County fair profitable for young livestock sellers
Bayla Ivcic auctions off the reserve grand champion hog during the livestock sale Saturday at the fair.
Lena Bioni shows her grand champion lamb during the Washington County Agricultural Fair livestock sale Saturday.
Kalvin Hrutkay sold his grand champion steer, Hershey, at the Washington County Agricultural Fair Saturday.
Kalvin Hrutkay, a seventh-grader at Bentworth Middle School, earned $8,450 in about a minute Saturday afternoon by selling one rather large Hershey.
Kalvin’s steer, which won grand champion this week at the Washington County Agricultural fair, was auctioned off with 287 other steer, hogs and lambs during the annual livestock market sale. Hershey, weighing in at 1,300 pounds, was purchased by Cheplic Packing at $6.50 per pound.
“This week, (Kalvin’s) done real well. He hung banners with everything he brought,” said his father, Brian Hrutkay, of Kalvin’s many wins.
In addition to steer, Kalvin, a member of Pike Run Ag, has shown pigs and goats for five years. He prefers raising cattle and hogs because he grew up with both on his family’s farm.
“I want to buy a (Welsh) corgi puppy,” he said of plans for his payoff. “I’ll save some for college and invest in a new steer.”
Saturday’s auction followed Friday’s sale of rabbits and goats in the Henry Hank Show Arena. Members of the 4-H Club and National FFA Organization, who spent months raising the livestock, found out how much their investment was worth as businesses and individuals vied for their animals. A common practice was the resale of animals, of which the profits went to various organizations, including 4-H and FFA scholarship funds and programs. Some bidders chose to donate the meat from their purchase to local shelters and food banks.
The livestock auction, various musical acts and the demolition derby brought the annual fair to a close Saturday. Several events through the week were canceled because of storms and heavy rains, but the sun shone on fairgoers Saturday.
Other big winners in the auction included Lena Bioni of McGuffey FFA, who sold her 281-pound grand champion hog for $16 a pound and her 148-pound grand champion lamb for $29 a pound; Bayla Ivcic of Pike Run Ag, who sold her 263-pound reserve grand champion hog for $15 a pound and her 1,339-pound reserve grand champion steer for $6 a pound; and Krista Bosanac of Pike Run Ag who sold her 144-pound reserve grand champion lamb for $14 a pound.