Lane Hoene, grand and reserve grand champion, shows off his chickens at the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Dalton Lawyer, reserve champion senior showman, straightens his goat at the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Erica Leonard parades her chicken at the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
4-H royalty Emma Lucas parades her sheep during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Rookie Emily Morris parades her pig during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Vivian Newkirk shows off her pig during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Hadlee Ritz parades her sheep during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Caysen Robertson parades his pig during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Andrew Rothert shows off his grand champion beef steer at the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Abrianna Schroer parades her reserve champion simmental steer during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Vivienne Siefker parades her reserve champion Boer wether during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Taylor Smith shows off her chickens during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Lela Sommers, champion rookie showman, parades her sheep during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Lincoln Wessel parades his pig during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Kassidy Wischmeier, who placed fifth in dairy beef, parades her cow during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Ashtyn Allman parades her champion whiteface lamb during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Addison Darlage parades her champion crossbred steer during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Eli Downing, junior supreme showman, parades his sheep during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
10-year member Levi Emmons shows off his goat at the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Simon Florine, champion junior showman, parades his cow during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Will Hackman, grand champion in dairy beef, shows off his cow during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Anslee Hawkins, reserve master showman, parades her cow during the 4-H livestock auction held Saturday at the Jackson County Fair.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
BROWNSTOWN — “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country and my world.”
These are the words that 4-H members abide by. A multitude of local citizens, businesses and organizations acted in line with those words by pledging their support towards the next generation of their community Saturday morning during the 4-H livestock auction at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.
The auction takes place every year on the last day of the fair, closing out the week-long celebration of agriculture, community and good food.
This year marked the second year in a row that 4-H’ers could present chicken and rabbits. 134 animals were sold in total on Saturday — including cattle, sheep, chickens, rabbits, goats and hogs — generating $281,500. This is a record number of proceeds for the auction, besting last year’s total of $274,050.
The proceeds from sales go directly to 4‐H members, many of whom use the money to fund their next livestock project or to help pay to further their education. If a bidder chooses to take an animal home, they pay their full bid, including the floor price. The floor price is subtracted from the bid if the bidder elects to not to take the animal home.
The auction, which occurred in show arena 1, commenced with the introduction of a few special guests. Fair Queen Carly Kaiser, along with First Runner-up Lilian Stogdill, Second Runner-up Camryn Thompson and Miss Congeniality Erin Lee, served as bid spotters on Saturday.
Tom Martin, who is a member of the livestock auction committee, gave the opening remarks.
“It takes a village to do what goes on here at the Jackson County Fair, and I will say that we have the best county fair in the state of Indiana,” Martin said. “Let’s all get out our pocket books and take care of our kids for all of their hard work.”
Auctioneer Jon Claycamp shared similar sentiments to Martin prior to the start of the auction.
“These kids put in a ton of hours and it shows,” Claycamp said. “I want to thank everyone for coming out. Thank you for coming out to support the children.”
10-year member Trenton Burton, 18, said he has enjoyed being able to try a great deal of things and meet a large number of people over the course of his years in 4-H. Burton’s dairy cow sold for $5,000 on Saturday.
“As a now former 4-H member, I will always look back on how the community gives back to each and every one of us, Burton said. “It has and will have always been an honor to have been a small part of 4-H these last 10 years.”
Regarding the fair, Burton said, “It is always a blessing to see our community come together in one place for such an important week.”