Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

Ag Bytes
Sale barn under
new ownership,
legacy continues
The sounds of the auctioneer’s call
and bawling livestock filled the sale barn
off 33rd Street in Maquoketa on Sept. 15
when Maquoketa Livestock Exchange
LLC held its first auction under new ownership.
Dan Powers, Deb Powers and family
partnered with Mike and Sandy Franzen
and family to buy the former Maquoketa
Livestock Sales last summer. Kevin and
Tammy Kilburg of LaMotte manage and
operate the auction.
“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine (to
operate a sale barn) and it’s all coming
together,” Kevin Kilburg said earlier this
year. “I grew up here, bought and sold cattle
here, worked sales with Bob (Larkey)
here.”
The purchase came after the Dec. 18
death of Eastern Iowa ag icon Bob Larkey,
the 76-year-old who owned and operated
Maquoketa Livestock Sales for more than
40 years. Larkey’s family hosted the final
livestock sale last April and announced
plans to sell various properties and pieces
of equipment.
That sale sparked Kilburg’s interest.
“I said to Dan one day, ‘Have you ever
thought about owning a sale barn one
day?’ And he said, ‘Well, yes,’” Kilburg recalled.
They signed Franzen onto the project —
a natural foray further into the ag world.
Powers Auction has been in business
for 75 years. Franzen and Powers have
operated Highway 64 Auctions in Baldwin
for 15 years, and Kilburg has worked there
that long.
After sprucing up the grounds, painting,
installing new signs, and modernizing the
place, Maquoketa Livestock Exchange
had two auctions in October, then one every
week in November, except the week of
Thanksgiving.
“Then hold on to your hat. We’re gonna
rock and roll in December,” Kilburg said.
The sale barn will focus on livestock
first. There also will be some hay and
feed sales and possibly other small consignment
auctions, but not on a scale to
compete with Highway 64 Auctions, Powers
said.
The trio retained many of the former employees
and hopes to provide new jobs for
the community in the future. That includes
employing Kilburg’s 82-year-old father Bill,
who worked for Larkey for decades. They
also plan to work closely with area 4-H and
FFA groups.
They also will operate T.J.’s Café inside
the sale barn to feed and hydrate buyers,
sellers, employees and the public.
Kilburg, Franzen and Powers said they
cannot wait to continue the ag sales legacy
Larkey grew in Eastern Iowa.
“We wanted to carry on this great business,”
Franzen said. “The livestock producers
need it. The town of Maquoketa
needs it.”
Legacy matters
to our family,
and we know
it matters to
yours, too.
At Maquoketa Financial Group,
we can help your family plan
for a secure future.
Maquoketa
Financial Group
Pictured: Three generations
Randy, Sam, and Caden Kuhlman
www.maqfinancialgroup.com • 563.652.3513
714 W. Platt St. • Suite 5 Maquoketa, IA
Paul Miller is an Investment Advisor Representative offering Securities and Investment Advisory Services Through Royal Alliance member FINRA/SIPC and a Registered Investment Advisor. Non Securities Products and Services
are not Offered Through Royal Alliance. Maquoketa Financial Group is not affiliated with Royal Alliance. 199-20170905-396847
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