Joe Earl Hargrove

Joe Earl Hargrove was born on March 25, 1942, in Uvalde, Texas. By high school he had found the thing he would do for the rest of his life, skipping class to buy and trade cattle. That early trading started a career that would shape the livestock business across South Texas.

In 1967 Joe and his wife, Nadine, founded Southwest Livestock Exchange. Over the years he built it into a thriving sale barn handling cattle, horses, sheep and goats, and became one of the most respected men in the community.

More Than a Sale Barn

Joe put his time into the young people coming up in agriculture, and he held key roles in agricultural organizations across the region. As a majority stockholder he helped revive a struggling local bank and grow its reach well beyond Uvalde.

What people remember most is simpler. He loved the land, the livestock and the people in the business. He was a mentor and a friend to many, always ready to lend a hand or a piece of advice.

The Family Today

Joe passed away in 2021. His daughter Melody Speer and her husband Jimmy, who has worked the barn for over forty years, own and run Southwest Livestock Exchange today. Their sons, Justin and Cline, each work in different parts of the agriculture business.

Every sale at the barn is still run the way Joe ran it: with people who hold strong morals, care for the land, and believe in the rural way of life.