MILTON — The Santa Rosa County Fair’s first livestock auction represented a year of students’, teachers’ and volunteers’ work.
And it paid off: participating students sold their cattle above a dollar per pound, according to officials.
Prudence Caskey, Santa Rosa County 4-H agent, handled registration for the April 9 event while Trent Mathews, owner of Sweet Season Farms, was the steer superintendant.
“I was really pleased with how everything went,” Caskey said. “It was the first year, so we were learning.”
Caskey tracked what cattle were selling for during the live auction and noted Zachary Rutherford, a senior in Central School’s Future Farmers of America program, was grand champion with his steer, Maximus, going for $4.50 a pound.
Mathews said normal market price in recent days was $1.22 per pound on cattle, so the price Zachary got was over three times market value.
Zachary’s sister, Leah, a junior, was reserve grand champion with her cow, Maverick, going for the same price.
“I was excited to see how well it went with the kids,” Caskey said. “These kids worked hard. Even when it was cold and rainy, they had to get out and feed their animals.”
As steer superintendant, Mathews said his job was to weigh the animals when they came on site, make sure they had proper health certifications, and class them.
So, why would people pay significantly more for an animal raised by high school students?
“Basically, (the buyer) is paying for the animal, but also paying for (Zachary’s) hard work. So that’s why they’re willing to pay extra for that animal … That animal that he took was a finished product. It will be top quality beef once it’s processed.”
Looking ahead, Mathews said, “Now, having a show under our belt, there’s a lot of excitement and interest.
“I feel there’s opportunity to have the premiere livestock show for our region … In a lot of ways, a show like we had is much like a regional football playoff game…
“Our goal is to have this premier show for this region, from south Alabama and northwest Florida — and maybe beyond.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa livestock show organizers envision 'premier show' next year