Area 4-H kids receive high dollars in record livestock sale
By John Gardner
The Surveyor
This year’s Larimer County Junior Livestock Sale took in nearly half a million dollars and set a record for both number of market animals sold and dollar amount.
The Larimer County Junior Livestock Sale received a record total of 213 market livestock sold, taking in a record $456,850.
According to Sale Committee Chairman Jim Dunn, this year’s record amount was $150,000 over last year’s total. And that success was a pleasant surprise.
“I don’t think anyone expected to see those kinds of numbers,” Dunn said. “When I first saw the totals I was like ‘wow.’”
Along with the total dollar amount, the sale also had a record sale amount of $20,000 for this year’s Grand Champion Steer, which was purchased by Pelican Restaurant at Water Valley of Windsor. Dunn attributed the record numbers to the generous buyers who attended.
Susanne Cavey, co-leader of the Berthoud Highlanders 4-H Club, along with Michelle Kouns, was impressed with the auction’s grand total and said that the amount is likely due to an increase in the number of kids participating in livestock and the high prices for some market animals.
“I think it was both,” Cavey said. “It really was more that per-animal price was way up.”
The market for beef, lamb and swine are all up substantially, she said, which contributed to the robust numbers.
She said while Berthoud’s numbers of kids in 4-H is about normal, she noted a higher number of kids participating in the livestock sale overall. More kids participating equals more money generated through the sale.
“Overall, numbers were up for sure for participation,” she said.
Cavey’s three kids, Kyle 18, Kristina, 16, and Emily, 12, all had good showings this year, and they each sold an animal. Kyle was senior round-robin champion and received reserved champion lamb as well. Emily was the intermediate round-robin champion.
“The kids fared better monetarily than in previous years,” Cavey said.
Berthoud’s Kelden Cook was another of 29 Berthoud-area kids who sold livestock at the 2014 Larimer County Junior Livestock Sale on Aug. 6. Kelden, 13, was extremely pleased with the buyer’s generosity with the sale of his pig at this year’s auction.
“I got a very, very good sum of money for selling my pig,” he said, “and I was very happy with what I got.”
Most of the money will go to pay off expenses of raising the pigs; Kelden raised three, sold one. The rest of the funds will go to college savings, he said.
Kelden’s three pigs finished very well in the livestock show at this year’s fair; two second-place market swine, in the heavy and medium weight divisions, and a first place in the market swine light weight division. His first-place pig went on to receive reserve champion in the light-market division. And that was a pretty cool way to end the livestock show this year.
“This is the best I’ve ever done,” Kelden said. “I felt really good; I enjoyed it a lot because it was the best I’ve ever done.”
Kelden said that his drive comes from trying to top his younger sister, Hallie, 9. She’s finished better than Kelden two years in a row.
“There’s a little sibling rivalry here,” said Kelden’s mother, Davon Cook. “But, we try to get them to work together.”
Cavey said that competition from buyers may have also contributed to the higher sales this year. She noted that Weld County sales also had an exceptional year. The Greeley Tribune reported that the Weld County Livestock sale broke the existing record by $200,000, bringing in over $928,000 this year.
“I think some buyers came in and stepped up and brought that average up this year, too,” Cavey said of the Larimer County sale.
She attributed the sale’s success to the great crowd of buyers. And it’s those generous buyers behind the record numbers.
“Number one is the crowd that appreciates investing in the leaders of tomorrow, and that is what 4-H creates,” Cavey said.
Kelden, too, thanked the buyers who purchase the market animals every year, because without them there wouldn’t be a sale.
“They support us a lot and I’m appreciative of it,” Kelden said.
Complete livestock results on page 6-7 in the print issue of the Berthoud Surveyor.
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