New price records written at Butler Farm Show

BUTLER, Pa. – Three new price records were set when bidders packed the sale arena for the 2006 Butler Farm Show livestock auction Aug. 10.
Siblings Joshua and Stacy Arner raised the grand and reserve champion market goats, and both were rewarded for their hard work when buyers set new records for their projects.
Joshua Arner improved one placing from last year, and Ritenour Equipment at Butler and M&R Power Equipment at Hermitage teamed to buy this year’s 89-pound grand champion for $13 per pound, more than doubling the previous record of $5.50 per pound set in 2004.
And when Stacy Arner’s 71-pound reserve champion came to the ring, bidders kept pace. Amerikohl Mining had the final bid of $11 per pound, easily topping the $6 per pound bid set in 1997.
Six market goats totaled $2,538.50, averaging $5.30 per pound with champions and $1.94 per pound without.
Hogs. Bidding looked like it was on pace to set new records for the market hog sale, too, but only the reserve champion could gather enough steam to break the $8 record set during last year’s sale.
Nathan Patton sold his 245-pound reserve champion for a new record $9 per pound to White Diamond Construction at Butler, Pa.
Paul Merten III sold his 264-pound grand champion for a respectable $9.50 per pound to Amerikohl Mining. The grand champion hog record, set in 2005, is $12.50 per pound.
Eighty-five hogs sold, totaling $46,706.51 and averaging $2.19 per pound with champions and $2.02 per pound without.
Lambs. Harold Dunn Jr. also stepped up one placing from last year to show this year’s grand champion market lamb. His 121-pounder earned a $6-per-pound bid from Wright Meat Packing at Fombell, Pa. The bid was far short of the $16.50-per-pound record set last year.
Sarah Laughlin’s reserve champion lamb also weighed 121 pounds, and earned her a $4.25-per-pound bid from the Butler Rotary Club.
Prices remained steady through the finish of the lamb sale, with a handful of 4-H’ers earning bids at or above $3 per pound. Sixty-five lambs brought $17,616.25, averaging $2.44 per pound with champions and $2.35 per pound without.
Steers. Siblings were at it again when it came to the market steer competition. Brother-sister combo Colt and Dayna Filges dominated the contest this year, with Colt taking grand champion honors and Dayna, in her last year of 4-H membership, settling for the reserve champion spot.
Colt’s 1,335-pound champion earned a $7-per-pound bid from Amerikohl Mining, and Dayna’s 1,290-pound reserve champion brought $3 per pound from J.K. Hydraulics.
Thirty steers totaled $57,752.06, averaging $1.58 per pound with champions and $1.32 per pound without.
Small animals. Jessi Kummer exhibited the grand champion pen of three meat rabbits, and earned a bid of $550 for the project from AAA A-Z Services at Butler, Pa.
No reserve champion pen of rabbits sold.
Three pens of rabbits added $1,025 to sale totals.
No adviser volunteered to lead the poultry club, so no meat chickens sold this year.
Overall results. Overall sale receipts totaled $125,863.32, down about $12,000 from 2005.
Auctioneer was John Huey II. Ringmen who volunteered their time were James Younkins, Alvin Vogel and Luke Vogel.
(Reporter Andrea Myers welcomes reader feedback by phone at 800-837-3419 or by e-mail at amyers@farmanddairy.com.)