Junior Livestock Auction at CC Fair coming up Aug. 15

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RIDGEFIELD – The 2015 Junior Livestock Auction at the annual Clark County Fair is set for Sat., Aug. 15, at 11 a.m., at the fairgrounds beef arena.

Each August, during the Clark County Fair, children in 4-H and FFA Market Animal programs take one final opportunity to show off their animals as they enter the auction ring. The culmination of a year’s worth of hard work, these market animals embody a wide variety of lessons learned.

Those children in 4-H and FFA who have cared for the animals over the past year or more have a deep personal understanding of how many resources and how much effort goes into raising them. They also know that they are living creatures who are now on their way to people’s dinner tables.

Youth who participate in the auction will bring their rabbits, beef, goats, hogs, poultry and sheep into the arena one by one on Aug. 15. The audience, composed of area farmers, politicians, business owners, youth families and other happy fair goers, sits at the ready with their bidder numbers and checkbooks.

After the bidding is done, the animals will return to their stalls to spend a final day in the barns, and will be taken to the meat processor on that Sunday. Once they have been slaughtered, packages of locally grown, natural rabbits, beef, goats, hogs, poultry and sheep will be picked up by those high bidders from the Saturday auction.

This is an intense project for students who participate in it, and is also one of the most powerful ones in the current 4-H and FFA programs, according to organizers. Unlike many, these children know exactly where their hamburger comes from. They understand why things like mad cow disease and hoof and mouth cause panic, and they know that farmers and ranchers are working extremely hard, under intense financial pressures, to keep food on people’s tables.



The students also accept that there are standards of behavior that are non-negotiable when dealing with living creatures and the environment, that raising livestock is not just about the bottom line, but also about quality of life for all elements involved.

In addition to the regular Junior Livestock Auction, the Clark County Youth Efforts Against Hunger (YEAH) will be present with their auction animals. Founded in 2006 by the Junior Livestock Auction Board, the purpose of YEAH is to provide quality meat raised by 4-H and FFA members to needy families in Clark County.

During the auction each year at the fair, youth sell more than 200 market animals to the highest bidder. Many buyers donate their animals to YEAH or make cash donations to help YEAH purchase other animals and pay for processing.

Most years, after the auction is complete, YEAH is able to donate several thousand pounds of packaged meat to needy families in the Clark County area.

Registered buyers at the Junior Livestock Auction can also attend the Buyers Buffet on Aug. 15, 9-11 a.m.

For additional information on the Junior Livestock Auction and the YEAH Program, visit www.ClarkCoFair.com. For more information on how to participate as a bidder, contact Sharron Wannamaker at (360) 608-3350.