Local Livestock History

Jim and Barb Starliper (right) with new partners Ryan and Shelby Burcker and their daughter Bodie.

With cattle prices at record highs, the weekly Four States Livestock Sales auction is riding high in its 90th year

By Rebecca Chaney 

Four States Livestock Sales, a local livestock auction business, is celebrating its 40th Anniversary for owners, James and Barb Starliper. Four States was originally established in 1935 by founders E.B. Clark and William Garrott making the local livestock auction business 90 years old.

Starliper didn’t grow up on a farm but rather developed his passion for the livestock industry by working on nearby farms. “I remember my dad bringing me to the Four States Livestock Sales when I was 12 years old and I guess I got the bug,” Starliper says. “I worked on a dairy farm, but every Wednesday I’d take off to go the Four States Livestock Auction. My father, Jack, owned and managed Four States until he passed away in 1988.” 

Today, Starliper is 74 years old and can’t imagine doing anything else. 

“I got out of the Army in 1971 and I started working at the sales barns in Hagerstown, Frederick, and Westminster,” he says. “I took over the ownership in 1985 and ran all three sales barns just my father had done.” 

The livestock sales enthusiast said his wife, Barbara, has been a key part of the business and handles most of the book work in the office. 

“I met Barb when she was 15 years old and working in the office at the Westminster Livestock Sales barn,” Starliper says.  

Owning and operating a sale barn is full-time commitment.  

“There’s no time off,” Starliper says. “It’s seven days a week. I have 22 part-time employees. They mostly only work on Wednesday, which is sale day.” 

In September, 2024, Starliper welcomed new partners Ryan and Shelby Burcker into the livestock auction business. Ryan Burcker said he grew up on a beef cattle farm in Washington County. 

Four States Livestock Sales auctioneer Floyd Davis.

“I started going to the Four States Livestock Sales on Wednesdays with my grandfather, Floyd Davis, when I was about 5 years old. My grandfather has been the auctioneer at Four States for 50 years. He used to sit me in the stands with some of his farming friends and they enjoyed my company.” 

Once Burcker was about 10 years old, he was able to start helping with the bottle calves and pigs. 

“As soon as I turned 15, I started working at Four States,” he says. “I left for a couple years but came back, and I’ve worked here ever since, more than 15 years.” 

The new co-owner said he’s always enjoyed cattle, seeing different breeds sold at the auction, and visiting with the customers. 

“I want to do what we can for the farmers and get the best possible market value for their animals,” he says. 

Starliper has been a true mentor to Burcker, who is just 30 years old and has three children with wife, Shelby, who is learning all the ins and outs of the Four States office. “Jim has taught me a lot about the auction business,” Burcker says.  

Both Starliper and Burcker believe that it’s a great time to be in the auction business as well as the cattle business. 

“We work on commission,” Burcker says. “If cattle prices are up, that’s good for us.”  

According to Starliper, Wednesday night has always been sales night and cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep are sold, but the majority of their business is cattle. 

“The cattle business is crazy right now, a three-day old calf that brought $50 about 15 years ago brings $700 or $800 today,” Starliper says. “Some calves are bringing over $1,000.” 

The Four States Livestock Sales owners attribute the record prices to increased demand for beef by consumers and a decrease in cow numbers in the United States. “Beef is always the protein of choice in affluent societies,” says Jeff Semler, Washington County Extension agriculture agent. “Our economy is robust no matter what the news media says. Additionally, programs like The Drive by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Certified Angus Beef have greatly driven consumption.” 

According to Kevin Good, vice president of market analysis at CattleFax, the U.S. beef cattle inventory is the lowest since 1951. Ranchers haven’t been able to keep enough replacement beef heifers back, therefore causing a beef cattle-inventory drop. 

“The U.S. beef cow herd is expected to see the cycle low to start 2025 at 28 million head, 150,000 head below last year and down 3.5 million head from the 2019 cycle highs,” Good says.  

“The key is expansion, the cattle cycles are similar to the late 1800s,” Good says. “The challenges we face today are multi-faceted. Pasture and drought conditions, labor issues, urban sprawl, and farmers aging are just a few challenges and will be key factors influencing the rate of expansion, with a slower herd rebuild anticipated compared to the last cycle.” 

Good says he believes cattle prices will continue with record highs and stay historically strong for the next couple years. 

“Then it comes back to demand and demand has been robust and in a good place,” he says. “The U.S. beef market will stay strong, driven by tight cattle supplies and increased consumer demand. We are optimistic.” 

The cattle cycle is typically 10 years, and we are in year 12, according to Semler. “The end is coming, but a lot of factors are at play. This bubble will burst. It always does.” 

But for now, cattlemen are excited for a profitable market. 

Everyone agrees, the contribution of the Starlipers to the local agriculture market has been great. 

“Jim and Barb have been outstanding servants of the livestock industry,” Semler said. “They work hard to advertise, promote, and market livestock for local producers. They don’t just sell livestock. They have been long-time supporters of 4-H and FFA.” 

According to Semler, the average person doesn’t understand the importance of the Four States Livestock Sales barn. 

“People from all over come to Four States to buy and sell livestock,” Semler says. “There is no other sale barn east of the Four States auction barn. The Maryland Eastern Shore farmers have to go to Pennsylvania.” 

Four States Livestock Sales gets buyers and sellers from multiple states, near and far. “Right now, we have an Indiana pig producer bringing his hogs to our auction barn,” says Starliper. “He gets 60 cents a pound in Indiana and here in Maryland he’s getting 80 cents per pound.” 

The Hagerstown livestock auction got its “Four States” name from the original founders, who had opened livestock sales facilities in Hagerstown; Charlestown, West Virginia; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 

The Starlipers and Burckers plan to continue providing a livestock auction venue to meet the demand of their customers. They enjoy the weekly livestock sale and hope to be in business for another 50 years.  

Inside the Four States Livestock Sales auction house.