[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 136 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHASTA LIVESTOCK AUCTION

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 
Shasta Livestock Auction, located in Cottonwood, California, which was 
opened in 1966 by Ellington Peek and his wife, Betty, and family.
  Ellington is well known in California agriculture. He was named 
Tehama County's first Cattleman of the Year, California Livestock Man 
of the Year, and an inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
  In May, the Shasta Historical Society presented a program 
commemorating the auction yard, and while it tells a lot about the 
business, it also focuses on the person Ellington is that has made him 
so successful--an honest, hardworking man who represents the epitome of 
the American story.
  Around the time Ellington Peek began buying and selling cattle at his 
yard, the industry started experiencing a lot of ups and downs in the 
market, forcing many ranchers out of the business. Refusing to give up, 
he took his business on the road, busing prospective buyers and sellers 
to different ranches and showing available cattle up on a slide show 
for purchase.
  Later, this innovative model that was such a success ultimately led 
him to the business of video auction, starting the Western Video 
Market, with one of the first auctions selling over 25,000 head of 
cattle.
  This innovation and vision not only gave California and Western 
cattlemen access to a national marketplace, but entirely changed the 
market. Today, it is a very viable and strong and thriving enterprise, 
the Shasta Livestock Auction, with the video market.
  So I just want to say thank you to the Peeks; and also remembering 
their son they lost a few years ago, Andy, and what that means to that 
family operation and what it means, this anniversary of the 50th, to 
all of us in northern California.

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