Blazing Her Own Trail

📷 Elizabeth Cureton and her sons stand outside the livestock barn at Cureton Livestock Market in Fredericktown, MO.

During her youth, Elizabeth’s uncle, Troy Cureton, operated the sale barn as Fredericktown Auction Co., which served as a hub of the Madison County community, supporting farmers and ranchers from near and far. Growing up, Elizabeth couldn’t wait for summer so she could be at the auction barn on sale days, held every Thursday, and on weekends during special markets.

“When I was in high school, I got to start taking off early so I could get here by sale time,” Elizabeth explains. “I worked in the back, unloaded, loaded. Whenever I was little, I carried tickets back and forth.”

Before the livestock market was computerized, Elizabeth sat amid office workers where she helped figure and prepare buyer invoices. “This is really all I ever knew, and it’s what I wanted to do,” she says.

The entrepreneur set her own pace despite the stereotypical rough and tough atmosphere that often accompanies livestock markets. “It is tough, but I can’t say that I’ve ever really been treated any differently,” she explains. From buyers to sellers to employees, Elizabeth grew up alongside them all and has never been singled out for being female.

“I tried to always be the hardest worker in the room.”

— Elizabeth Cureton, Owner of Cureton Livestock Market

While Elizabeth gained plenty of experience at the livestock auction growing up and truly loved the work, she never really envisioned herself owning one. After the sudden death of her uncle Troy’s grandson, Adam Long, who had played an active role in the family’s cattle auction barn, Troy sold the auction to his younger brother Donnie, Elizabeth’s dad. Donnie then asked his daughter to share in the joint venture.

Challenged by the initial expense of forming a partnership, Elizabeth eventually secured the funds. She and her father remained partners in Cureton Livestock Market from late 2008 until his passing in 2017.

Today, Elizabeth and Keith Robertson have what she calls a “great partnership” in the livestock auction. Keith joined the operation in April 2024, and the partnership continues to grow. She says her uncle Troy and dad would both be pleased with the partnership. The auction barn property is owned by Elizabeth, her cousin Kim Long (Troy’s daughter), and Kim’s husband, Ron Long.

“We had a lot going on, and I was stressed out,” Elizabeth admits. “It’s hard sometimes trying to get it all done, trying to secure cattle and buyers. It took a lot of stress off me. It’s worked out well for us.”

While Robertson relieved some of the barn’s management responsibilities, Elizabeth has also relied on several mentors to help guide her through the ownership transition after her father’s passing and then her uncle’s death in 2023. After her father passed, Troy shared a plethora of knowledge with his niece, guiding with plenty of experience while shying away from being in charge. Losing the men who were instrumental in helping build her career brought plenty of hurdles to clear, yet Elizabeth persevered.

In addition to her dad and uncle Troy, mentors like longtime family friends and livestock market owners Wayne Sharrock and Randy Hoover have been invaluable to Elizabeth as she navigated the ins and outs of owning an auction barn.

“I’ve also got some good employees,” she says. “Some of the guys are here no matter what. They don’t care how hard it gets. You can’t run them off.”

According to Elizabeth, tackling the bookkeeping responsibilities herself has helped make the business successful. “That way I know,” she says. “Whenever we balance a sale on Thursdays, we don’t leave until it’s zero. And, if it’s not zero, I won’t leave. I’m OCD about it.”

The businesswoman is a meticulous bookkeeper. Bound by note after note, each one is designed to help keep order in what could be sheer chaos amid all the moving pieces that come alongside running a livestock market. Most days Elizabeth can be found at the auction barn, whether for an hour or two or maybe eight. Wednesdays are reserved for helping customers unload cattle and preparing for the next day’s auction.

“We have guys that clean on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” she explains. “And we’re here until late on Wednesday nights working cows before the sale on Thursday.” Elizabeth estimates the barn’s receipts at about 600 head per week. “We have a lot of customers that have trusted us for a long time. Some have sold cattle here since I was little.”

📷 Elizabeth Cureton feeds calves at her home ranch in Fredericktown.

Much like her dad and uncle, Elizabeth thought FCS Financial was the only place farmers and agribusinesses could turn for their financial needs. The lender has been a staple business partner since Elizabeth was in her teens.

Looking to invest in a set of cattle by herself, Elizabeth secured her first loan with FCS Financial at a young age. “It worked out,” she recalls. “I made enough to pay off my loan and maybe keep $1,200 which I thought was really good.”

The entrepreneur has never looked back. Over the years, she’s partnered with FCS Financial on cattle and real estate loans. “I don’t believe they’ve ever let me down,” Elizabeth says. “But I’ve tried not to let them down either. I like that we have a revolving line of credit there. That way I can use the money when I need to. When I sell cattle, I can pay it back. It’s just really worked out well.”

Elizabeth appreciates that FCS Financial understands the world of agriculture, too. “Sometimes I think if you borrow money at other lending institutions, you end up explaining the cattle business to them,” she says — a situation that doesn’t always end favorably for the cattle owner. “Especially nowadays, it costs a lot to operate. FCS Financial tries to help people get started in the business at a young age. I think there are a lot of opportunities for young people to get started with cattle or buying real estate, buying farms.”

Hands-on is how Elizabeth got her start in livestock marketing, and today the mom of two immerses her sons in learning the same way she did.

While both boys are homeschooled, Cash, 15, helps with a variety of tasks at the auction, while Cross, 11, is a fixture in the office checking in cattle and printing seller checks.

“He’s our money man,” Elizabeth says of Cross. “If you would just give him money and let him hold it all day, he would never leave. He might sit in the truck and count money.”

Homeschooling provides a flexible learning environment for the family, with plenty of time for school, the auction, and participating in Little Britches rodeos. Bottom line, Elizabeth says, is that the boys need each other. She’s hopeful they’ll work together in the future.

Aside from the livestock auction, homeschooling, and the boys’ rodeos, Elizabeth also owns two Airbnb rentals on her property. Additionally, she finds a little time to rodeo herself, earning a world championship earlier this year in Laredo conversion, a technique used in ranch sorting competitions.

No, Elizabeth Cureton doesn’t mind work. “If you’re not willing to work, you better just stay home,” she quips. “You can’t hire everything done, so you have to be willing to do some of the work.”

The mantra has suited this lady livestock market owner well. That, coupled with an eagerness to learn, are cornerstones for the legacy she continues to build. Amid the ebbs and flows of livestock marketing, Elizabeth says it’s important to stay in the middle. “There will be good times and there will be bad times,” she says. And when a customer questions her on the best time to sell, Elizabeth fires back, “If we knew, we would all be rich.”

For now, she’s hopeful her sons will carry on the legacy and that Cureton Livestock Market will stay in the family. “We try to be honest,” she concludes. “We try to do everything we’re supposed to do. I like to get my cattle sold as high as I can, and we try to do the same thing for our customers.”