Bids down but sale total up in Geauga County

BURTON, Ohio – Champion prices at Geauga County’s market livestock sale Sept. 4 dropped. But thanks to more steer and hog projects and many re-sales this year, the overall sale total jumped to $232,000, a $23,000 increase from last year’s high.
Although the sale started an hour earlier this year, champion steers still didn’t enter the ring until after 10:30 p.m.
Julie Clemson’s 1,345-pound champion steer was a tough sell. The bidding was stuck at $3.10 a pound for several minutes before auctioneer Scott Mihalic was able to coax buyers up in 10-cent increments.
The gavel finally fell at $8 a pound from Clemson’s grandparents, Murl and Shirley Clemson of Universal Disposal Inc. Last year, Clemson received $8.70 a pound for her champion steer.
Auctioneer Mihalic also had his work cut out for him with the reserve champion steer. In another sale that lasted several minutes, an upset Jeff Jernejcic settled for $2.70 a pound from Middlefield Banking for his 1,340-pound animal. Last year’s reserve steer took home $6.10 a pound.
Fifty-two steers sold for an average of $1.74 a pound with champions and $1.59 without. They added $116,223.50 to the sale total.
Hog sale. Auctioneer Pete Howes started off the hog sale with a plea for buyers to continue to keep hog prices high as they’ve done the last several years.
Buyers must’ve been listening because no hog brought less than $2 a pound.
Etna Products Inc. in Chagrin Falls once again bought the grand champion hog, this time for a $1 a pound more than last year. That bid, $9 a pound, went to Katie Miller and her 268-pound champion animal.
Maybe it was Daniel Whiting’s dress shirt and tie that helped him get $7 a pound from Andy Chevrolet in Lyndhurst. Whiting’s reserve champion hog weighed 276 pounds.
One hundred and six hogs sold for $71,180.25, averaging $2.61 a pound with champions and $2.51 without.
Lambs, goats. Preston Chevrolet Cadillac supported the goat and lamb sales, buying three of the champions.
First, Pat Preston paid $11.25 a pound for T.J. Nolin’s 90-pound champion goat.
Nolin stayed in the winner’s circle with his 91-pound reserve champion goat, which brought $4 a pound from Geauga Vision, down $2 a pound from last year’s winning price.
Preston Chevrolet Cadillac also bought the grand and reserve champion market lambs. First it was top showman Bradley Calkins’ 125-pound champion lamb for $10.50 a pound. That price shattered last year’s $4.50 a pound bid.
Next, Preston Chevrolet Cadillac picked up Cody Powell’s 129-pound reserve champion lamb for $6 a pound, which was $1 less than Preston Chevrolet Cadillac paid for the reserve champ last year.
Bradley Calkins continued his winning ways, this time with the champion pen of two lambs, weighing in at a total of 255 pounds. Kinetico Inc. paid $2.50 a pound for the pen.
Christin Carson’s reserve champion pen of two lambs, weighing a total of 239 pounds, took home $4.75 a pound from Insurance Diversified.
Thirty-eight lamb projects averaged $2.91 a pound with champions and $2.63 a pound without, totaling $15,005.65.
Ten goats sold for $2,607.15, averaging $2.94 a pound with champions and $1.89 without.
Small animals down. While last year’s small animal sale was the highlight of the day, breaking records and paying almost unheard of prices, this year’s sale was a disappointment in comparison.
Emily McConnell’s 48-pound champion turkey sold for $15 a pound, a good price but not compared to last year’s $34-a-pound record. Geauga County Farm Bureau was the winning bidder.
Next came Mike Kuth’s 41-pound reserve champion gobbler, which sold for $10 a pound to Ed and Judy Ward. That bid was less than half of last year’s $22-a-pound reserve champion price.
Thirty-six turkeys sold for $11,204, averaging $7.05 a pound with champions and $6.83 a pound without.
Birds. Structural Concepts Inc. bought Jessica Garland’s 24-pound of champion chicken pen for $19 a pound. Last year the winning pen sold for $32 a pound.
Reserve champion honors went to Hannah Barber with her 22-pound chicken pen. O’Reilly Equipment paid $20 a pound for the birds, which was down $8 a pound from last year.
Nineteen chicken pens totaled $3,931, averaging $8.43 a pound with champions and $7.26 without.
Rabbits. But while turkey and chicken prices were down, the rabbit sale made up for them.
For the second year in a row, Art Pritt of Pritt Concessions set a champion rabbit record. This time it was for James Teichman’s 14.5-pound pen. And the price was $61 a pound, breaking last year’s record by $10 a pound.
Monika Peschke’s 14-pound reserve champion rabbit pen also broke last year’s price. Kronk’s Garage paid $26 a pound for the pen, $6 a pound more than last year.
Six rabbit pens raised $1,710.50, averaging $15.13 a pound with champions and $6.20 without.
Ducks. The Peschke family took home both grand and reserve ribbons for their ducks.
First, Kyle sold his 6.5-pound champion for $60 a pound to Healthy Deposits, and then Kristen sold her 6-pound reserve champion for $50 a pound to Geauga County Farm Bureau.
Last year’s prices were $75 a pound and $62.50 a pound, respectively, from the same buyers.
Forty ducks sold for $4,900, averaging $16.22 a pound with champions and $14.82 without.
Boer meat goats. Boer meat goats were also on the auction block. Last year’s reserve champion exhibitor, Louis Sharpnack, had this year’s grand champion. The 110-pound animal brought in $9 a pound from Kinetico Inc.
Geauga County Farm Bureau picked up another champion, this time Hannah Barber’s 94-pound reserve champion Boer meat goat for $4 a pound.
Averages for the four Boer meat goats were $3.87 a pound with champions and $2.38 without, totaling $2,070.15.
County dairy 4-H clubs put together three baskets that sold for a total of $3,350. One hundred dollars from each basket was donated to the scholarship fund.
Auctioneers for the sale were Mike Davis, Pete Howes and Scott Mihalic. Ringman was Doug Wilson.
(Reporter Kristy Hebert welcomes feedback by phone at 800-837-3419, ext. 23 or by e-mail at khebert@farmanddairy.com.)