A New Process: a Border Livestock Auction
Sergio Olivas
Santa Teresa has become synonymous with growth in the border region given the boom in the manufacturing center, drawing nearly one hundred international companies since the 1990s. Santa Teresa’s growth has propelled the community over Albuquerque as New Mexico’s largest exporter. In addition, Santa Teresa’s aspirations sets itself as a contender for Amazon’s HQ2.
Business is good; however, little is known about Santa Teresa’s other economic jewel: livestock trade. The State of Chihuahua is Mexico’s leading exporter of cattle to the United States. In order for Mexican cattlemen to export to the United States, the cattlemen need to have the proper permits beforehand and have to fill out the proper documentation with the US Department of Agriculture, which includes a tuberculosis test. Then, USDA inspects each animal individually. This process can last up to 20-30 days. Cattlemen can receive help from Unión Ganadera Regional de Chihuahua (U.G.R.CH./Chihuahua State Cattle Growers' Association), who have nearly a century of experience, with exports to the U.S.
In the Paso Del Norte Region, cattle pass through Santa Teresa, specifically through the Santa Teresa International Export/Import Livestock Crossing. “The port for the livestock was the original port set up before the port for automobiles. We can honestly say that cattle industry is what started Santa Teresa back in 1991.”
Meet William Walter Wallace III. He is a fourth-generation rancher who grew up in Nuevos Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, graduated from New Mexico Military Institute, and received an agricultural economics business degree from New Mexico State University. He has worked in the livestock industry along the border since 1997. Later, Bill Wallace was hired to run the port of livestock in Santa Teresa where he bought cattle and met his future partners, including U.G.R.CH.
Traditionally, buyers and sellers would negotiate exchange rates in private dealings. However, Bill Wallace now manages the Santa Teresa Livestock Auction, the first livestock auction along the US-MX border. The auction, as opposed to the private dealings, provides the Mexican producer another option to market his/her cattle to the US consumer in a more transparent process. Buyers also bid on the price per pound, ranging between $1.00-$2.00. Every cattle is counted as a “head” and the weight per head can range from 300 pounds to 800 pounds. Buyers can physically be at the auction, or may bid online on cattleusa.com. The cattle are then shipped to different areas of the US such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
The STLA faces buy-in issues by Mexican producers due to its non-normative process to market cattle. “This is new. We brought a new process on how to market the cattle. You’re dealing with the rancher that most of the ranchers are very traditional. It’s kind of a culture shock for a lot of people from Mexico who do not understand the process – the way business is done. A lot of them are really liking it. It’s coming along.”
To conclude, the installation that opened January 2017 has restructured the exchange process along the US-Mexican border. The Auction is open to the public and there is a Facebook livestream Saturdays at 10:00am. Noting its significance, Mr. Wallace stated, “New Mexico, Dona Ana County, El Paso should probably be very proud because this is the first and only auction barn that deals directly with Mexican cattle to try to unite the Mexican producer and the actual end user which is the feed-lot or the pasture or the rancher with this cattle along the whole U.S.-Mexican border. This is the only one.”
Business is good; however, little is known about Santa Teresa’s other economic jewel: livestock trade. The State of Chihuahua is Mexico’s leading exporter of cattle to the United States. In order for Mexican cattlemen to export to the United States, the cattlemen need to have the proper permits beforehand and have to fill out the proper documentation with the US Department of Agriculture, which includes a tuberculosis test. Then, USDA inspects each animal individually. This process can last up to 20-30 days. Cattlemen can receive help from Unión Ganadera Regional de Chihuahua (U.G.R.CH./Chihuahua State Cattle Growers' Association), who have nearly a century of experience, with exports to the U.S.
In the Paso Del Norte Region, cattle pass through Santa Teresa, specifically through the Santa Teresa International Export/Import Livestock Crossing. “The port for the livestock was the original port set up before the port for automobiles. We can honestly say that cattle industry is what started Santa Teresa back in 1991.”
Meet William Walter Wallace III. He is a fourth-generation rancher who grew up in Nuevos Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, graduated from New Mexico Military Institute, and received an agricultural economics business degree from New Mexico State University. He has worked in the livestock industry along the border since 1997. Later, Bill Wallace was hired to run the port of livestock in Santa Teresa where he bought cattle and met his future partners, including U.G.R.CH.
Traditionally, buyers and sellers would negotiate exchange rates in private dealings. However, Bill Wallace now manages the Santa Teresa Livestock Auction, the first livestock auction along the US-MX border. The auction, as opposed to the private dealings, provides the Mexican producer another option to market his/her cattle to the US consumer in a more transparent process. Buyers also bid on the price per pound, ranging between $1.00-$2.00. Every cattle is counted as a “head” and the weight per head can range from 300 pounds to 800 pounds. Buyers can physically be at the auction, or may bid online on cattleusa.com. The cattle are then shipped to different areas of the US such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
The STLA faces buy-in issues by Mexican producers due to its non-normative process to market cattle. “This is new. We brought a new process on how to market the cattle. You’re dealing with the rancher that most of the ranchers are very traditional. It’s kind of a culture shock for a lot of people from Mexico who do not understand the process – the way business is done. A lot of them are really liking it. It’s coming along.”
To conclude, the installation that opened January 2017 has restructured the exchange process along the US-Mexican border. The Auction is open to the public and there is a Facebook livestream Saturdays at 10:00am. Noting its significance, Mr. Wallace stated, “New Mexico, Dona Ana County, El Paso should probably be very proud because this is the first and only auction barn that deals directly with Mexican cattle to try to unite the Mexican producer and the actual end user which is the feed-lot or the pasture or the rancher with this cattle along the whole U.S.-Mexican border. This is the only one.”
