FARM RAISED
Nearly 130 animals were auctioned off at the Butler County Farm Show Thursday, and one category saw a previous sales record broken.
The quality of each product netted some sellers hundreds of dollars, which could have been more or less than the amount of money they spent raising them over months or even years.
“They learn to budget a little and they maybe learn what it's like to lose some money,” Ken Metrick, adviser for the farm show junior board, said in the opening ceremony at the auction.
Almost 130 animals were auctioned off at the farm show, and sales included goats, lambs, poultry, hogs, rabbits and cattle.
The grand champion beef sale went to Luke Frazier, who home-bred and sold a 1,265-pound steer to Amerikohl Mining. Frazier left pleased, selling the beef for $7 a pound, raking in $8,855.
“It was a lot of work, a lot of work,” said Frazier, 14, of Butler. “The hardest part was probably teaching him how to work with the show stick and go with the movements.”
Brielle Karns, of Butler, sold her grand champion 138-pound lamb to John Krelow for $42 a pound, breaking the previous sales record.She said she is glad to reach this achievement in her last year of 4-H.“I really wanted it,” she said. “All the hard work, spending two to three hours in the barn every day and night, it was a lot.”The grand champion hog seller was Morgan Teets, 15, of Slippery Rock, who sold her 267-pound hog for $32 a pound.She said the process was difficult, but worth it.“Definitely the long hours in the barn just training for this day was hard,” Teets said. “Now it feels amazing.”Lily Ansell, 14, of Renfrew, sold her 99-pound grand champion goat for $20 a pound, and said that although it was her first goat, she was up for the challenge.“I had a lot of help; I couldn't have done it without (friends and family),” she said.The grand champion rabbit seller was Michael Costel, who sold his 12.3-pound crate for about $1,500. But the biggest sale came later, when Cheyanne Henry sold her 10.4-pound group for a total of $4,000.The grand champion for poultry was Owen Black.
Members of different 4-H groups and Future Farmers of America raised their livestock for months or years in some cases for the opportunity to auction them at the farm show. Some had planned to auction an animal last year, but the farm show was canceled.Don Patton, adviser for the farm show junior board, said the buyers at the auction frequently pay well above market value for the livestock.“The community, whether it is individuals or businesses, are extremely generous at this sale,” Patton said. “They pay premium prices for these animals.”
The farm show named a grand champion and reserve champion for each animal category as well as a home bred champion and a reserve home bred champion. The farm show also auctioned off a charity hog raised by the Butler County Livestock Club to benefit MHY Family Services. The 269-pound hog sold for $13 a pound.Patton said about 200 to 300 buyers sign up each year, but often they will donate their purchase back to the 4-H clubs. Several 4-H and FFA members were awarded with scholarships in the opening ceremonies of the auction. “A lot of animals are bought and then donated back to charities,” he said.
