July 18, 2008

Auctions’ take tumbles from previous years

TOP SELLER—Caige Morris, son of Steve and Tammy Clark, Rockcreek Twp., will be paid $3,025 for the Reserve Grand Champion Steer. Tipping the scales at 1,380 pounds, the big animal in the auction was purchased by Troxel Equipment, El Camino Real, Heyerly’s Meat Market, National Oil & Gas and Wells Fargo Bank. In addition to that group, there was a cluster of additional buyers who are listed in the story about the steer in today’s News-Banner. Shown from left are Juan Ortiz holding Juan Ortiz Jr., representing El Camino, Senior Ambassador Sara Alford, Brian Clark of Troxel Equipment, Jay Kipfer of National Oil & Gas, Monica Skolmutch and Allen Gunkel Alan Gunkel of Wells Fargo, Shawn and Lisa Imbody of Heyerly’s and the two little girls are Cylee Morris, holding the plaque, and Cheyenne Painter, holding the banner. (Photo by Glen Werling)

By DAVE SCHULTZ

The Wells County 4-H auctions did not end with the bang of a gavel, but they did end with a slightly lower intake of money.

The livestock auction was down $69 from the 2007 total. The preliminary total for the 2008 livestock auction was $106,751, with the 2007 total at $106,820.

The all-time record for the 4-H livestock auction was $126,475, set in 2005, but that number dropped to $120,622 in 2006 and has now gone down the last two years.

The premier auction, held prior to the livestock auction, took a much bigger hit. Last year’s total was $4,440; this year’s was only $3,470 — nearly a 22 percent drop.

Some of the livestock totals went up — dairy, from $1,525 a year ago to $2,400 this year; sheep, from $2,135 last year to $3,816 this year; and swine, from $39,820 last year to $45,095 this year. Others, however, were down — beef, from $26,650 to $19,970; poultry, from $4,805 to $3,577; and dairy beef, from $4,650 to $2,116.

Thursday’s auction began shortly after 2 p.m. with the premier auction of non-livestock projects. Would-be buyers were encouraged to bid up prices during the premier auction, but the bidding never warmed up.

That was followed by the livestock auction. The first bidding, in the goat auction, started at 3:45 p.m. The last sale of the night concluded at 8:49 p.m. when Olivia Geiger’s dairy feeder steer went for $275 — the final premium of the day.

The grand champion steer was not sold at the auction. The highest amount paid for a single animal was a premium of $3,025 for Caige Morris’s reserve grand champion steer. A quartet of buyers bid $1,500, and then a group of other businesses and friends added $1,525 beyond that to push the total just over $3,000.

Auctioneers emphasized that bidders were paying premiums for the livestock. For those animals going to market, a “floor” price had been established by the commercial buyer. Bidders were paying prices above that to the 4-H’ers. However, if a bidder wanted to keep the animal from going to market — to have it taken to a custom slaughterhouse, for instance — then they also had to pay the market, or “floor,” price as well.

daves@news-banner.com

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