County livestock show ends with Saturday sale

The fruition of raising animals for the annual Churchill County Junior Livestock Show and Sale for the past six to eight months comes to an end this weekend at the fairgrounds.

Local 4-H and FFA students who are participating in the annual three-day event at the fairgrounds began showing their animals Thursday.

Jackie Bogdanowicz said potential buyers will also take some additional time through Saturday morning to talk to exhibitors about their animals and the animals’ history. She said the 4-H and FFA exhibitors showed their lambs, goats, swine and dairy cows on Thursday.

Bogdanowicz, a conservation specialist with the Lahontan and Stillwater Conservation districts who also works with the 4-H program, said the students showed their breeding animals, and on Friday, the youngsters will display both their show and market animals.

Beginning at 9 a.m. today, Bogdanowicz said the 4-H and FFA students will show their market swine, lamb, poultry, goat and beef, and after a short break, she said they will then enter the showmanship phase like a round-robin for the same five types.

Bogdanowicz said buyers save money when purchasing an animal at the auction, which is Saturday at 1 p.m. She said during the show, judges grade students for their showmanship with overall winners in each livestock category announced on Saturday. The auction begins after potential buyers have the morning to look at the animals designated for sale. She said a buyers’ appreciation dinner wraps up the show and sale Saturday night.

Bogdanowicz said this year’s sale appears to have more entries.

“We tagged and weighed more animals,” Bogdanowicz said.

She also said the interest for the show and sale remains strong from both the 4-H and FFA exhibitors since the annual livestock show and sale allows students to practice skills in management, decision-making and project evaluation. After this weekend, Bogdanowicz said many of the youngsters will show their animals at the Nevada State 4-H show in Reno beginning on Thursday for a four-day run.

Bogdanowicz reiterated the benefits of buying at the sale. She said buyers save money when purchasing an animal. After processing, for example, she said a steer could be as high as $1,000 based on $1.50 per pound on the purchase price. The yield could result in more than 500 pounds of steak, roast and hamburger.