ATHENS, Ohio — Although the Athens-area livestock auction has been around for decades, it now has a new look with additional capacity.
New owner Dale Browning took over about a year ago and has worked to renovate the facility, which dates to 1962.
He said the improvements have basically doubled the size of the facility, and include new pens, a new working area for the veterinarian, a new computer system, a renovated restaurant and a new parking lot.
Better viewing
The holding barns have catwalks to offer visitors an overhead view of the livestock, and the facility can hold up to 1,000 head of livestock.
“We just remodeled that thing from one end to the other,” said Browning, who is gearing up for a grand opening sale Oct. 23. That sale will feature feeder cattle and also some breeding stock.
Known as Athens Livestock Sales, the regular sale is held every Monday, beginning at 11 a.m. The sale barn is located along Enlow Road between Athens and Albany.
Browning lives in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, about 130 miles from the sale barn, but he makes the trip every Sunday, to help unload livestock the evening before sale day. He was previously a stockyards manager with Bluegrass Stockyards, a Kentucky-based auction company.
Farmer focus
The Athens Livestock Sales is a private entity that hopes to meet the needs of people in southeastern Ohio — and beyond.
The auction staff bills itself as a group of fellow farmers, who are interested in the customers’ needs.
“This isn’t a big corporate-owned business; we are farmers like you and we are going to be there to listen and discuss with you all your needs,” according to the auction website.
The auction will qualify as a tagging facility, working with Dr. Foster Anderson, of the Bailey Veterinary Clinic in Newark.
Plans are also underway to hold special sales each month, including horse and bred cow sales. A riding horse sale is planned for Oct. 28.
Farmers should consign to the grand opening sale as soon as possible, but can consign as late as sale day. As a sale-day special, consignors will be entered into a drawing for a black Angus heifer.
Contact information:
Athens Livestock Sales: 3738 Enlow Road, Albany, Ohio
Online: athenslivestocksales.com
Phone: 740-592-2322.
