Deveraux purchases Buffalo Livestock

KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Reporter
 
Craig Deveraux is well known in Newcastle for his annual Full House Horse Sale, where he sells “elite performance stock” from consigners who are “the area’s best horsemen and women,” according to fullhousehorsesale.com. But he expanded his investment — and range — recently when he purchased Buffalo Livestock in Buffalo, alongside his business partners Austin Snook, Taylor Snook and Dan Catlin.
Deveraux is also well known throughout his industry because of previous experience in the world of livestock sales as a field representative for Belle Fourche Livestock for over 15 years. 
In May of this year, he began this new business venture, and Deveraux said that he and his business partners are trying to keep the market steady by getting plenty of buyers and a good volume of stock to keep that up.
Buffalo Livestock has one regular sale a week, but during the busy eight-week fall run, the new owner said they have two sales a week when calves are sold on Wednesday and bred cows on Saturday. 
Deveraux said his business partners take care of most of the day-to-day stuff, and he helps with some sale-day responsibilities and a lot with the horse sales, among other responsibilities. 
With added bull sales, horse sales and special sales, Deveraux said, the business will probably average over 60 sales a year, and he feels that it’s important to have a steady place in the state for people to sell their livestock. 
“I do think that, especially Johnson County, and the close surrounding areas, as well as the whole state of Wyoming, can do nothing but benefit from all the commerce that stays in Wyoming,” Deveraux said. 
Deveraux said that they’ve already received a great deal of support, much of which  is coming out of the surrounding area, from Casper to Sheridan to Gillette and beyond. Deveraux said he greatly appreciates that.
“We’ve just had a lot of support … and I think people understand that it is pretty key to keep Wyoming dollars in Wyoming,” Deveraux said.
Austin Snook, the managing partner, said the owners hope to have a good, local market that people can trust. He also said they hope to continue growing by getting bigger and better sales and attracting more buyers. 
“We hope to build a good market here that’s a fair price for everyone, so they don’t have to travel so far out of the area,” Snook said of buyers and sellers. 
Another important aspect of getting more customers is being accommodating, Deveraux said. 
“We have a receiving station in Newcastle, and we’re hoping to get a lot more of those type of facilities,” he said. Receiving stations make it easier for people to get their animals to the sale without having to take a day to haul it there, Deveraux said, and he thinks that is an important feature to offer people. The receiving station in Newcastle is at Rancher’s Feed.