Columbiana Co. Fair livestock sale totaled $267,630

LISBON, Ohio – Even though typical August weather scorched the midway, attendance was up all week at this year’s Columbiana County Fair. That is, until the rains came Sunday and turned the evening demolition derby into a mud bog.
Total paid gate attendance was 32,000, according to fair office manager Tresa Hall. Tuesday, which featured an evening concert by the PovertyNeck Hillbillies, drew a record crowd.
Junior fair. Columbiana County 4-H and FFA youth wrapped up their work during fair week, feeding their market livestock animals one last time before looking ahead to next year’s projects.
This year’s junior fair market livestock sale totaled $267,631.66 on 360 lots, down $11,450 from last year’s total. This was the second year for the sale’s new format. The steer, dairy beef feeder and cheese sales remain on Thursday night of fair week, but the small animal, goat, lamb and hog sales are now held on Saturday afternoon.
Steer sale. Chad Raber, a member of United FFA, worked hard with his market steer and it showed when he brought his 1,337-pound grand champion into the sale ring. Raber also earned senior steer showmanship honors as well as the showman of showmen trophy.
Salem Giant Eagle paid $3 a pound for Raber’s champion.
Alex Cope, who raised last year’s grand champion steer, took reserve champion honors this year with her 1,325-pound steer. Skyline Diner paid $1.90 a pound for her steer; it was the lowest price bid for a reserve champion in a decade.
Harrison Hoppel received the best project steer award, which combines live animal placing with showmanship and skillathon competitions. He received a bid of $1.75 a pound from Kelly Oil Products for his 1,205-pound steer.
Codey Baker earned the runner-up project steer award, selling his 1,300-pound steer for $1.85 to Paris & Washington Insurance.
The 82 steers totaled $127,344.76 and averaged $1.25 a pound including champion animals; $1.22 a pound, without champions.
Steer skillathon winners included: junior, Harrison Hoppel; intermediate, Melinda Richey; senior, Haley Drake. Showmanship winners, in addition to Raber, were: junior, Betty Richey; and intermediate, Emily Smith. Tyler Morris won rate-of-gain honors, with an average daily gain of 3.46 pounds on his steer weighing 1,550 pounds.
Cheese sale. Dustin Campbell received an unofficial record bid for his grand champion cheese yield. Linda Wonner paid $2,200 for Campbell’s basket that included a single day’s milk production, cheese equivalent, of 12.30 pounds of cheese and 1.39 pounds of butter.
Eve Whiteleather earned reserve champion honors with a cheese yield of 11.26 pounds of cheese and 0.43 pounds butter. Parker Farms paid $600 for her basket.
The 27 lots averaged $691.67; the cheese sale totaled $19,025.
Dairy beef feeders. Jason Gullett raised the grand champion dairy beef feeder calf. Montgomery Dairy Farms paid $1.85 a pound for his 620-pound calf.
John Karlen repeated his 2006 performance, raising the reserve champion dairy beef feeder. Damascus Livestock Auction paid $1.45 a pound for Karlen’s calf.
Dairy beef feeder showmanship winners were: junior, Colton Antram; intermediate, Donnie Hofmeister; senior and showman of showmen, Katie Glasser.
The 77 entries averaged $1.26 a pound, including champions; $1.25 a pound, without. The feeder sale totaled $53,549.25.
Market lambs. If you wanted the publicity for buying a grand or reserve champion animal, the steal of the day were the lambs. The prices for the grand and reserve champion market lambs were the lowest recorded in more than 15 years at the Columbiana County Fair.
Amy Cunningham, who raised last year’s grand champion lamb, scored another big win with the grand champion banner this year, too. But her 128-pound champion this year sold for less than half of what her 2006 champion earned, bringing a final bid of $3.25 a pound from Ramsey Hoof Trimming.
The reserve champion lamb fared even worse. Connor Sharp received only $1.50 a pound from Carrollton Livestock Auction for his 140-pound lamb. Prior to this year, the bid for the reserve champion lamb had not dropped below $3 a pound since 1997.
Sharp also won the best project lamb honor, based on live animal, showmanship and skillathon contests.
Logan Sharp raised the 116-pound (liveweight) grand champion carcass lamb, which sold for $2.60 a pound to Howard, Judith and Jody Hull. Amber Cappitte’s 96-pound reserve champion carcass lamb sold for $2.10 a pound to Rudibaugh Feeds/Walnut Lanes.
Emily Stewart won the reserve project lamb honor. She sold her 100-pound lamb to Animal Acres for $1.50 a pound.
Overall, the 23 live lambs averaged $1.80 a pound including champions; $1.75 a pound, without champions.
Sheep skillathon winners were: junior, Connor Sharp; intermediate, Emily Stewart; and senior, Ashton Unger. Showmanship winners were: junior, Connor Sharp; intermediate, Emily Stewart; and senior and showman of showmen, Jacob Barrick.
Erin Guy had the rate-of-gain winner, with a 139-pound lamb that gained .99 pounds/day.
Market hogs. Bryn McElroy won back-to-back championships, taking the grand champion banner again this year with her market hog entry. Randy Hart of New York Life paid $4.50 a pound for McElroy’s 269-pound hog. McElroy also won best project honors.
Cousin Jennifer McElroy was in the battle for the top spot, but her 281-pound hog finished as the reserve champion. Both the grand and reserve champions were homebred from the McElroy hog herds.
Wal-Mart of Salem and Calcutta paid $2.50 a pound for Jennifer’s reserve champion hog.
Brooke Riffee raised the grand champion carcass hog. Stark Aeration & Supply paid $4 a pound for the 172-pound champion.
Chelsea Shafer raised the reserve champion carcass hog, which sold for $3.50 a pound to West Point Paving.
Codey Baker won reserve project hog honors, selling his 269-pound hog for $1.75 a pound to Lazy H Fencing.
There were 89 hogs sold this year, down from 110 in 2006. They averaged $2.33 a pound including the champions; $2.30 a pound, without.
Hog showmanship winners were: junior, Bryn McElroy; intermediate, Aubrey Huff; senior and showman of showmen, Codey Baker. Skillathon winners were: junior, Kayleigh Miller; intermediate, Brooke Riffee; and senior, Amber Cappitte.
Meat goats. It was deja vu all over again in the market goat competition, with the top two spots going to the same competitors who won in 2005.
Chelsee Anderson’s 124-pound goat won the grand champion trophy and Kerrie Welsh took reserve with her 128-pound entry.
Jennifer and Joe Kornbau paid $2.75 a pound for the grand champion; Carrollton Livestock Auction paid $1.60 a pound for the reserve.
The 19 goats averaged $1.89 a pound with champions; $1.87 a pound, without.
Bethany Burger was the novice showmanship winner and Autumn Smith won the senior division and showman of showmen.
Small animal. William Paynter won the spotlight in the poultry show, raising the grand champion pen of market chickens and winning intermediate showmanship and showman of showmen honors. Case Farms paid $510 for his pen of three chickens.
Jill Zehentbauer’s reserve champion pen sold for $825 to Morris & Sons Milk Transport.
In addition to Paynter, showmanship winners included Emily Crouch, junior; and Hannah Petcovic, senior.
The 15 pens averaged $85/head or $255/pen, including the champions; $63.85/head or $191.54/pen, excluding champions.
Heather Baker raised the grand champion pen of meat rabbits, as well as the reserve champion individual fryer.
East Ohio Shooter’s Supply paid $525 for her grand champion pen and her father, Bob Baker, of Hilltop Lawn & Garden, paid $150 for her fryer.
Alexis Marshall raised the reserve champion pen, which sold for $525 to Terry Tice.
Brian French’s grand champion fryer sold for $75 to Carrollton Livestock Auction.
The 9 pens averaged $49.23/head or $147.69/pen, including champions; $27.78/head or $83.33/pen, excluding champions. There were five fryers sold.
Auctioneers and ringmen donating their services included Baer Auctioneers’ Ken Baer, Bill Baer, Wade Baer and Mark Harding; and Kiko Auctioneers’ Rusty Kiko, Randall Kiko, Rudy Kiko, Ralph Halter and Heath Halter.
(Farm and Dairy Editor Susan Crowell can be reached at 800-837-3419 or at editor@farmanddairy.com.)