VIDEO: Livestock Auction by the pound from Richard Sayer on Vimeo.



By Ryan Smith

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — “Ten-an’-a-quarter-ten-an’-a-quarter-ten-an’-a-quarter—ten-an’-a-half! ... Eleven-an’-a-quarter-eleven-an’-a-quarter—eleven-an’-a-half, now!,” chanted auctioneer Gary Shidemantle, keeping the Crawford County Fair’s 4-H and FFA livestock sale moving along at a quick and constant clip.

That steady, rapid rhythm is familiar music to Dave Livingston’s ears. He’s been at each and every one of the auctions, from the first in 1973 all the way up to the most recent on Friday night.

“I haven’t missed one in 36 years,” Livingston said. “As long as I’m able to come, I’ll come.”

On one hand, it’s a simple matter of commerce. At the Jamestown-based Livingston Packing Co., “that’s our business — selling meat,” he said, and “we get a lot of work out of this sale.”

But there’s something more to it, too. “We have a lot of customers whose kids raise projects,” Livingston said, and “we get an awful lot of letters from kids wanting us to bid on their animals. We can’t buy ’em all — there’s too many.”

There’s no doubt, though, that the Livingstons have given area 4-H and FFA members a good bit of business, bidding on and purchasing around a half-dozen animals at top prices each year.

“It’s just one of the things that we do,” he said. “It’s good for the community.”

At the heart of it, that’s a big part of what the sale is about, according to Frank Bizjak, chairman of the 4-H and FFA Livestock Committee.

Buyers “come to support the kids in the county” who are involved in the 4-H and FFA livestock program, he said, adding the sales typically total around $115,000 a year, some of which is often given back by sellers to benefit the committee’s scholarship fund.

“It’s a good program,” said Bizjak, and “it continues to be supported” by area buyers, breeders and the scores of volunteers who help make the sale an annual success.

But make no mistake — it’s not just about philanthropy or good business practices. There’s also some super-fine meat to be found in those swine, beef, sheep and goats.

“It’s very high-quality stuff,” said Livingston. “I’d say 75 percent of it is from the top end.”

To achieve that standard, young breeders spend hours each day feeding, walking, grooming and caring for their respective animal. And with that commitment often comes real emotional attachment.

“We’ll see some tears here tonight,” said Bizjak. “It’s part of the process.”



Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com.



Did you know?

Here are the record prices paid out for livestock at the Crawford County Fair’s annual 4-H and FFA livestock sale:

n 1992 — Grand champion steer, sold for $5 per pound to Hadley Road Giant Eagle

n 1993 — Reserve champion steer, sold for $3.30 per pound to Hoss’s Steak and Sea House

n 1997 — Grand champion lamb, sold for $15 per pound to C. Sherman Allen Auctioneer & Associates; reserve champion lamb, sold for $12.25 per pound to Alward’s Market; and grand champion hog, sold for $11 per pound to Giant Eagle

n 1999 — Reserve champion hog, sold for $46.60 per pound to Larry Dygert Hardwoods

To find out all about 4-H and FFA livestock programs and other activities, visit www.ffa.org and www.national4-hheadquarters.gov.