Billings man wins 'the Super Bowl of auctioneering'

For those new to a sale barn, it may seem like a chaotic environment, filled with the sounds (and smells) of live animals and a loud crowd. But for the 23-year-old auctioneer and cattleman from Billings, the sale barn and all the action swirling inside it represents something much larger.

“What they hear and see and smell is the reward of a year’s work for most ranchers across the countryside,” Thompson said. “A lot of ranchers bring their year’s calf crop to the sale barn, and that’s their one paycheck for the year.”

Thompson's approach is starting to pay off. On June 20, he was named the 2026 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, one of the most prestigious awards in livestock auctioneering, at the St. Onge Livestock auction barn in St. Onge, South Dakota.

The competition, held during the Livestock Marketing Association’s annual convention, brought together 31 working auctioneers who had qualified at a series of contests across the country and Canada, with the top 10 from each qualifier advancing to compete for the world title.

Thompson described the title as “the Super Bowl of auctioneering.”

The key to his success, Thompson said, has been his in-depth knowledge of the cattle industry.

But it's also about more than that, he said. It's about speaking as clearly as he does quickly. It's about dressing the part. And it's about staying poised in a fast-moving room crowded with cattle, where thousands of dollars can change hands in minutes.

A livestock auction, Thompson said, gives ranchers a central hub to receive a real-time appraisal for their cattle through open and competitive bidding. It also gives smaller producers access to a larger volume market, along with services such as veterinary care, freight and hauling.

On sale day, buyers, sellers, auction staff and cattle all move through a system that can look chaotic to outsiders. To Thompson, though, the auction market is a purposeful mechanism. And the auctioneer plays a central role in making it work by conducting the sale between multiple bidders, driving the price to the last and highest bidder and creating a real-time value for the animal.

Unlike cars, equipment or other auction items, cattle are alive. That changes the work — and makes it harder.

“The livestock market is such a niche market,” Thompson said. “You’re selling a live commodity, which makes the logistics of buying and selling that commodity so much more complicated. Our industry does a fantastic job of accomplishing this in an efficient manner while also limiting stress on those animals and constantly improving health programs.”

Thompson said the animals have to be handled carefully, “in the most humane way possible” before and during the sale, and the auctioneer has to understand both the cattle and the market to judge their value accurately. Thompson said he watches for quality when cattle enter the ring, because good cattle are the easiest to sell. But no matter the quality, his responsibility is to represent the producer’s livestock well.

The stakes of livestock auction can be enormous for ranching families. Thompson said after years of drought and weak cattle prices, many ranchers have only recently begun to see stronger returns as cattle markets have improved.

“Being able to put that dollar value in those ranchers’ pockets keeps rural America alive,” Thompson said. “It keeps these small cities running, these small towns running, and it keeps the food independence in our country alive as well.”

There were 86.2 million cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of Jan. 1, with 27.6 million beef cows. That's a decline of 1% from the previous year, with the calf crop down 2%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

USDA Economic Research Service projected cattle inventories would hit a multidecade low in 2025, with the total inventory around 86 million head. That would be the lowest level since 1951.

Thompson said beef is one of the last independently produced proteins in the country. Without livestock auctions, independent ranchers would have fewer ways to create competition for the price of their animals, threatening their livelihoods.

Winning the world championship gives Thompson more than the title itself, he said. It also offers him a platform to pass the value of rural America on, Thompson said.

The Livestock Marketing Association advocates for sale barns and livestock auctions. Those auction markets, in turn, advocate for ranchers.

Thompson grew up around the business. As a third-generation auctioneer and cattleman, he comes from a family of experts in this field. He said he is trying to “carry the torch along” while putting his own twist on the work.

His father, Ty Thompson, won the same championship in 2009. Thompson said that added pressure to his own goal of winning the title, which he set about three years ago. But the fact that he pulled it off means that the Thompsons are the first father-son duo to win the championship.

Thompson said his father and grandfather helped him sharpen both his auctioneering skills and his industry knowledge. But the family does not operate as one large business. Each generation has worked independently, with its own style.

A major lesson from his father and grandfather, he said, has been how to deal with people.

“The people part of this business is sometimes the hardest part,” Thompson said. “There’s lots of psychology, and lots of people that think in different ways.”

Thompson has been auctioneering as a job for about five years. About three years ago, he said, he decided he wanted to take it seriously as a long-term career.

The work has taken him far beyond his hometown in Montana. He spent two years in Philippines auctioneering construction equipment, an experience he said shaped the way he sees both people and home. And he sells cattle, cars, horses, construction equipment and many other products all over the place.

“I’ve traveled to different spots within the country, and it just makes you appreciate what you have,” Thompson said. “Especially like here in Montana, where we live, it makes you appreciate the fresh air and the green grass when you get to some of these big cities and different places.”

This job can also be draining during high seasons.

In the fall and winter, livestock auctioneering can mean seven-day weeks and 14- to 16-hour days. He said there is a tremendous amount of mental strain that goes into auctioneering. It requires an auctioneer to read the psychology of the room and stay sharp through the entire day of selling.

At 23, Thompson believes the way to build trust and reputation in this profession is to seize every opportunity when they come. He said he had not passed up a single chance to ply his trade.

Now, as the 2026 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, Thompson said he wants to use the title to promote both livestock auctions and the opportunities available to young people in agriculture and auctioneering.

“We need young people and we need young energy and young ideas in the ranching business, the cattle business, the auction business, all around,” Thompson said. “We need it more than ever right now.”