After months of hard work and preparation, a group of 37 area youth ended their day at the Kingdom of Callaway County Fair with a little bit of extra money.
The 4-H/FFA livestock auction once again was a success, drawing a crowd of local farmers, business owners and civic leaders to bid on the cattle, hogs, sheep and goats Callaway students have spent the past year raising. This year's livestock auction yielded $47,000.
Ean Rohrbach, 11, of Fulton, has been showing and selling swine at the fair for three years and said he always looks forward to the auction because, "you have different people looking at my pig."
"I like getting my pig up and going again," said Rohrbach, a 4-H student who took third place in his class on Tuesday. "I like doing the auction because it teaches you that hard work pays off."
"It gives you the opportunity to get back some of what you put in," agreed 15-year-old Emily Montgomery of Auxvasse, recently crowned Jr. Miss Callaway County.
Montgomery also shows swine - this year for FFA - and won the showmanship award and took second place with one hog and fourth with another in their respective classes.
After seven years in 4-H and now FFA, she said her favorite part of doing the auction is showing her appreciation to the buyer(s).
"Once the buyer buys your pig you get to thank them - usually we make a candy basket," Montgomery said.
First-time auction participant Drake Davidson, 11, of Mokane, said he decided to get involved with the new South Callaway Clovers 4-H club this year because "my brother did it, and he said he'd help me, and I decided I'd go along and see how it went and if I liked it."
"It's been really great. I'm learning responsibility and leadership," said Davidson, whose steer won the reserve champion title.
He said he was excited about making some money back at the auction and using it to invest in a new steer for next year.