While each year hundreds of people bid on livestock at the Junior Livestock Market Sale, some may not realize the effort it takes to prepare for the event.

The auction, scheduled at 7 p.m. Aug. 13, is organized by committees from three groups. Volunteers like Ken Metrick, a 4-H leader and FFA and Butler Farm Show committee member, help make things operate a little smoother.

It begins with children and young adults from the Butler County 4-H Beef Breeding Club and the Butler County Future Farmers of America. They buy and raise their own animals to sell at the auction.

Metrick said tagging these animals is part of the year-round responsibility of the farm show committee, but there is also a lot of planning by the subcommittees, including judge selection.

Metrick said volunteer animal superintendents pick the judges based on expertise and location.

“It is usually someone from out of the area, usually a couple counties away,” he said.

Metrick said this keeps decisions fair.

“They always use the same judge for two years in a row,” he said. “That’s the way most shows do it.”

Metrick said good judges usually have a good demeanor with the children, explaining to them why they judge the way they do.

This year there will be five judges rather than six because poultry has been canceled by order of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

In May, the department suspended the poultry division in farm shows until at least 2016 because of concerns from Avian influenza outbreaks nationwide.

Donna Zang, the Penn State Extension representative for the sales committee, said there will be an opportunity for the children to sell the poultry they raised this year.

“We decided to do it because they don’t have the opportunity to bring and sell the animal at the show,” she said.

Because they cannot sell live poultry at the auction, the committee has arranged to process the birds and sell the meat at the auction after the charity animal is sold and before the livestock.

“It’s just an opportunity for them to complete their project,” she said.

After the planning and tagging is done, the spacious barn is crammed with pens and a show circle, which will be changed a number of times throughout three days to fit the animals being displayed.

Metrick said the order in which these circles change differs each year because they have a rotation that keeps animals from being shown and sold in the same order as the previous year.

Metrick said most of the most work is done the day of the auction. As their efforts culminate, the barn is again transformed, replacing the show ring with a sale ring and adding bleachers.

Metrick said 200 additional chairs are also set up to accommodate an average of 350 to 400 people who attend each year.

Also important on auction day are the buyers. Some are community members while others are charitable businesses.

Before the sale, the 4-H development committee hosts a buyers dinner in a tent behind the barn where a variety of food is available for buyers.

Metrick said 4-H members are responsible for bringing the food, which is mostly donated. He said there is usually some of each species being sold to sample and eat.

Zang said the meal is a relaxed way of thanking supporters.

“It’s really a kind of picnic type of atmosphere,” she said.

The sellers of the animals receive the money from the initial sale of the animals, which buyers can send to a processor or donate back to be resold at the New Wilmington auction.

Where the proceeds from the second auction go is decided by the 4-H youths who own that animal.

Metrick said those donated funds go to such places as scholarship funds, charities or the 4-H and FFA organizations. He said businesses typically donate their animals back as a way to give back to their community.

“They want to support the program and support the kids,” he said.

Butler County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton is a regular buyer at the sale. He said he always buys a lamb and has it processed because it is a family favorite meal.

Pinkerton said he likes that the process helps mold the youths morally. He said the 4-H members send personal thank you letters to buyers.

Pinkerton said the process of selling the animal can be bittersweet for the children, especially for the younger ones, because they sell something that they care about.

“They have actually grown these animals from tiny babies,” he said. “It’s a devotion of love.”

Pinkerton said the sale ultimately provides the children with a chance to gain responsibilities and earn respect that will continue to benefit them in adulthood.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind that it builds character for these kids,” he said. “It teaches these kids responsibility beyond what we can imagine.”