The event was the fall sale of the Central Dakota Alternative Livestock Auction, organized by Dennis Erickson of Ruso and his family.

Erickson said they started the auction years ago to fill a void for buyers and sellers of alternative livestock.

“We don’t have a sales barn in this area, and a lot of these people are raising it and they have no place to market it,” Erickson said. “My wife, our three boys and my brother, we started this 14 years ago, and we do a spring sale and a fall sale.”

Among animals and birds that might be found at the market are alpacas, llamas, donkeys, miniature donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, peacocks and rabbits of different breeds, many of them not typical for a traditional farm. Hundreds of animals and caged poultry and rabbits make for an all-day auction.

Kaden Korgel, left, and Ryder Erickson, right, herd goats toward a chute leading to the auction ring Sept. 2 in Rugby.

“Two years ago, we had 780 goats and sheep. We had about 450 cages,” Erickson said. “Then, of course, when the bird flu hit, we couldn’t do any cages. We couldn’t do any poultry. So, all we could do is rabbits and our hoof stock, and we’ve done that for two years. Then they finally opened up and now we can do everything again.”

Animals come to the sale from across North Dakota and neighboring states. Those crossing state lines must meet regulations of the export and import states, and paperwork is checked. 

The alpacas and miniature horses are among the biggest draws currently, Erickson said.

“I call alpacas my teddy bears because the more you play with them, the friendlier they are. They are smaller than a llama but the wool on them is worth a lot more money. Llamas make excellent guard animals. I run them with my miniature horses and I don’t have a fox or coyote in my pasture at all,” Erickson said.

The Ericksons have operated a petting zoo for 34 years, making the rounds of fairs, annual meetings, school reunions and other events almost every weekend from May through October. The handicapped-accessible zoo’s stock includes alpacas, llamas, miniature horses, baby doll sheep, four-horned Jacob sheep, Katahdin sheep, fainting goats, pygmy goats, kunekune pigs and many smaller animals as well.

Mya Buckman of Baldwin visits the alpacas at the Central Dakota Alternative Livestock Auction Sept. 2 in Rugby.

The Ericksons’ interest in starting an auction service came after one of their many trips out of state to purchase animals for their traveling petting zoo. 

“We said this is foolish. Let’s try a sale. Well, we couldn’t find a facility. Then I went down to Rugby one day and I thought, ‘Hey, this fairgrounds would work out slick. So I got ahold of the park board,” he said.

With the park board’s blessing, the first sale was scheduled.

“We had it at the end of April, and we had a snowstorm. It was really bad and I was really getting second thoughts on it. But we’ve grown. We get 400 to 500 people to attend this sale,” Erickson said. “I’ve got people coming from South Dakota. You’ve got people coming from Minnesota. It’s really caught on.”

Buyers and sellers include small hobby farmers and 4-H and FFA members. Some young people will purchase animals for their projects in the spring and re-sell the animals in the fall. The growing interest in community-supported agriculture also has spurred buying.

Central Dakota holds its auctions on the first Saturdays in May and September. Planning for the spring sale starts after the first of the year. The work gets more intense as the sales near.

Erickson said he typically spends four days in Rugby getting ready and then finishing up from the sale. Check-ins start a couple of days in advance and occur whenever a seller pulls up, which might be in the middle of the night for a longer distance traveler.

“Once we start getting the animals in the buildings, I stay right on the grounds. I don’t leave,” Erickson said.

The sale is not finished until all the paperwork is turned in to the state in connection with the sale permit, which needs to happen within 10 days of the event.

“There’s several nights that – the wife and I – we’re up till 1 to 2 o’clock in the morning doing paperwork,” Erickson said. “It’s been a lot of work, but I say, “You know, it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve met so many people over the years. It’s been such a good relationship between everybody.”

Erickson, sale manager, works with auctioneers Rod Hiatt and Brad Knudtson of Bottineau. They are assisted by a crew of more than a dozen people. 

Two of the Ericksons’ sons are still involved. Erickson said one son, Kyle, verifies sale tags as buyers remove purchased animals and another, Dallas, runs the hoofed animal barn. Erickson works in the ring with help from his brother, Jim.

“My wife, Karla – she puts the fires out,” he said.

Other helpers this year have included Dustin Myers and sons Karter and Ethan from Minot, Rhonda Korgel of Minot, Karyn Wenger and Karyl Martin of Granville, Kirk and Kathy Hochsprung of Sawyer and Miranda Novodvorsky of South Prairie.

A Rugby veterinarian also spends the day on the premises. 

The relationships built with others interested in alternative animals also has made the sales enjoyable, he said.

“It’s kind of nice,” Erickson said. “You meet them in the spring and you meet them in the fall and sit back and reminisce.”

There’s always interesting things to remember.

“We did have a goat escape this spring, but I had some good little farmers that took off and they roped him and brought him back,” Erickson chuckled. “That’s probably the most excitement that we have.”

Erickson said he feels blessed the Rugby park board has opened its doors to Central Dakota and made the auctions possible. The events have been a boon to the Rugby economy, too.

“It fills their motels for a couple of nights,” Erickson said. “The gas stations are just super, super busy. They put extra help on. These little towns, they need a boost, and they’ve been so great.”

Gate admission is just $5 for the day, which helps defray expenses. Every hour, a drawing occurs for a door prize. The grand prize is usually a night’s stay at Northern Lights Inn in Rugby. There is always a good crowd waiting for the final 3 p.m. drawing to see who can win that grand prize.

“But people will stay there. We never lose our crowds,” Erickson said. “We didn’t think it would grow as much as it has, but people really support it, and that makes it worthwhile.”