One of the most exciting events at the Butler Farm Show is the annual cheese auction, which takes place Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m.

The cheese auction is not only special for the bidders, who get the chance to take home quality cheese, but also for the 4-H and National FFA Organization, formerly Future Farmers of America, members who are rewarded for their hard work.

Every year, 4-H and FFA members raise dairy cattle to prepare for the Butler Farm Show. Raising a dairy cow can be especially hard work, according to Ken Metrick, Butler Farm Show Board secretary.

“(Raising a dairy cow is) a 365-day-a-year job. It’s not a six-week project,” Metrick said.

Metrick said the cheese auction gives youth dairy division competitors the opportunity to be rewarded for their efforts and, according to Metrick, “make some extra money on their projects.”

The auction also gives youth dairy competitors access to the same opportunities to raise money as their junior livestock counterparts.

“The junior livestock participants get to sell a market animal and the dairy kids don’t get anything to sell,” Metrick said.

During the cheese auction, each entrant in the youth dairy division gets a basket in their name filled with cheese, as well as items to pair with it, such as crackers and salami.

The exact amount of cheese in each basket depends on how much milk each cow produces per day. Each basket is filled with the amount of cheese produced by the milk each cow produces on average per day.

In addition to the competitors’ baskets, one basket each year is sold to raise money for the cheese auction itself.

The money baskets raise can be significant. Baskets almost always sell for over $1,000, while some baskets can go for over $2,000, according to Metrick.

Although the prices can be steep, the baskets mean more than just the cheese inside to the competitors being rewarded for their hard work and the buyers, who help children and youths from across Butler County and beyond pursue their next farming projects.