Wow! Can you believe been doing this since February 2009! Time flies when you are busy. I always knew that hard work and patience would pay off. My name is Jake Klas. My partner, LuAnna Staskal, and I are co-owners of Fennimore Livestock Exchange, and Tyler Staskal is our back-barn manager. It definitely takes a team effort to operate this business.
In 1982 I moved to Fennimore, WI along with my parents Dick and Ida Klas. Prior to moving to Fennimore, my dad managed the Midwest Livestock salebarn at Granton, WI for four years before being transferred to Fennimore. My dad managed the Fennimore location from 1982-1993 when he was given the opportunity to purchase the location. My parents owned and operated Fennimore Livestock Exchange with my help as assistant manager until their fatal car accident in August of 2008. I continued to manage the barn until February of 2009 when LuAnna and I purchased the business from my parent’s estate. We continue to operate the salebarn, not as a job but as a way of life, with the same attention to detail that my parents did.
Even at my young age, I have seen many changes in agriculture, some good – some…well? What can I say? One thing I do know is that I do have a love for farming as you do. I also understand how hard it can be and how rewarding it can be. In high school, with dad’s help, I put together a herd of beef cows. In 1999 I sold my cows for the down payment on my farm where I milked cows until February of 2009. Dad told me that you can’t milk and run a salebarn at the same time. Of course, he was right again! I miss those cows but needed to devote more time to our salebarn customers.
Fennimore Livestock Exchange (FLE) has made some GREAT strides in the last few years! 2017 saw a huge increase in cattle and calves, with a 60% growth in numbers sold. 2018 grew another 52%! Our already large, sheep and goat sale grew by 22% in 2018 with nearly 20,000 head marketed.
While we have worked very hard and diligently, we realize none of those feats would have been possible without all of our loyal sellers and buyers. With increasing livestock numbers, we have picked up many new customers and friends, both sellers and buyers.
Our goal as a salebarn is, and has always been, to provide a competitive and honest market. We have done our best to keep commission rates reasonable and affordable. After all, the producers do most of the work so they should receive most of the money – just makes sense!
Don’t forget, our consignment sale each Spring and Fall!
In our quest to be a full-service market, we sell Legend seed corn and beans as well as Alforex alfalfa and grass seed. As an authorized Pequea Machine Corp. (PMC) dealer, we sell bale transports and hay feeders year-round.
(See more info on our Ag Products page.)
If there is anything we can do to better serve you, just stop in or give us a call.
608-822-3255
