While many young people engage in activities like playing video games and skateboarding, another dedicated group of youths in Liberty County is committed to caring for livestock and creating projects in photography, artwork, food, crafts, woodworking and metalworking. Altogether they represent 4-H and FFA clubs, and local school districts throughout Liberty County.
Their efforts came to fruition at the Cleveland Livestock Show’s youth auction on Friday, April 5, where their animals and projects fetched substantial sums. The event drew to a close with $542,284 raised from the bidding on 127 items. That final tally is expected to increase over the next couple of weeks as exhibitor add-on bids will be collected.
While this year’s auction was not a record-breaking event like last year, when it netted $688K in sales, it was a respectable sum and is a testament to the support these youths receive from local businesses, organizations and individuals.
The highest bid was $13,500 for Mazie Gilliland’s Grand Champion Exotic Heifer, which sold to Gilliland Cattle Company. The second highest bid of $13,000 was a tie between Caiden Pickett’s Reserve Champion American Heifer, which sold to Pickett Oil Field and Mark Blackburn, and Cameron Ripkowski’s Grand Champion Market Steer, which sold to Next Gen Group.
Below are photos of all of the Grand and Reserve champions during this year’s sale.
