4-H and FFA livestock auction draws crowd
Photo By Tanna Yeoumans Carson Umphenour guides his pig around the enclosure.
Photo by Tanna Yeoumans Katelyn Smith shows off her award-winning swine.
Photo By Tanna Larsen Molly Flower beams to the crowd while leading her lamb during the auction.
Photo By Tanna Yeoumans Lillian Bremer displays her Champion ribbon and lamb.
Photo By Tanna Yeoumans Ayla Worley poses for a picture with her lamb and buyers from EL Internet/Bamboo Room.
Photo By Tanna Yeoumans Conner Underhill smiles to the audience while leading his project steer.
Photo By Tanna Yeoumans Boundary County Fair Queen, Brittany Spangler shows a little muscle to her steer.
BONNERS FERRY — The smell of popcorn and freshly made food wafted through the breeze at the fairgrounds over the weekend accompanied by the din of family and friends chatting and laughing, bolstered the buoyant moods of fairgoers. This year’s Boundary County Fair brought community members together in many different ways.
The 4-H and Future Farmers of America livestock auction is one of the important ways the community comes together and shows their support for the young adults. This last weekend 4-H and FFA members took to the arena to show off their hard work and sell their animals. There were rabbits, sheep, goats, cows, and a plethora of pigs that they paraded around the arena.
Floor prices started as follows: Lamb- $1.35/lb., Goat- $1.60/lb., Beef- $1.20/lb., and Swine- $0.65/lb.
Cheyenne Cada earned the Grand Champion and Champion Showman awards for her rabbits. For the lamb awards, Kira Carla Hull earned the Blue/Grand Champion Showman award, Molly Flower earned the Blue/Reserve Grand Champion Showman, Lillian Bremer earned the Reserve Champion award, and Makenna Baisden earned the Grand Champion award. For the goats, Victoria Smith earned both Grand Champion and Grand Champion Showman awards. Beef awards are Holly Ansley with Grand Champion, Tamera Rigney with Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion Showman, and Dillon Mai with Blue/Reserve Champion Showman. In the swine category, Katelyn Smith earned Grand Champion, Carson Umphenour earned Reserve Champion, Katelyn Hutchinson earned Blue/Grand Champion Showman, and Dakota Neilsen earned Blue/Reserve Champion Showman.
After all their hard work, the young members of the 4-H and FFA had to say their goodbyes to the animals they raised over the past year, some of which were tearful. Many of them plan to use their earnings from the auction to purchase another project animal for next years fair, where their emotions will once again range from jubilant to sad as their animals are marketed off again, taking the lessons learned with them for the rest of their lives