WATERFORD, Pa. – Hoss’s Steak and Sea House purchased the grand champion market steer at the recent Erie County 4-H Livestock Sale at the Waterford Fair. Buyers for Hoss’s paid $2 per pound for the 1,266-pound crossbred steer, raised and marketed by Laura Kosiorek, Millcreek Township.
The reserve grand champion market steer was purchased by Phil Chase, Waterford Jubilee, for $1.60 per pound. The steer, exhibited by Julie James, Waterford, weighed 1,274 pounds.
Chase donated the steer back for resale to benefit the Erie County 4-H Scholarship Fund.
The grand champion market hog was sold to the Waterford Jubilee by Dustin Fortin, Waterford, for $3.10 per pound. His crossbred gilt, bred on his own farm, weighed 261 pounds.
Phil Chase, owner of the Waterford Jubilee, donated the hog back to the Erie County 4-H Scholarship Fund for resale.
The reserve champion market hog was sold by Travis Carl, Erie, to Larry Mills, Mills Associates, Pittsburgh, for $2.30 per pound.
Record lamb. John Corwin, Union City Livestock Auction, paid a record $6.30 per pound for the grand champion market lamb, breaking the previous record of $6.20 per pound set just last year by Corwin.
This year’s champion lamb, weighing 117 pounds, was raised by 4-H’er Amy Russell of Summit Township. Russell also exhibited the grand champion market lamb in both 1999 and 2000.
Corwin also donated the champion lamb back to the Erie County 4-H Scholarship Fund for resale.
The reserve champion market lamb sold to C. Sherman Allen, auctioneer, Conneaut Lake, for $3.90 per pound. The Suffolk crossbred lamb, weighing 117 pounds, was sold by Denise Perkins, Waterford.
Allen donated the lamb to Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie. Processing of the lamb was donated by Roy Struchen, Grettler Meats, Girard.
Charity animals. The sale also featured the annual bidding on the 4-H charity hog, a community service project of the county’s 4-H livestock clubs. This year’s hog was raised by Zachary McClellan.
Club members chose the Second Harvest Food Bank, Erie, as the beneficiary of the sale of the hog.
Guest auctioneer Gary Drapcho, sportscaster with WSEE TV35 in Erie, received a bid of $9 a pound from Pat Kelly of Kelly Erectors, Erie, raising more than $1,650 for the food bank.
4-H member Vicki Ross, Greene Township, raised a lamb that was sold to benefit the Erie County 4-H Scholarship Fund.
The 116-pound Hampshire crossbred ewe lamb was purchased by John and Carol Corwin, Union City Livestock Auction, and donated back for resale to again benefit the scholarship fund.
A 4-H scholarship steer was also sold, raised by 4-H member Holly Hunter. Bill Swank, Swank’s Steel City Shows, Pittsburgh, purchased the 1,146-pound crossbred steer for 80 cents per pound, netting nearly $900 for the scholarship fund.
During the sale, several additional lambs and hogs were donated back for resale to benefit the scholarship fund. In addition, 4-H member Laura Kosiorek donated $100 from the proceeds of the sale of her market steer to the fund, and Morgan Komarow donated 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of his market lamb to the fund.
In all, just under $4,000 was raised for the Erie County 4-H Scholarship Fund. 4-H’ers Jaclyn Belczyk, Erie; Monica McCray, Concord Township; and Zac Olczak, Mill Village, received this year’s 4-H scholarships.
Averages. According to Carolyn L. Belczyk, Erie County Cooperative Extension Office, 19 market lambs, 36 market hogs, and 30 market steers were sold. Sale averages this year, excluding prices paid for grand champions, the charity hog and scholarship lamb, and resale animals, ranged from $1.97 per pound for market lambs to $1.46 per pound for market hogs and 85 cents per pound for market steers.
