Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Addie Lafferty shows her Quay County 4-H/FFA Expo grand-champion steer during the Junior Livestock Auction on Saturday at the Quay County Fairgrounds. Lafferty's steer earned the night's high bid of $6,500.
Save for exhibitors and volunteers wearing masks, the annual Junior Livestock Show on Saturday night at the Quay County Fairgrounds appeared normal compared to previous editions - much to the relief of organizers.
Quay County Fair board Chairman Justin Knight acknowledged after the sale he was grateful for a routine auction after the county's annual livestock shows were scaled down, then postponed, because of the COVID-19 pandemic that directly affected a board member a day before the previously scheduled event.
"I was worried coming into this the volume of the sale would be down," Knight said.
"I was pleasantly surprised with what we did tonight."
Knight also voiced that relief during his opening remarks of the auction.
"I thank God we were able to put this on tonight," he said.
A total of 46 sets of animals went on the auction block Saturday night, netting a little more than $100,000. Those numbers were similar to previous years.
Tony Johnson, an auctioneer from Corona, also voiced his appreciation for normalcy while gently prodding bidders to be generous.
"This show animal was the only normal this year for these kids," he said.
Addie Lafferty's grand-champion steer earned the highest bid of the night at $6,500. Kindal Smith's steer earned the second-highest bid, at $5,500.
The top hog at the auction was Karlee Cantrell's animal, earning $2,400. Peyton Merrill's goat earned a high bid of $3,000. Makayla Klinger's lamb earned a top bid of $2,000. A pen of chickens owned by Rilee Nials fetched $1,800. Payson Nials' rabbit landed $1,200.
Crowds in the bleachers during the auction were smaller by design. Organizers wanted to keep events closed except to exhibitors, their parents and volunteers to keep down crowd sizes as a COVID-19 safeguard.
"Our buyers were the ones who are here always," Knight said. "I just appreciate Quay County and the support they give our youth."
As usual, a number of the top bidders consisted of consortiums of several individuals and/or companies that joined forces to split costs and fatten overall bids.
Citizens Bank of Tucumcari, honored before the auction as a perennial high-volume bidder, placed the winning bids on nine entries Saturday. One-Stop Feed of Clovis also added $50 to each winning bid, totaling $2,300.
Before the auction, Knight honored six high-school seniors who were exhibiting livestock for the final time.
Knight also honored Danny "Bill" Wallace of Tucumcari, whom Knight described as a "mainstay of the Quay County Fair" for serving for 40 years on the board until 2017. Wallace also was lauded on the second page of the expo's booklet.
As for livestock judging, organizers compressed those into two days instead of the usual four after the postponement. Knight said everyone adapted well to those changes over the weekend.
"You adapt and overcome; that's the way livestock families are," he said.
Listed are the top finishers at the expo's livestock shows:
• Swine: Addie Lafferty, grand champion; Micah Lightfoot, reserve champion;
• Goats: Karlee Cantrell, grand champion; Amber Rivera, reserve champion;
• Lambs: Mackenzie Lightfoot, grand champion; Mackenzie Lightfoot, reserve champion;
• Steers: Addie Lafferty, grand champion; Kindal Smith, reserve champion;
• Heifers: Avery Cavett, grand champion; Joani Vance, reserve champion;
• Broilers: Rilee Nials, grand champion; Lilly Nials, reserve champion;
• Egglayers: Carter Smith, grand champion; Lilly Nials, reserve champion;
• Meat pens: Payson Nials, grand champion; Rilee Nials, reserve champion;
• Bakers: Payson Nials, grand champion; Rilee Nials, reserve champion.
The overall event, rechristened the Quay County 4-H/FFA Expo because organizers canceled the carnival, food booths and other events at the fair due to COVID-19, was postponed a day before its scheduled start of Aug. 12-15 because a fair board member became sickened by coronavirus after an Aug. 3 meeting.
A 14-day self-quarantine for those possibly exposed to the virus ended last week, but Knight said expo organizers and county officials didn't give the go-ahead until the day before the expo's rescheduled date.
Even then, it was touch-and-go until livestock shows actually began Friday night.
"You don't known until you're actually here whether you're going to hold it or not," he said. "But with all the little trials we went through, all the setbacks, it still was a good experience for the kids."
