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Contributions Top $14,000 at Fort Pierre Livestock Auction Fund-Raiser Fort Pierre, S.D. (June 10, 2008) – Generous participants who attended an R-CALF USA fund-raiser hosted by Fort Pierre Livestock Auction here on Friday contributed more than $14,000 to the national organization. R-CALF USA Member Frank Zweber donated the calf for the event, and bids for the animal during the rollover auction were as high as $2,500. Earl Maier, of Faith, S.D., was the lucky winner of a saddle handmade by the Badure family. Both the calf sale and the saddle raffle have been annual events for many years. “That shows you what can happen when you get 250 people to come out who are all interested in buying cattle,” said R-CALF USA Region III Director Johnny Smith, who spoke at the event. “Fort Pierre Livestock promotes competition at its finest and price discovery at its best. We promote R-CALF all the time and the good it does for the U.S. cattle industry. We have a continuous supply of R-CALF contributors in the area. “R-CALF only represents cattle producers, not the packers, not the chain stores,” Smith continued. “Our folks make a living off of cattle. We’re not hobby ranchers or anything like that. It’s critical for us to have a fair and competitive market. If you want to see what competition does for cattle producers, take a look at our Web site. The day of that fund-raiser, we had the highest priced cattle in the nation, all because of true competition.” The Web site for Fort Pierre Livestock Auction is www.ftpierrelivestock.com. The sale barn also hosts a fund-raiser each January and over the years has raised well over $100,000 for R-CALF USA. “Johnny has set the bar when it comes to raising money to keep R-CALF going, and we want to make sure those cattle producers in South Dakota know they are appreciated,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “R-CALF USA will continue to use all legal and ethical means to ensure that cattle markets remain competitive and that independent producers have an opportunity to remain profitable.” Contributors included: Bankwest, Pierre; American State Bank, Pierre; South Dakota Community Foundation; Fort Pierre Livestock Auction; Frank Zweber; Bob Fortune; Rick and Theresa Fox; Dean and Delia Johnson; Jerry Jones; Clayton Goeke; Mack and Karen Wyly; Alice, Earl and Toby Maier; Betty, Kip and Keith Krull Families; Mike Aesoph; Bernie/JD Lauing Quarter Horses; JD Lauing; Presho Livestock; Vern and Kevin Schmidt; Tom Fenenga; Sioux Nation, Fort Pierre; Art Handl/Keith Eichler; Herreid Livestock; Gene and Dalton Baloun; Pat Feeney; Ross Nielsen; Dan Schrempp; Dennis Thornsberry; (Dan) Booth, Inc.; Herman Schumacher; Brian Gehrke; Chuck Hamlin; Ernie Mertz; Cody Smith; David and Bailey Vainreb; Robert Thullner; and, Ray Hunter. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516. |
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This page was last updated on Wednesday, December 24, 2008. |
