Livestock Prices Down A Bit, But Youth Did Well

SEBRING - With a few exceptions, the white cards came up only once or twice for each steer and heifer that came through the midway Thursday night.

On average, the 37 steer sold for about $2.46 per pound, with $2 being the starting bid. The auction's 22 heifers sold for and average of $1.73 a pound, while its 91 pigs cashed in an average of $2.69 per pound.

Organizers said this is a drop from last year's prices, even though the data from last year was not available Thursday night.

"It's the economy," said Brian Trimble, who has been the auctioneer for the fair's livestock sale the past five years.

Still, Trimble said it did fairly well for the circumstances.

"It wasn't very far off (from) last year's sales," he said. "They (the buyers) still came out and supported the youth in this community."

Nobody even approached the $5.25-per-pound bid given to last year's grand champion cow. This year's top-selling cow, raised by Wyatt Johnson, netted $3.25 a pound for its 1,102-pound body. The top pig belonged to Alexandria Swain, who sold hers for $1,325.25 at $4.75 per pound.

The students participating were not complaining.

"We did alright," said Rebecca Perry, who netted $532 for her hog at $2 per pound. "I think I made a profit, as good as I'm gonna get."

Sebring High senior Sara Sebring, 18, said earlier Thursday that she was just hoping to break even. That goal seemed really modest after she ended up with the priciest heifer, which commanded a $3 price tag for each of its 967 pounds. Her steer, Lulu, sold for $2.25 per pound.

How did she get that price?

"It has a lot of Brahma influence," Sebring said, explaining that they handle Florida's heat better than most of the other cattle that went up for auction Thursday night.

Avon Park High School Senior Lauren Montz, 18, had a different strategy for her hog, which sold for $4.50 a pound.

"You have to be nice to all the buyers," she said.

The winning bid came from Farm Credit of Southwest Florida. When told that, Montz's eyes lit up as she described her dad's best friend, who's a part of that company.

"He was helping us out," she said.