Junior Fair Livestock Auction sets records

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Buyers for the Junior Fair Livestock Auction were again generous this year, providing a record premium total, as well as record per-unit average for animals sold this year.

While the number of animals sold this year was the highest since 2014, the purchase total and per-animal average were also records for the annual livestock sale.

Buyers paid out a total of $157,343 this year in premium money for the 294 sale units, which beat the old record of $146,210 paid in 2014, although that amount was for 359 sale units — more than 60 units over this year’s livestock unit total. With the meat from the animals worth $51,850.65, that means livestock exhibitors received a total of $209,193.15. The per-unit price of $535.18 was also the highest on record, besting last year’s record average of $492.29 by more than $40 per animal.

The auction began with the auctioning off of the symbolic gallon of milk to provide a financial reward for the dairy exhibitors who did not sell their animals during the auction. This year’s total of $2,825 was a new record, beating the old record of $2,400 and providing each dairy exhibitor with $353.13.

The category that saw the largest total amount of money was the swine category, where the 87 animals up for auction sold for a total premium of $46,245, or an average of $531.55 per animal. The number of animals and the per-animal premium were both up from last year, when 69 hogs were sold for a total of $36,159, an average of $524.04.

However, with hog market prices down this year, the 87 swine sold this year received a total of $5,59.81, or an average of $58.16 per animal. Because of the decline in hog prices, each exhibitor received an average of $589.71, significantly less than the average $632.09 paid out last year per animal.

The largest number of animals sold, other than swine, was for the 52 rabbits sold this year for a total premium of $17,630, or $339.04 per animal. The total value of the meat was $478.86, for a total sale price of $18,108.86 and a per-animal average price of $348.25, more than $50 per animal over last year’s per-animal total.

The other categories are as follows:

Turkeys — 28 animals were sold for a total of $10,865, or an average of $388.04 per bird. The meat was valued at $291.60, or $10.41 per bird, for a total sale price of $11,156.60, or $398.45 per bird. Last year’s 20 turkeys sold for $7,904, or a total of $395.20 per bird. The value of the meat was $166, for a total per-bird average of $403.50.

Goats — The 20 goats sold this year went for a premium total of $11,235, or $561.75 per animal. The value of the meat was $2,925.60 for a total sale price of $14,160.60, or $708.03 per animal sold. Last year’s totals for 15 goats was $9,426.33 in premium money, although goat prices were very high last year, resulting in the value of the meat of 15 goats totaling $24,865.19 for a total per-animal sale price in 2017 of $1,657.68.

Steers — The highest per-animal value went to the steer category this year, with buyers paying a total of $20,685 for 20 steers, an average of $1,034.25 per animal, while the meat value of the steers was $26,365.97, or $1,318.30 per animal, for a total per-animal price of $2,352.55. The 19 steers sold last year went for a premium total of $18,221. Steer prices last year resulted in a meat total of $24,865.19 ($1,308.69 average), for a total per-steer price of $2,267.69.

Dairy feeders — A total of 32 dairy feeders was sold this year for a total of $24,572.50, or an average per-animal premium of $767.89. The value of the meat was $13,361.81, or a per-animal average of $417.56, for a total sale price of $37,934.31, and a per-animal average price of $1,185.45. In 2017, 28 animals were sold for a total of $18,546, or per-animal average of $662.36. The actual value of the meat was $12,000.15 for a total sale price of $30,546.15, and a per-animal average of $1,090.93.

Sheep — This year, 18 sheep were sold for a total premium of $11,795, or a per-animal average of $655.28. The meat value was $3,186.70, or a per-animal average of $177.04, for a total sale price of $14,981.70 and a per-animal average of $832.32. Last year, the same number of sheep sold for a total premium of $9,424, or a per-animal average of $523.56. The value of the meat was $3,696.38, ($205.36 average per animal), for a total per-animal average price of $728.92 per animal.

Poultry The final category is poultry, with a total of 37 chickens sold for $11,490, or a per-bird average of $310.54. The value of the meat is $180.30 ($4.87 per bird), for a per-bird total average of $315.41. In 2017, 32 birds were sold for a total of $10,025, an average of $313.28 per bird. The value of the meat was $184.68 for a total sale price of $10,209.68, and a per-bird average of $319.95 per bird.