Livestock Auction

When you purchase an animal at the Junior Fair Livestock Auction, you are buying livestock raised by the Hancock County 4-H and FFA programs. Each project is run like a business. Accurate records are kept by listing production costs, labor, input, and management practices. Raising these animals on a small scale can be expensive. Often the costs associated are higher than those for commercial producers. At market price, it’s hard to break even. The Junior Fair Livestock Auction gives our youth a chance to show a profit for their hours of hard work.
Photos courtesy of Kristie Fox

All Buyers at the Hancock County Fair Jr. Fair Livestock Auction must be registered to participate.   Livestock Buyer Registration.

1. Premium Bidding: This is the simplest way to support the FFA and 4-H programs for advertising purposes. As a buyer, by bidding using a Premium Bid, you are claiming no ownership to the animal and will be responsible only for the final call amount of the auctioneer.Premium bidding is done using the WHITE side of your bidder card!
2. Home Bidding: In this type of bidding, you claim ownership of the animal. The animal will be directed to the processor you have pre-determined when you register. You will be responsible for the final call amount of the auctioneer (the Premium) as well as the market price of the animal (listed in the Sale Program). You must already have an established appointment with the processor you have selected. Purchases will only be released to registered processors.Home bidding is done using the YELLOW side of your bidder card!
3. Groups of registered buyers may bid together in a Multiple Buyer Group. Preregister your group online for the day of the sale. Premiums are split on a percentage basis. Bid Allocation Cards (BACs) provide another option for groups for a single purchase (Grand and Reserve purchases only; all buyers on the BAC must bid $200+ each). A head buyer must be listed on the BAC or it will be rejected at the time of sale. You must provide their Buyer ID to any group in which you will participate. Without the Buyer ID, the Sale Office cannot apply the purchase to your account, and you will not be recognized for the purchase.
4. Project Donations are contributions made above and beyond what the exhibitor receives through the Sale Ring. These donations may be directed to a specific sale entry, applied as a blanket donation at your discretion to a subset of unnamed exhibitors, made in memory of a special individual, or allocated to the Final Gavel pool. In Memory Donations must be $5,000 or more. Project Donations may be made annually from July 1 through September 30, in amounts of $5 or more per exhibitor. Project Donors are not considered True Buyers and are therefore not eligible for Grand and Reserve photos. However, all project donations count toward a donor’s buyer club level, will be listed in the Champion Publication, and will be included on the exhibitor’s thank-you report provided with their check. Any blanket or in-memory donation of $5,000 or more will be announced at the conclusion of the Monday Premium Sale, and in-memory donations will also be recognized in a special section of the Champion Publication. Payment is expected at the time the donation is made and is subject to the same livestock sale terms and conditions.
5. The Feeder “Back-to-Farm” Base Bid Auction, held on Saturday, provides farms with the option to purchase feeder calves that will return to the farm. Some calves leave immediately following the sale, while others depart on Monday, as indicated in the sale program. All feeders are sold on an individual basis, and exhibitors do now have the option to reserve their feeders prior to the sale if they wish to take the animal home. As a result, all animals included in the sale are available for purchase.
6. All other departments actively seek market buyers for the market animals in their division. Poultry are sold in lots through an online auction that begins on Tuesday of the fair and runs through Friday. Swine, lambs, and goats are sold as a whole lot through a phone-in auction on Friday of the fair at noon. Rabbits are sold as a whole lot by silent phone bidding through the department with the final highest bidder selected by Friday of the fair, in the afternoon. Available steers are sold by home bidding at the Monday Premium Sale only. To participate in any of these other market buying opportunities, please email the livestock sale coordinator at sarah.moyer@hancockfairgrounds.org.

Only one registration and one bidder number are needed to participate in any of these participation opportunities.

Payment Information:

• Payment types accepted: Cash, Check; Visa, MasterCard with a 3% fee.
• The last bid at an auction is an oral contact and is legally binding. All sales are final.
• Payment is expected on date of purchase, unless prior arrangements have been made with the Sale Office. Payments not received within 30 days will incur a monthly 2% late payment fee. Failure to make final payments within 56 days will result in buyer being disqualified from future Hancock County Jr. Fair Livestock Auctions. Auctioneer is acting as seller agent. The Auctioneer’s decision is final. Home purchase of Livestock is “as is” and must make prior arrangements with the Sale Office before purchase. Feeder “Back-to-Farm” Sale requires payment immediately following the sale; calves will be released only with a paid receipt.