When siblings Del, Jake and Kristen Kraupie purchased the sale barn in Gering, they saw a need to help cattle producers in the valley. They’ve continued to work to make Sugar Valley Stockyards the place for auctions, whether in-person or online. Their first thought is always people and how they can help others.
IRENE NORTH
Nspire Today! Feature Writer
GERING – The trailer arrived early at the Sugar Valley Stockyards (SVS), loaded with two horses to help with the day’s sale. They are escorted to the edge of the cow pens where they are gently brushed and prepared for a day of guiding cattle in and out of the sale barn. The 44 degree air of early December can be seen each time they exhale.
Del Kraupie shovels snow off the roof of the sale barn. Muted moos from the pens punch through the chilly December air. Their breath can be seen rising from all areas of the pens. Employees don their gloves and hats, and adjust their shoelaces and overalls before heading into the pens. It’s not yet 8 a.m., but everyone is getting ready for the day’s auction.
Siblings Del, Jake and Kristen Kraupie purchased the sale barn nearly two years ago. Del was a contract auctioneer with the previous owners, Jerry and Sally Weekes, and has been in the sale barn business a little over a decade. When Del heard the Weekes were retiring and the sale barn might close, Del worried the area would lose a vital resource. He went to his brother and sister to discuss what could be done. Everything the Kraupies do, they do as a family, and venturing out into a new business was no exception..
“It was never a choice where I was going to branch off and do this myself,” Del said. “I saw the need, but couldn’t do it without Jake and Kristen.”
You can read the entire story in the Pride in Ag section of the January 2024 issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $20. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $20 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8907.
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