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Robert "Bob" Rodenberger
Oklahoma City, OK
Robert "Bob" Rodenberger was born January 20th, 1958 to Robert Sr. and Tommie Lou Rodenberger in Paris, Texas. He was raised on a small farm in Antlers, Oklahoma and graduated from Antlers High School in 1976. Bob attended Oklahoma State University and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Agriculture Economics in 1982.
Bob began working for Cooper Livestock at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in 1983, which was the first step in a lasting career in the cattle industry. Not only did Bob begin a cow-calf operation, he also started grazing his own stockers cattle and placing cattle in feed yards. He then became a partner in Cooper the following year and worked with them until 1988, at which time he began buying and selling cattle for Sparks Cattle Company at the Oklahoma National Stockyards where he continued to buy and sell cattle.
In 1991, Bob was presented the opportunity by Tom Gilliam and Bill Griffeth to lease Stockman Oklahoma Commission Company at the Oklahoma Stockyards and Apache Auction Market in Apache, Oklahoma.
While managing and growing both of these organizations, Bob cultivated long lasting relationships not only with his shipping customers, but his order buying customers as well. Major feed yards such as Cactus, Caprock, Friona and JBS have been the recipients of thousands of cattle over the years purchased by Bob. His longtime friendship with Robert Nichols of Nichols Cattle Company also allowed him to assist customers and buyers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, Nebraska, North and South Dakota.
As the industry began to change and additional options were introduced to market cattle, Bob realized a need for his customers to reach a larger buying audience and thus formed Apache Video in 2004. This video auction was held in addition to the traditional weekly market in Apache. Utilizing his extensive contacts, Bob was able to assist customers and put additional dollars in their pockets while moving quality cattle to a wider audience. Two years later, he and his partners formed Apache Order Buying to assist in streamlining the buying operations between Oklahoma City, Apache and other states, making them a one-stop shop in handling cattle marketing needs.
In 2015, Bob was sought out to facilitate a cattle auction partnership in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, located in the United States but on the border of Mexico. Bob's expertise in running a successful auction facility, along with providing excellent service to customers, would prove valuable to the success of the market and provide a way for cattle producers to obtain true value for their cattle. The auction, which officially opened in January 2017, only sold cattle from Mexico and provided a more competitive market versus selling cattle to 'border brokers' at a pre-arranged price. Located 25 yards from the import/export USDA inspection station, the auction facilities were owned by the Chihuahua Cattleman's Association and drew buyers from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, California and Nebraska. Even though Bob ended his partnership with Santa Teresa in the spring of 2020, his vision and industry contacts helped provide a breakthrough in the cattle import market.
Bob has previously served as the Southwest Director of Oklahoma Livestock Marketing Association, and he is proud to have raised his kids and provided for his family in the cattle industry.