Geauga County livestock sale totals $245,000

BURTON, Ohio – The Geauga County Junior Fair Livestock Auction brought in $245,538.58 Saturday, Sept. 1, in Burton as steers, hogs, lambs, goats, rabbits and assorted fowl were escorted across the stage by their 4-H owners.
A total of 393 entries were auctioned off.
Champion steer weighs in. Clark Adams, 16, was pleased his 1,335-pound Angus-Chi cross steer went for $5.80 a pound to Etna Products Inc. of Chagrin Falls.
Clark upheld a family tradition of raising a grand champion steer. His brother, John, had the grand champion in 2006 and their sister, Andrea, had one in 2005.
Clark, from Huntsburg, said he appreciated the support he received in raising the steer for eight months.
“My sister really helped me. She’s very motivated – keeps me going,” he said after the sale.
He also sold turkeys and pigs Saturday. Clark expects to save his earnings from the sale to go to school as an electrician. But after his success at the fair he is thinking about clipping and fitting steers as a sideline.
The reserve champion steer, weighing in at 1,340 pounds and owned by Mike Wargo, sold for $3.45 a pound to Middlefield Banking.
Few bids went above $2.50 a pound, but several exhibitors had done their homework to round up buyers. Lindsay Ferguson sold her 1,370-pound steer for $5 a pound and Claudia Derov sold a 1,070-pound steer for $4.50 a pound.
There were 56 beef projects at the sale and the average price was $1.86 a pound, with a total sale of $129,947.50.
Hog wild reserve champ. Etna Products also bought the grand champion hog for $7 a pound. The 267-pound hog was raised by Jonathon Osborn.
Reversing the usual pricing order, Tracy Teichman’s 265-pound reserve champion hog sold for $10 a pound to Preston Ford of Burton.
A total of 125 hogs sold for an average of $2.13 a pound. Total hog sales were $68,213.20.
Market lambs leveraged. Hailey Calkins’ 136-pound market lamb went for $7 a pound to Preston Ford. Collin Meyers’ 134-pound lamb sold to Geauga County Farm Bureau for $5 a pound.
Calkins also won the grand champion prize for her pen of two lambs, which sold for $4.25 a pound to Etna.
Insurance Diversified of Chagrin Falls bought Jack Carson’s pen to two lambs for $2.20 a pound.
The average price for all 45 project lambs was $2.19 a pound, with an average total sale price of $272.60. Total lamb sales were $12,267.
Meat goats bought up. Hannah Taylor’s 84-pound Boer meat goat was named grand champion Boer goat and sold for $10 a pound to Geauga County Farm Bureau.
Savannah Schindelar’s reserve grand champion Boer goat weighed 80 pounds and sold for $4.25 a pound to Grace Geothermal Inc. of Painesville for a total of $340.
Only eight Boer goats were sold for an average price of $3.67 a pound.
Nicole Hollis’ 103-pound grand champion market goat sold for $6 a pound to Geauga Vision. T.J. Nolan’s reserve grand champion market goat weighing 63 pounds sold for $2.60 a pound to Etna.
The nine market goats averaged $2.22 a pound.
Small animal sales. Alex Evers’ grand champion pen of meat chickens sold for $22.50 a pound, totaling $483.75, to Healthy Deposits of Middlefield.
The reserve champion pen raised by Kalyn Ward sold for $10 a pound, for a total of $221, to Pritt Concessions of Chardon.
The average price for the 36 pens auctioned was $9.79 a pound.
Monika Peschke raised the grand champion duck, which weighed 7.5-pounds and sold for $140 a pound to Geauga Vision, Middlefield.
The reserve champion duck was raised by Abby Pohto and sold for $60 a pound to Nemec Farms and Studio Up Editing in Burton.
A total of 66 ducks were auctioned off for an average of $15.98.
Sarah Anderson’s 42-pound grand champion turkey sold for $25 a pound to Geauga County Farm Bureau. The reserve grand champion turkey raised by John Adams sold for $17 a pound. It weighed 36 pounds and was bought by Etna.
The average price for the 35 turkeys sold was $10.77 a pound.
Abby Pohto raised the 14-pound grand champion meat rabbit, which sold for $36 a pound to Pritt Concessions. Jack Collum raised the reserve champion meat rabbit, which sold for $20 to Gail and Trevor Wilson.
Overall, nine rabbit pens sold for an average of $132.51 a pound.
Bidding for baskets. Dairy basket sales brought $5,400 this year, as individual 4-H clubs sell the dairy product baskets. Witmer’s Feed and Grain of Columbiana paid $1,500 for a basket; Parker Masonry of Chagrin Falls paid $1,600; Kinetico Inc. of Newbury bid $2,000; and Dr. Robert Evans of Middlefield bid $3000 on the fourth basket.