Stark County Fair livestock sale tops $415,000

CANTON, Ohio – When last year’s Stark County junior fair market livestock sales increased $30,000 to total $384,000, organizers wondered how they could top that.
But they did, and this year’s two-day sale jumped another $31,000 to total $415,343.05.
Sister, sister. The “Kline-asty” continued at this year’s Stark County Fair, as sisters Laura and Louise Kline showed five of the six champions in the large animal shows.
Louise showed the grand champion lamb and hog and reserve champion steer, while Laura, in her final year of 4-H, showed the grand champion steer and reserve champion hog. Laura also showed the reserve champion dairy-type market goat.
Steer sale. Laura Kline, who crowned her successor as county beef queen just prior to Saturday night’s steer sale, sold her 1,330-pound grand champion crossbred steer to Unizan Bank for $3.75 a pound, well under last year’s bid of $5.25 a pound.
Unizan Bank donated the steer back to resell benefiting the steer committee, which picked up a quick $1,197 from Hartville Locker on the donated steer.
Louise Kline’s 1,330-pound reserve champion, the champion Shorthorn, sold for $2.80 a pound, also well below last year’s bid of $4.75 a pound.
The carcass steer bids also came in below 2003 levels. April Linder’s grand champion carcass steer sold for $2.75 a pound to K. Palmer & Associates and Kiko Meats, and Andrew Reinsel’s reserve champion carcass sold for $2 to Anstine Machining Corp.
Last year’s carcass bids were $3.10 and $2.90 a pound, respectively.
The 108 steers averaged $1.44 a pound, including champions. The steer sale totaled $199,300.
Exhibitors showing other breed champions included: Dustin Linder, champion Simmental; Tyler Weisel, Angus; Bethann Miller, Hereford; Zach Soehnlen, Limousin; and John Bauman, Holstein.
Rate-of-gain winner, gaining 3.8280 pounds a day, was a 1,520-pound crossbred steer raised by Abby Kiplinger.
Hogs. The final bid for Louise Kline’s 278-pound grand champion hog ended where last year’s bidding began: at $5 a pound.
Kline, who also won hog and lamb showmanship honors, sold her champion to Kim Perez, candidate for county auditor; Gary Zeigler, candidate for county treasurer; county Prosecutor John Ferrero; Sheriff Tim Swanson, Taryn Heath, candidate for family court judge; and Dr. P.S. Murthy, candidate for county coroner.
The 275-pound reserve champion hog, raised by Laura Kline, sold for $3.50 a pound to state Rep. John Hagan, Judge Dave Stucki, county Auditor Brant Luther, Judge Dixie Parks and Mike Howard, candidate for family court judge.
Andrew Givens’ grand champion carcass hog sold for $2.75 a pound to Beaver Excavating. Prior to selling his lot, Givens noted that the champion was locally bred and one of the carcass judges commented that it scored higher than the Ohio State Fair winning carcass hog.
Tiffany Kalleker’s reserve champion carcass hog sold for $2.10 a pound to Northeast Ohio Ob-Gyn.
The 228 live hogs totaled $84,242.65 and averaged $1.48 a pound, including champions.
Lamb, wool sale. Louise Kline’s 135-pound grand champion lamb sold for $6 a pound, a jump from last year’s $4.25 final bid, to Heartland Farms in Hartville.
Carrie Winters, who raised last year’s grand champion lamb, showed this year’s reserve champion, weighing 135 pounds. Agora Restaurant in Canton paid $3 a pound for the reserve champion.
Rachel Shane’s grand champion carcass lamb, sold for $5 a pound to Campbell Oil Company, also up from last year’s bid.
Patty Estock’s reserve champion carcass lamb sold for $4.50 a pound to family court judge candidate Mike Howard, state Rep. John Hagan, and Probate Judge Dixie Parks.
The 77 live lambs netted $19,997.15 and averaged $2.17 0a pound, including champions.
Joe Rindchen’s grand champion wool entry received a bid of $275 from Artists Gallery and Annette Suttle. Marci Estock’s reserve champion wool sold for $200 to Hatherill Insurance Company.
Wool entries averaged $161.43 and totaled $1,130.
End of an era. The “Gobbler King,” Neal Berkebile, also ended his 4-H career on a record note.
His grand champion turkey sold for an unofficial record $1,000 at the Sept. 1 portion of the Stark County Fair’s junior market livestock sale. The Joseph A. Jeffries Company made the final bid.
Since turkeys were added to the market sale in 1997, Berkebile earned a string of wins: reserve champion in 1997 and 2003; four consecutive years with the grand champion from 1998 through 2001, and back on top in 2004.
Berkebile earmarked his winnings for college, as he begins classes at Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster this month.
The bids kept flying as Angela Shoemaker brought in her reserve champion turkey. Shoemaker, who is also wrapping up her 4-H career and will be Berkebile’s classmate at ATI, sold her turkey for $1,000 to Patriot Sweeping Inc.
The 23 turkeys averaged $269.57 a head, including the champions, and the turkey sale totaled $6,200.
Russell repeats. Katy Russell keeps churning out champion rabbits. This year she showed both the grand and reserve champion pen, a feat she accomplished last year, as well.
Joining to pay $300 for her grand champion pen were Paul Pohovey, state Rep. John Hagan, Chief Magistrate Mike Howard and Judge Dave Stucki.
Tagze Heating Systems bought Russell’s reserve champion pen for $425.
The 19 pens averaged $117.63, including the champion pens.
Lots of chickens. Because of Park Farms’ support (and free baby chickens to start the project), market chickens continue to be a popular project in Stark County. This year, 108 pens went through the sale ring.
Justin Weisent pen topped the entire field to win grand champion honors. The second-year 4-H’er also completed the best project books in both the turkey and chicken project areas.
Hartville Kitchen bought Weisent’s pen for $1,000.
Linda Brahler’s reserve champion pen also sold for $1,000, going to her family’s Wolfe Ag Service.
The chicken sale totaled $20,260, and averaged $187.59 per pen.
Cheese sale. Kellie Schmucker turned the white milk from her Red and White Holstein into green. Her grand champion cheese basket, with a yield of 11.4 pounds cheese and 3.97 pounds butter, sold for $1,400 to her grandparents, Elwood and Donna Schmucker.
Jennifer Strouble’s reserve champion cheese basket, with a yield of 8.56 pounds of cheese and .33 pounds butter, sold for $800 to her parents, Pam and Larry Strouble of Strouble Farms.
The 10 cheese entries totaled $7,050 and averaged $705 per basket, including the champions.
Dairy feeders. The dairy feeder sale, which started in 1994 with 20 head, has grown steadily the past 10 years.
Justin Kinser’s dairy beef feeder calf emerged from a field of 97 head to win this year’s grand champion trophy.
Martin Yoder Livestock and Trucking paid $3.50 a pound, matching the sale record, for the 630-pound calf.
Dustin Royer’s 655-pound reserve champion feeder sold for $2.50 a pound to Conrad Trucking.
The 97 feeders averaged $1.26 a pound, with the feeder sale totaling $67,295.25.
Market goats. Junior fair organizers split the market goat sale into two divisions this year, dairy and meat goat.
Lyle Cowgill topped the field of seven dairy goats to win the grand champion banner. Elected officials and candidates Judge Dixie Parks, Mike Howard, state Rep. John Hagan and Judge Dave Stucki paid $4 a pound for the 95-pound goat.
Laura Kline’s 73-pound reserve champion dairy goat sold for $2.45 a pound to Parks, Hagan, Howard and Paul and Dorothy Pohovey.
This was also the first year the goats were sold by the pound and not by the head. Caitlin Wenger’s 98-pound grand champion meat goat raised the bar with a bid of $10 a pound. Buyers included Caitlin’s parents, Connie and Jim Wenger, McIntosh Oil and Custom Homes by John Hershberger.
Jacob Lundberg’s reserve champion meat goat sold for $2.25 a pound to Judge Dixie Parks, Mike Howard and state Rep. John Hagan.
There were 20 head in the meat goat division.
The meat goats averaged $2.63 a pound, including champions; dairy goats averaged $3.14 a pound. Both divisions totaled $5,913.
Kiko Auctioneers donated their services for the marathon two-day sale.