Aug 8, 2014 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Support from individuals and businesses of Greene County 4-H and Future Farmers of America Market Lamb and Steer Auction seems to grow with each year.

The average price of lamb Thursday evening was $13 per pound while steers averaged $6 per pound.

“I thought the sale was extremely successful. The community came out and and really dug deep in their pockets to support the 4-H,” said Chris Becker, Greene County 4-H Extension educator. “I’ve spoken with many of the families and they were very satisfied.”

Many of the 4-Hers donated percentages of their sales to charities, including American Cancer Society, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Alzheimer’s Association.

Becker said the option to donate a portion of one’s sale is not offered at all fairs. It is not only offered in Greene County, it is encouraged.

“That was very impressive. This county encourages them, and it sends a good message to teach them to give back,” Becker said.

Becker was pleasantly surprised by the large number of businesses that participated in the auction.

“In a lot of communities, you have a couple of grocery stores and restaurants carrying the whole sale,” she said. “It was something to have that many businesses supporting.”

At the end of the auction, there were about 30 lambs donated back by purchasers.

These lambs are then auctioned a second time.

The proceeds of the majority of these lambs were earmarked by the original winning bidder for the 4-H Scholarship Fund.

Some chose to have livestock processed and the meat donated to the Corner Cupboard Food Bank in Waynesburg.

The grand champion heavyweight lamb of Bryn Patton brought in $29 per pound from D&H Services. The reserve grand champion lightweight lamb of Lexie Mooney brought $20 per pound from Consol Energy. The champion lightweight lamb of Ryan Grecoe, who was celebrating his 13th birthday Thursday, earned him $15 per pound from Pennsylvania Land Resources. The Greene County born, owned and bred lamb of Hannah Cole was sold to C&M Wastewater Services for $21 per pound.

The highest price per pound of the 65 lambs auctioned was $34, paid by Consol Energy for the 115-pound reserve champion lightweight lamb of Gavin Husenitis.

The reserve champion heavyweight lamb of Curtis Patton brought $9 per pound from Chapman Corp.

Though none of the lambs sold broke the all-time per pound record set last year by Mackenzie Wise at $38 per pound, four of them sold for more than the previous record of $26 per pound.

Anyone looking for a bargain during the lamb sale was simply out of luck as the numbers held throughout the entire sale.

Becker said the low price of $4 per pound during the market steer portion was in line with today’s market.

“Considering the high quality grains, the rigorous exercise these kids give their animals and the careful cleaning schedules, I don’t think $4 a pound is outrageous,” Becker said. “Beef is really sky high this year. From a wholesaler it is nearly $2 a pound.”

The low price for steers at the 2013 fair was $2.50 per pound.

The steer auction kicked off with the 1,405-pound grand champion heavyweight steer of Julie Policz fetching $6.50 per pound from Circle H. Farms for an impressive total sale of $9,132.50. The 1,326-pound reserve grand champion heavyweight of Curtis Patton was on the block next. It grabbed a stunning $11 per pound from Coastal Drilling to give Patton a paycheck of $14,586. The next closest amount was grabbed by Austin Orndoff for his 1,316-pound reserve champion middleweight steer for $13,160.

Third on the auction block was the 1,333-pound Greene County born, bred and owned steer of Benjamin Archer followed by the 1263- pound champion lightweight steer of Hannah Cole. Archer’s steer brough $7 per pound while Cole’s garnered $6 per pound.

The 1,322-pound champion middleweight steer of Avery Berdine brought in $6 per pound.

Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman, who got in on the lamb sale with his fellow commissioners Archie Trader and Chuck Morris, said the donations by the kids were certainly commendable.

“The prices are getting higher and higher. The kids supporting different things may have an effect on that. I heard Alzheimer’s, Children’s Hospital and the cancer society last night,” Zimmerman said. “I think the people from these companies are sitting there hearing this and thinking, ‘These are good kids, let’s help them out. We’re doing good but they’re doing good, too, so it is doubly good.'”

At the end of her first year as the Greene County 4-H Extension educator, Becker seemed quite pleased with the program, “There are a lot of extremely good quality kids in this 4-H program,” she said. “They have a caring and respect for their community and are really very thoughtful and humble kids.”