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Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, Dunlap Livestock Auction

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 30th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, this week, announced her Small Business of the Week: Dunlap Livestock Auction of Harrison County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. 

“I want to congratulate the Schaben family and the team at Dunlap Livestock Auction for their longstanding dedication to maintaining an open and competitive marketplace that brings together not only livestock buyers and sellers but the entire Dunlap community,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “Dunlap Livestock Auction honors agriculture traditions while also innovating to meet modern-day needs, and I can’t wait to see their continued success in western Iowa.”

From their first auction of less than thirty head of cattle, hogs, and sheep to now regularly moving thousands of cattle through each sale, the Schaben family has grown Dunlap Livestock Auction into a prominent and well-respected livestock marketplace in Harrison County. Jim and Ruth Schaben purchased Dunlap Livestock Auction in 1950 and have continued to expand the business since, selling the company to their sons, Jay, Jim Jr., and John in the early 1990s. Today, they also offer home and estate, farm machinery, gun, and real estate auctions for clients throughout the Midwest and remain committed to serving their community and the cattle industry.