Hardin County Expanding Sale Barn
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Hardin County’s stockyard is expanding, and county leaders, along with farmers, hope this will not only provide more space for sale of the animals, but also boost the local economy. Shawn Duren has been buying and selling cattle at the Hardin County stockyard for many years, and said this expansion is a great opportunity. “We sell so many cattle through this sale barn that it will actually help increase with holding cattle as the pens continue to be increased here,” Duren said. “It will also help put money in our pocket, and also put money in the local pocket, so I’ll be able to spend that locally.” Even though the stock yard is five buildings now, producers said it is still not big enough. Mayor Kevin Davis said they are adding onto one building, building another, and renovating inside of the arena. Agriculture experts said the expansion will not just benefit farmers. “The bigger thing is bringing in more cattle, more folks here to the county, that they stop and do business within the county, whether they buy tires for their truck or stop and eat lunch, or make purchases within the county,” said Brian White, a Hardin County agriculture extension expert. It is a county sale barn, but it draws both buyers and sellers throughout the region, reaching farmers and producers in states like Mississippi and Alabama. Experts said the county brings in about 50,000 cattle a year, but with the expansion, the number of cattle should eventually increase 30 to 40 percent. “The more numbers that you can have in one location always increases competitiveness within the marketplace and that’s always a good thing for our producers and buyers,” White said. “Even though they may have to pay a little more, they have a bigger selection of cattle to choose from.” Mayor Davis told 7 Eyewitness News they hope to finish the outside buildings by the end of this month, and the renovations to the inside of the arena by the end of June.
