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Click Here 46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend January 30, 2004 The Rogue Valley Livestock Auction, a business and social gathering place with a history stretching back at least 60 years, is expected to close by April. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Livestock auction likely to close Property’s value outstrips business By GREG STILES Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Time is apparently running short for one of Jackson County’s long-time agricultural enterprises. Rogue Valley Livestock Auction, where generations of local ranchers and farmers bought and sold animals, is expected to hold its final sale by the end of April. The business, which attracts hundreds of animal buyers and sellers every other Thursday, is at the corner of Table Rock Road and West Vilas Road on seven acres northwest of the Medford airport runway. "The property became more valuable than the business," said Cindy Havice, whose father Milan "Bob" Bever moved to the Rogue Valley in 1955 and operated the auction for many years before Clyde "Bud" Bever succeeded him in 1985. She said the offers, "some serious and some not so serious," started coming in about five years ago as demand and the value for property at the heavily traveled intersection rose. Advertisement "We started considering offers that would’ve been beneficial for both of us," Havice said. Bud Bever wouldn’t name the buyer or buyers and declined to be interviewed, saying the transaction has yet to be completed. A Dutch Bros. Co. spokesman in Grants Pass confirmed that Ty Sullivan, who owns eight drive-up coffee stops, hopes to build a Dutch Bros. franchise on part of the property fronting Table Rock Road. Sullivan could not be reached for comment Thursday. Although details of the auction’s beginnings are sketchy, the yard has been around at least since the early 1940s. "That’s a sort of vague part of history," Havice said, adding there was another auction in the Phoenix area for several years. Cows, horses, pigs, sheep and goats are sold at the auction, which often draws a crowd of more than the 300 that can comfortably fit in the auction room. Cattle sellers pay a 5 percent fee to the auction, plus a dollar for marketing and advertising to the Beef Council. There’s a 75-cent brand inspection, along with handling and visual veterinarian inspection, that all add up to about 6 percent. For other animals, the percentage is higher. But buyers and sellers will soon have to find alternate means. "The big impact is on the smaller ranches," says Ron Fumasi, who runs 325 head of cattle on 1,030 acres off of Highway 140. "The small backyard farmers that have goats, sheep, a horse, pig and just a few cattle haven’t got many places to go with them. For me it’s not so bad. I ship my cattle out by the truckload to Idaho and Washington." While it wouldn’t necessarily be an economic hardship for Fumasi, it will be a blow to his way of life. "Mainly (the auction) is a big social and news gathering deal," he says. "You can find whatever you need through asking people. "If I need a few cattle to put into a feed lot to fatten, I can pick them up there. Or I can sell some butcher cows." He said the options are few for small operators because the Roseburg auction site has rarely operated in recent years and Bob Goodell, who owns the Klamath Falls auction yard, is in declining health. "The auction here was built long ago when the real estate it sat on was not that valuable," veterinarian Jim Perry said. "Now the property is so valuable that the income from the auction yard doesn’t pay enough interest on the money. It’s a matter of economics." He said the current societal climate would keep another site in the Rogue Valley from offering the same kind of services. "With the communist government we’ve got, if you went out in the country to build a new livestock yard, the restrictions, prohibitions and things you would have to do are so outlandish and cost involved so great that, again, the income from the auction wouldn’t pay the interest on the money." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times