Agents & Auctioneers

Joe Wersal has been in and around the auction business his entire life and became an auctioneer in 1984. In 1995 Joe purchased half interest in the famous Sleepy Eye Auction Market and has a thriving business there every Wednesday. Joe is an excellent auctioneer and is regarded by his peers as one of the premier ringmen in the state of Minnesota. Joe has a nose for finding treasures in seemingly ordinary boxes of personal property. He’s one of the best in the business at knowing values whether it’s an antique, a piece of machinery, or a full herd of cattle.

Joe lives on his farm just outside of Winthrop. He is involved in his church and area organizations, such as the Winthrop Lion’s Club. Joe is very laid back, easy to get to know and to be relaxed around. Give Joe Wersal a call and get to know a great auctioneer professional.

The following is the letter of nomination Larry Mages sent to the Minnesota State Auctioneer’s Association when John was selected into the MSAA Hall of Fame. You can see John has wonderful credentials.

When I was a boy, I went with my Dad to lots of auctions. Many things on our farm were bought at auctions, from farm machinery to livestock. After you go to enough auctions, you begin to know the auctioneers. I remember John Goelz auctioneering at the Walnut Grove auction barn and the Belle Plaine auction barn. The year was 1962. When I really got to know John was when he joined Myron Nelson in about 1968. Nelson and Goelz literally had nearly every auction for many years in our area. It seemed if you were going to an auction, they were the auctioneers. I asked John about 5 years ago how many auctions he thought he has done in his life. At that time he figured with the auction barns and him and Nelson, and then when I joined him when Myron Nelson retired in 1994, he had done approximately 3000-3500 auctions in his life. Well, I can tell you John is still going strong. We celebrated his 40th year in the auction business last year. He’s still a very strong auctioneer and is certainly one of the best at working his crowd into a frenzy of quick bidding and getting people to pay more for an item than they were planning on. I consider John as one of the premier auctioneers of Minnesota and the nation for that matter. There are only a handful of auctioneers in the state, now or ever with the experience and auctions under their belt that John Goelz has. If you work with John you better be willing to donate your time to benefit auctions. John does about 15 benefit auctions per year for churches, schools, county fair 4-H auctions and anybody with a cause. Not only is John an excellent auctioneer, but he’s also a wonderful caring person. Sometimes I just gotta shake my head and smile. Here is a man that will wear an everyday coat until there are holes in both sleeves and couple more somewhere else to boot, but when there is someone in need, I’ve seen John give huge dollars to help them out. John and his wife Alice have an especially huge heart for anyone that has a special needs child, and are always ready to help. Their daughter Louise is mentally handicapped and can be a real hand full, but I’ve never once ever heard John or Alice complain about the cross they bear. As a matter of fact, they feel they are blessed to have such a beautiful child. They have also had the heartbreak of losing a child at the age of 12 of a heart problem. And of course they’re very proud of their son Larry, who is a veterinarian and part owner of the Pipestone Vet Clinic. John and Alice have farmed their whole lives. They also have a Limosine cattle operation, as well as hogs and sheep. The Goelz’s have sold breeding stock for decades from all three of their livestock operations. I’ve watched John at many livestock auctions and 4-H auctions, and I don’t know of anyone that knows livestock and pedigrees better. I am proud to nominate a very qualified and deserving John Goelz for The Minnesota State Auctioneers Association Hall Of Fame.

I have enjoyed being an auctioneer with Mages Land Company & Auction Service, for the last nine years. Ryan has a A.A.S in Farm Business Management. Working directly with families and farmers in the area is my passion. I have been a part of listing a variety of auctions in the area, from farm machinery to antiques and classic cars.

I have also worked full-time as a Correctional Officer for Brown County for the past 20 years. I’ve been a volunteer on the Winthrop Fire Department for over 27 yrs, Winthrop Ambulance, seed dealer and also farm. I am also on the Sibley Co Fair board and the Bavarian Blast board.

I live in Winthrop with my wife and daughter. We enjoy camping, vacationing together. I also enjoy hunting, the outdoors, and watching sports.

If you need help with an auction, whether it be personal property, a farm or farmland, we have the resources to provide you the best outcome. Give me a call and we can talk through any questions you may have.

Jill remembers very well Matt walking in and asking her if she’d be interested in working in his office. Obviously, that didn’t take long to answer.  Working with the Mages family has just been awesome according to Jill!  There has definitely been a positive learning curve working with real estate and planning auctions. Jill said she truly found out it takes many steps in order to have a successful sale run smoothly.  We call auction days “fun day!” It really is enjoyable visiting with our dedicated followers and we appreciate the smiles.  We also look forward to seeing new faces. We do our best to accommodate and serve our customers.

In her spare time Jill enjoys going to Wisconsin to visit her grandchildren, sewing, yardwork and flowers.  Jill is a native of Fairfax and has two grown sons.  “Family is important, I enjoy time with my sisters, going to events in the metro area, estate sales or just hanging out.  You’d think I’d stay away from auctions but, sometimes it just fun to be in the crowd and be able to be a bidder once. I went to auctions with my father so I’m pretty sure that’s where this auction love comes from!”

Hunter Borth has been with Mages Land Co & Auction Service, LLC since 2019 as the Maintenance & Shipping Manager. Along with general maintenance around the shop, he has been heavily involved with many large projects around Mages including the complete remodel of the 229 Main St West building in downtown Sleepy Eye. You have probably seen him around our auctions as well helping out in many areas.

Hunter lives in his hometown of Fairfax, he grew up doing many projects with his father around the home and gained a lot of experience with his previous jobs before coming to Mages. In his spare time he enjoys taking his car to various car shows in Minnesota, traveling, road trips, and drag racing at Brainerd International Raceway.