already had my entry form signed for the first contest I
7:19
ever went to. And that's really how it
7:21
started. And, and so I'm sure he'll tune
7:24
into this, but they told me at that time, you're going to have
7:27
a heck of a story. Just don't forget us.
7:29
And so I don't tell my story without talking about that crew
7:33
in Mankato, like say, not just Neil, who's a good friend and a
7:37
mentor, but everybody associated with that market.
7:40
And there are many others. You know, there's there's a
7:42
competing market up there that I went to and and sold my first
7:47
solo Cal sale. I mean, it was that was cutting
7:49
your teeth because it was there was there was nobody else.
7:52
There was no other auctioneer there.
7:54
And it was a Red Cal sale and it was you're it buddy.
7:58
And so there's a lot of individuals like that in my
8:01
story, as there are in in everybody else's, but a lot of
8:05
other auctioneers that have helped me along the way too.
8:07
And so I guess I personally believe, you know, when you look
8:10
at that, having not grown up in livestock marketing business,
8:13
more on the production side, having not grown up around or
8:17
with direct ties to an individual auctioneer, you know,
8:21
I, I think God put me in certain places at certain times for a
8:24
reason. I don't know where the the next
8:27
place because he's going to put me in our but it it certainly
8:30
worked out so far. And and I'm grateful for the for
8:33
the people he's kind of put put in my life to this point as
8:35
well. Yeah.
8:36
That's such a fun story, and it's so fun that we've already
8:38
been able to talk to Neil and kind of get his side of things
8:41
and then get you on and share a little bit more about your story
8:45
from your standpoint. And just the impact that Neil
8:49
and someone taking a chance on a young individual that kind of
8:52
had really no idea what the hell he was doing and then just
8:56
figured it out along the way and going to the auction school of
8:59
Hard Knocks. I love how you said that you
9:02
just share a little bit more about your journey from then.
9:05
It's been a few years since you've been there and you're
9:08
still growing. You're a very young individual
9:10
within the auctioneer industry and you're still growing and
9:13
building and doing all the things.
9:15
What's what's that kind of looks like?
9:16
Yeah, it's, it's been a great ride.
9:19
And, and I do remember when I was first starting, I think I
9:21
was thinking if I can just sell something I don't folding chair
9:25
pots and pans, livestock. I just want to sell something to
9:29
prove to myself I can do it right.
9:31
And Fast forward 5 or 6 years here and, and everything I do
9:36
now is related to the auction method, is related to price
9:39
discovery. And what a fun ride because, you
9:42
know, this week I'm going to sell a couple 1000 feeder cattle
9:45
at a couple of different fixed markets or brick and mortar
9:47
markets. I've, I work with the company
9:49
that's got 2 land auctions this week.
9:51
So there's, there's four out of five days where, where you have
9:54
the actual auction going on. Now, of course, there's all
9:57
kinds of prep work and, and things that lead into that.
10:00
But it, it has been a fun ride and I am still growing.
10:03
Hopefully I'm still making contacts.
10:06
That's one of the, the absolute benefits to like we talked about
10:09
with King of the Ring is just that exposure not only to other
10:13
auctioneers and, and what a great community my fellow
10:16
livestock auctioneers have become, whether they're other
10:20
young guys that are starting out or whether they're young guys
10:22
that grew up in the business or whether they're more seasoned
10:25
auctioneers. There's a, there's a place for
10:28
everybody in in the livestock marketing business in
10:31
particular. And so I'm looking forward to
10:32
that aspect of it. But the one time I've been to
10:35
the King of the ring before, what really stuck out to me was
10:38
the Hall of Fame induction. Because there's again an
10:42
opportunity. You may not even have the chance
10:45
to talk to those men and, or women that are inducted in any
10:49
given year, but you get to hear their story through the
10:52
induction from somebody that knows them well.
10:54
And I remember at the time, the first time we, we came out
10:57
there, I think it was two years ago and got to sit through that
11:00
with, I mean, I didn't know what it was going to look like or, or
11:03
have any expectations. And again, as a young person,
11:06
you talk about charged up and, and ready to go seize the day.
11:10
It was after that Hall of Fame induction and, and it was just a
11:13
phenomenal experience because everybody has a story.
11:18
How'd they get started? Where was their big break, if
11:20
they had one? And that's something, again,
11:22
whether it's a market owner in Nebraska or California or an
11:26
auctioneer that that's really made waves in one way or
11:29
another. I mean, there's a story
11:31
associated with each of us and I believe the, the livestock
11:35
marketing business maybe to be one of the last frontiers, if
11:38
you will, in agriculture as an industry that doesn't require a
11:44
large inheritance, right, in terms of land or cattle or
11:47
equipment that doesn't require an insane amount of capital to
11:51
get started. All it requires is is grit,
11:54
desire, passion and, and the willingness, like I say, to work
11:57
hard. And that's the backbone in the
11:59
background of a lot of both men and women, their stories in
12:04
livestock marketing. And, you know, it's easy as a
12:06
young person to kind of get bogged down and say, well,
12:10
that's where I want to be, you know, and like I was talking
12:13
about, man, if I could just sell something, if I could just call
12:16
myself a legitimate auctioneer, you know, and, and years later,
12:20
here, here we are. And so everybody's got a story
12:23
like that. And to get to hear that I, I
12:26
think there were several market owners, of course, that were
12:29
inducted the first time I was there.
12:31
And to hear their stories was, was phenomenal.
12:34
Looking forward to hearing everybody's kind of induction,
12:37
so to speak this year. I know there's a, there's a
12:39
heavy prevalence to, to the West Coast.
12:42
So there's another region of the country.
12:43
I've not spent a lot of time selling or or marketing any
12:47
livestock in by any means. So it'll be totally uncharted
12:51
territory. Looking forward to hopefully
12:52
making some new contacts and friends.
12:54
And then of course, we'll have Saturday and we'll get to, we'll
12:57
get to sell cattle at potentially all time highs.
13:00
And so that's as an auctioneer, that's all you can really ask
13:04
for, right? A big part of your story has
13:06
been mentors and people that have taken a chance on you.
13:09
Can you share a little bit more about that and just the
13:12
importance of mentorship within the industry and just kind of
13:15
that part of your story? Yeah.
13:17
I mean, I, I think it's everything.
13:19
And as I mentioned, you know, if, if we're going to call
13:22
livestock marketing that last frontier, then then those of us
13:26
that are in the business, those of us that are fully immersed,
13:30
we have to take on kind of a mentor's mentality, so to speak.
13:34
And, and I've been the beneficiary of that.
13:36
And, and there are others that have a different set of mentors
13:39
that are currently the beneficiaries of those type of
13:42
relationships. But when you, when you look
13:44
around at the market owners, the auctioneers and quite frankly,
13:48
the producers that, that trust the livestock marketing sector
13:52
to play such a pivotal role in their programs.
13:55
If we can take half of that talent, half of that experience,
13:58
half of those are half of that wisdom and find a way to pass it
14:02
down, then this industry, the auction industry, the livestock
14:07
marketing industry will be in good shape for, for generations.
14:10
But we have to be willing to share those experiences.
14:14
We have to be willing. But like many were for me to
14:16
say, kid, I don't think that's going to work out the way you
14:19
want it to, right? And fortunately, I, I had some,
14:22
some individuals, Buccioneers and not auctioneers that, that
14:25
shared that with me, but they were also willing to let me make
14:29
some of my own mistakes too. And that's important as well.
14:32
And I'm not done making mistakes.
14:33
I'm going to make several more along the way.
14:36
Sometimes I like to make the same mistake maybe two or three
14:39
times just to make sure I, I was wrong, right.
14:42
And so, you know, if, if you ever get to the point where
14:44
you're done making mistakes, you're either really, really
14:47
good or you're not trying hard enough.
14:48
And so for me, I had those mentors, still have several of
14:52
them, you know, still can pick up the phone or, or talk with
14:55
somebody, sit down and sat down with the market, an auctioneer
14:58
just last week. And we had breakfast and, and we
15:00
talked about several things. Hey, this is what I'm seeing,
15:03
right? This, this is new for me.
15:05
I mean, I've, I've never sold cattle this high course, nobody
15:08
has. But this, this is the first time
15:09
I've been selling into such an aggressively upward trending
15:13
market. And so to lean on those mentors,
15:15
to lean on those friends. And, and then the other side of
15:19
it, for there to be individuals like that, that are willing to
15:23
share their experience, their knowledge, their understanding
15:26
of the marketplace, that's so critical.
15:28
And, and I do think if we can find a way to identify young
15:32
talent, this industry will be unparalleled, what will be
15:37
viable for decades and generations to come.
15:41
But that's, that's critical to have those mentors.
15:43
Again, as a young person, I think we have to be aggressive
15:46
enough to, to go seek them out. And but then I would also urge
15:49
somebody, when a young person does seek you out, or when you
15:52
identify a young person with some talent OR the right
15:55
mentality, go out of their way, go out of your way to, to help
15:59
develop them. And, and I'm a testament of what
16:01
that can do. And I'll, I'll be forever
16:03
grateful for the individuals that that have helped me, as
16:06
well as some of them maybe I haven't even met yet that are
16:09
sure to help me in the future. And so if you don't have those
16:12
relationships, you know, it's, it's just, it's not worth doing,
16:16
you know? Yeah, absolutely.
16:17
And the biggest thing that you just said that stood out to me
16:19
was as a young individual, you have to be also willing to go
16:23
reach for them. You have to be the person that
16:25
is willing to go and have like, kind of uncomfortable
16:28
conversations and be like, hey, like, I really admire you.
16:31
I'd like, I know we have nothing in common.
16:33
You don't know who I am. But like, can we sit down and
16:35
talk for a minute and be willing to get uncomfortable and seek
16:38
mentors out as well? Because the biggest thing about
16:41
mentorship, at least for me, is it's never been something that
16:43
has completely fallen in my lap. It's been something the right
16:46
place, right time, right people. But I also had to pursue it.
16:50
I also had to be willing to put some in in order to get some
16:54
out. And then luckily, God partnered
16:56
me up with the right people that were willing to reach back down
16:58
the ladder and pull me back up with them.
17:00
And I think that's a big part of it, of experiencing yourself and
17:04
putting yourself in experiences, in situations where you can meet
17:07
mentors, where you can meet people and just like continue to
17:11
push yourself. Like you said, you went and sat
17:14
at an auction market on your lunch breaks and that's, that's
17:17
how you ended up where you are right now.
17:19
And but you put yourself in a situation where you weren't
17:22
taking your lunch break in your vehicle, You were taking your
17:24
lunch break in a place that made you present and made you
17:27
relevant, relevant in your community and just present and
17:31
visible for everyone out there. And so that is a big thing for a
17:36
lot of individuals, whether you're a person that's looking
17:39
for the, you're like, Hey, I'm ready to start handing down some
17:41
of my advice or someone that's like, hey, I need to start
17:43
getting some advice. It's just go to those events, go
17:46
to the king of the ring, like you said, go to your local
17:48
auction markets, go to all of those places because it's not
17:51
going to happen just by, you know, you being like, I could
17:54
really use a mentor, but then I work from home and I'm just
17:57
going to hang out here. Yeah.
17:59
No, that's 100% right. The next couple of years for me,
18:05
I'm sure will, will be kind of those awkward years where I'm
18:09
probably somewhere in between. Like I say, I still lean on on
18:13
some of those individuals a great deal, you know, or, or
18:16
hey, this happened in, in my Tuesday sale or hey, I came
18:18
across this and my Thursday sale.
18:20
How do you handle it? And so I'm still very much that
18:23
individual, but there, there are others that are up and comers
18:27
and, and extremely talented or have the, the right mentality
18:31
that are seeking some advice. And so I've been called in a
18:34
couple times with, Hey, I did this on my Tuesday sale.
18:38
How would you handle it? It's like, whoa, Are you sure
18:41
I'm qualified to answer this? Right?
18:43
And so it'll be kind of a fun transition.
18:45
And, and you know, I had an opportunity.
18:48
I was approached by an individual in in the Kentucky
18:51
State extension program. And this was shortly after this
18:55
past year's BLA C And he reached out and he said, Hey, we're
18:58
doing a fundraiser and I want to do a couple couple one hour
19:01
sessions with you as an auctioneer for 4 HH kid that
19:05
might want to do that. And it was kind of one of those
19:07
moments I was like, again, Are you sure I'm qualified for this?
19:11
And so that he was an individual that I met through livestock
19:14
judging at K State and was a few years behind me.
19:17
And he said, man, we'd love to have you be a part of it.
19:20
And so there's an opportunity to give back.
19:22
And I think like I've said a couple of times, I just think
19:25
that's so critical for any of us, whether we're 20 years old
19:29
or 60 years old. And I know that probably gets a
19:33
little easier with time. But for any of us, when asked to
19:36
give back or when asked to contribute, especially in the
19:39
form of professional development to the livestock marketing
19:42
industry, I look at that as a, as a huge responsibility.
19:46
And, and hopefully I'll be able to, to give back because as, as
19:51
you'll probably be able to highlight throughout this
19:53
afternoon's podcast, I've been given a lot in the, in that
19:57
regard. And so I look forward to to
19:59
being able to share some of that or pass that on whenever the
20:02
time comes. Yeah, we've talked a lot today
20:04
about the past and what brought you to where you are right now.
20:07
I'd love to talk about the future.
20:08
What what does the future have in store for you?
20:10
What are some just like life plans, goals?
20:12
What's what's the next few years look like for you?
20:15
Yeah. So we could probably do a whole
20:18
nother podcast on that, right. But I think it's important to to
20:21
have big goals and and big dreams.
20:24
You know, I mentioned at the top of this show that it was one of
20:27
my goals to get back at least within striking distance of home
20:31
and be involved also in the production side of what we do.
20:34
And I've been home now for four or five years and that comes
20:38
with a lot of blessings, a few challenges as well, but get to
20:41
be involved on the on the daily basis.
20:44
I'm in our Cal calf operation and so that's been great and
20:47
sell a couple of weekly feeder cattle sales a week and want to
20:51
continue that want to always be somebody that contributes to the
20:55
market regardless of what may come in terms of accolades or
20:59
experiences. I think one of my long term
21:02
goals is to continue contributing to the marketplace
21:06
and it's an ever changing marketplace, right?
21:08
So, so how does that look 20 years from today?
21:11
I can't say that, but I certainly want to and, and have
21:15
I feel like at this point planted my roots in the
21:17
livestock marketing sector. That's something that I, I want
21:20
to continue to be involved in. And then obviously some family
21:24
transition stuff on the production side, which I think
21:26
those two things go hand in hand.
21:28
And, and so looking forward to that, looking forward to, to
21:31
growing both of those businesses and hopefully in, in some
21:35
degree. And again, I, I think I'm here
21:39
through divine intervention a lot of the time.
21:41
And, and I asked ask God to, to put me on his path, to shine a
21:45
light on his path. And, you know, if that turns
21:47
right and I'm not ready to turn right, hopefully I, I'm willing
21:50
to follow it. And so as far as goals go, I
21:53
mean, we all have big dreams and goals.
21:55
And and that's part of, as you mentioned, that's that's what
21:59
drives us to get out and put ourselves in that place to where
22:03
we can find them and chase them and identify them and ask for
22:06
help. And so those are going to change
22:08
over time for me. I'm not, I'm not, I guess, green
22:12
enough to, to think, well, I've got these six Legos.
22:15
If I stack them this way, that's what I'll get, right.
22:17
And so I'm, I'm going to follow that path and, and in the
22:21
meantime, continue to do the best I can for the producers and
22:24
the customers that I serve. Continue to enjoy what we've got
22:29
at home. And, and we've obviously, as we
22:31
record this, had a abnormally wet and an abnormally cool
22:35
spring and summer. We're at all time high in the
22:38
cattle market. And so I'm just trying to soak
22:40
all of that in right right now and keep my eye open for the
22:43
next opportunity that comes. Beautifully said as we round out
22:47
the podcast, do you have any other things that you would like
22:49
to leave with our audience or say before we end it?
22:52
You know, nothing major. I'll, I'll be quick.
22:55
Obviously, I'm looking forward to coming out there the end of
22:58
this month. It's going to be a great show.
23:00
The winner, the winner family has done a tremendous job with
23:03
this event for the past several years and it's something I'm
23:06
honored to to be a part of again here this July, I'm sure.
23:10
Appreciate the opportunity to take part in it.
23:12
Appreciate the opportunity to be on the podcast, Lauren, and, and
23:16
I'll look forward to seeing how much you had to trim this out to
23:19
make it sound good. But appreciate all your efforts.
23:22
I'm looking forward to seeing some friends out there later
23:24
this month and and hopefully selling some high dollar feeder
23:27
cattle between now and then. Amazing.
23:30
Well, Barrett, thank you so much for your time today.
23:32
We really appreciate everything that you shared with us and
23:35
taking some time out of your very busy schedule to come on
23:37
and share more about your story and your life and just some
23:41
pieces of advice and everything else that came along with it.
23:43
So thank you for your time and to all of you listeners out
23:45
there, make sure you like subscribe, rate review, do all
23:48
the things. If Barrett's story resonated
23:50
with you, make sure you go share it with a friend who else it
23:53
might help and their story as well.
23:55
As always, thanks for listening and we'll see y'all tomorrow on
23:58
another episode. Have a good one y'all.