Ranger - July marks the first anniversary that the sale barn located at the Mountain Folk Center has been operated by the Mountain Youth Livestock Market. This is a non-profit organization that focuses on creating a space for children interested in agriculture to find educational opportunities, earn money for hard work, secure trade school scholarships, and provide community meeting and support opportunities. “There’s always space and support for kids who are athletic with sports or for students interested in academics at school, but kids who want to work in trades, especially in agricultural fields, lack the same support system, and that’s why our main goal is to be an educational experience and opportunity for kids,” said Gregg Huskins.
All of the kids who come out to help are all referred to as ‘cowboys’ because this is a term Huskins described as creating a level playing field and helping all of the kids to see that they are equals. “There’s nothing that one kid can do that another can’t. All of the cowboys put in hard work at each auction. Being a cowboy is a way of life, not just a title, and the kids learn about what it takes with hands-on experience,” said Huskins. Each auction, the cowboys help with each step from preparation to auction, to clean up afterwards. Throughout this process, they learn how the sale works, how to interact with and care for animals, how to follow directions, and how to work together to get a job done. “We have so much pride in these kids. They’re our future, and they need to know that just because they aren’t interested in sports, they’re still making an impact on the world,” said Huskins.
The Mountain Youth Livestock Market has provided several blue-collar scholarships, including sending one of their cowboys to auctioneer school to continue building the future of the market. As a non-profit, all of their funds are put back into their efforts to support kids and their families. They frequently donate to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. They also find ways to help with the local community, and in the past, they have helped to support families that lost their homes to fires and others that have children who are medically complex and require frequent doctor’s visits that result in time off work.
Gregg Huskins is the man who started it all, but has done so with support from the community. “There was nothing here other than the building when we first started.” The Mountain Youth Folk Center is located on Cherokee County property, and a year ago, Huskins spoke at a commissioners meeting about using the building for the youth livestock market. “We received a great amount of support for this venture, including financial support from funds that were already set aside to restore the property.” Even with this help, Huskins and his cowboys have put in all of the hard work needed to make the market the place it is now, one year later. “It was such a mess inside the building that we had to back a firetruck up to the doors to hose down the entire building.” Now the sale barn is the #4 top-producing sale barn per capita in North Carolina and the #2 sale barn for small animals in the state.
Every 1st Saturday of the month, they host a trade day, this is where anyone can come and set up a table with the items they have available for trades. Every 4th Saturday of the month is when the small animal auctions are held, which include everything except horses and domesticated animals. People who have goods and services created or provided in NC can set up tables during the auctions for a donation, but sale items must comply with the Department of Agriculture's Got to Be NC guidelines. Every month that has a 5th Saturday is when they host their horse sales. Throughout the year, you can keep up to date with special sales that are announced on the Mountain Youth Livestock Market Facebook page. The next special sale is an equipment sale that will take place on July 11th, and special events, giveaways, and sales will be announced to celebrate the organizations one year anniversary.
Huskins has worked hard to obtain licensing for the organization, and this includes an exotic animal license. “I’ve bought and sold zebras, racing tortoises, water buffaloes, and even a kangaroo to help support the Mountain Youth Livestock Auction.” He’s also the face and voice of the organization's Hey Y’all’ videos. This simple phrase that Huskins used to start videos that shared updates and details related to the Mountain Youth Livestock Market has turned into a form of branding for the organization after videos have been shared and gone viral, with some videos receiving over a million views.
“We’ve got a lot of good people behind us and have received a lot of support, but really need help getting the word out that we’re here. We want to continue to provide a space for more kids to become cowboys. We want to continue to educate local youth and create new opportunities for their futures. We want to provide financial support for those who feel like they have none. We can only do this with support from the community, whether that is by attending the sales, donating, or sharing our organization with others. We appreciate everything that the community and the members of our non-profit have done to make this first year successful, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds,” said Huskins.
Mountain Youth Livestock Market is located at the Mountain Folk Center at 9275 US Hwy 64 W, Murphy, NC 28906. Questions can be directed to Gregg Huskins by calling (828) 361-8942.