The Goehring family of Libertyville, Iowa, began in the Hereford business in 1973. Goehring Herefords’ registered cow herd consists of 150 spring-calving cows and 50 fall-calving cows, and their commercial Angus herd includes 400 spring-calving cows and heifers. The Goehrings breed 100 registered heifers every year as well as 450 black and black-whiteface heifers for their annual sale, held the first Wednesday in December. Additionally, they background 800 to 1,000 steers and finish 500 cattle at custom yards.

Bill grew up on a small farm in southeast Iowa. He graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in animal science and then attended the World Wide College of Auctioneering. In August 1986, Bill’s family purchased a local livestock market in Keosauqua, Iowa. At the time the market needed a lot of work, so their first priority was building a feeder pig sale. The sale grew quickly, and for more than 15 years, the Goehrings sold 1,000 to 2,000 pigs weekly. When the hog business consolidated, they began to push their cattle sale and, through relationships built in the feeder pig sale, were able to gain strength in the competitive cattle market. They now market 40,000 head annually in addition to market hogs, sheep, goats and hay. As the sale grew, so did the Goehring family — Bill and his wife, Becky, have four sons — Curtis (Lauren), Lucas (Cody), Ted (Rachelle) and Colby (Hannah) — and one granddaughter.

Growing up, Bill was very active in junior leadership. He held positions on the board of the Iowa Junior Hereford Association, where his parents served as advisors for most of his junior career. He also served on the National Junior Hereford Association board of directors. Bill went on to serve on the board of directors for the Iowa Hereford Association and was president for two years. In 2013 and 2015, he had the honor of being asked to judge the national Hereford show in the Yards at the National Western Stock Show.

Additionally, Bill is an active member of both the Iowa and the National Livestock Marketing Associations and served as the Iowa state president for two years. He has been a judge at the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship and has traveled to Washington, D.C., with the Livestock Marketing Association. He also serves on the Iowa Beef Council.