10/23/2026
𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗿
𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦
In a quiet stretch of California’s Central Valley, where dairy farms and cattle ranches still define the landscape more than freeways and skylines, a family business is preparing to celebrate eight decades of continuous operation.
This fall, Farmers Livestock Market will mark its 80th anniversary by opening its gates to some of the industry’s top auctioneers for a World Livestock Auctioneer Championship qualifying event.
On Oct. 24, contestants will gather at the Oakdale market to compete for prizes and the opportunity to advance to the 2027 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship, to be held next June in South Lake Tahoe, Nev., and Galt, Calif.
The timing feels right for Easton Haglund, his mom, Jennifer Haglund, and his aunt, Sheri Linhares. The family has long operated largely out of the spotlight, focused on serving local dairymen and ranchers.
Hosting a high-profile Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) event, they say, is a deliberate step into a broader stage while their multi-generational story remains strong.
“We’ve always been a family that just has operated on our own, done things quietly over the last 80 years,” Easton says. “And we just felt like we needed to finally put ourselves out there and do this.”
𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮
The Farmers Livestock story begins in December 1946, when Lawrence Haglund held his first farm auction. He specialized in dairy dispersals, selling everything from the cows and tractors to sheep and goats. Lawrence continued that work into the early 1960s, with his son, Don, joining him in the mid-1950s. After Lawrence’s death, Don carried the tradition forward.
In 1968, Don became a partner in an auction yard in Modesto. A decade later, he and his wife, JoAnn, became sole owners and renamed the business Farmers Livestock Market. They operated in Modesto for decades alongside their children, Steve Haglund and Sheri Linhares.
In 2007, Steve and Jennifer Haglund, along with Sheri and her husband, Dave Linhares, moved the market to its current Oakdale facility, a property built in the late 1950s.
Tragedy struck the next generation. Steve Haglund died suddenly in 2022. Shortly afterward, Sheri’s son Dylan Linhares, who had just completed auctioneering school and was preparing to sell at the yard, died in a car accident.
Today the business is carried forward by Easton Haglund, Jennifer Haglund and Sheri and Dave Linhares. Easton’s brother, Clinton, operates a feedyard in Missouri. The family continues to emphasize what they call “the finest in auction services” for consignors and buyers of every size.
𝘼 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙈𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
The Haglunds and Linhares have deep ties to the LMA and its California affiliate – the California Livestock Auction Markets Association (CLAMA). Don was president of the organization in the 1980s. Following in his dad’s footsteps, Steve served as president of CLAMA in the late 1990s. Farmers Livestock has been a member of the LMA for more than 50 years.
Jennifer is quick to note the personal connections that grew over time. Such as Forrest Mangan, now LMA’s chief executive officer, who began as the family’s regional executive officer out of college.
“He really kept us in the middle of things and made sure we all knew what was going on,” she says.
Easton points to practical benefits of membership.
“The insurance is great,” he says. “But they’re also just big protectors of us auction yards, always working for us in the Capitol.”
He says the association helps make advocacy easier — and more effective.
“We don’t have to individually fight,” Easton says. “When you’re fighting as a whole community … as a whole industry, we can move things in the right direction a lot quicker.”
𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖
Hosting the qualifier offers a chance to show visitors a side of California that rarely makes national headlines. Jennifer says many people associate the state with Los Angeles or San Francisco.
“But we’ve got a lot of rural life and we’ve got a lot of cattle here,” she says. “There’s a lot of Western heritage. We want to show that off.”
The family has considered hosting a WLAC qualifying event for a few years, and says the anniversary provided the final push.
“We were just finally like, ‘Well, this would be a good excuse to do it,’” Easton says. “It’s finally our turn, our time. I felt like we were capable enough business-wise and cattle-wise that we would make this a successful auction.”
𝘼 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮
What has sustained the business for 80 years, family members say, is a reputation for fairness that began with Lawrence and Don and has been passed down deliberately.
“Going way back, our family has had a really good reputation for being fair and honest. And I think that meant the most to Don,” Jennifer says.
She recalls starting at the market after marrying Steve in 1981. When she asked whether the auction yard was their future, he answered yes.
“I’ve been here ever since,” she says. “I tell people all the time, I can’t believe I’m almost 70 and I’m still working. But when you have a family business, you can’t just walk away. It’s your life; it’s your family.”
Jennifer admits she tried to steer her sons toward college and other careers, telling them, “Nobody works harder for less than your dad did.”
But both followed him into the business anyway, as did her nephew Dylan. Now her 14-year-old grandson Cash stands beside her at the yard, too.
Easton is quick to credit the family members who managed the barn before him.
“I’m still young enough and old enough though that I hear people talk about my grandfather, how honest and good he was,” he says. “That led down to my father, Steve. I think every generation before me has made my life easier. They stamped in a really good legacy for me to be able to take over.”
Easton says consignors trust the market because his grandfather and father earned that trust.
“They know when they bring their cattle to us that they’re taken care of,” he says.
The 80th anniversary carries extra weight because it arrives while Jennifer and Sheri are still active and while their grandchildren can witness the celebration.
“My dad would say for his last 30 years, ‘We’ll be lucky to make it to next year,’” he recalls. “But we’re still here and still successful — and we have every intention to make it to 100 years.”
