The
Wayne County Junior Fair Sale will undergo a major change this year in an
effort to make the experience better for the exhibitors and buyers.
Instead of selling one livestock
species at a time, the junior fair sale committee will operate two sale rings
in the Fair Event Center on Wednesday, Sept. 10 so auctioneers can sell two
species at the same time.
A
staggered start for each ring will allow the champion animals to have the
benefit of the buyers’ full attention.
Following the dairy products auction at
9 a.m. in the Coliseum, the market lamb and goat auction will start at 11 a.m.
in ring two in the Fair Event Center. Champions will sell first for about 15
minutes, and then a second auctioneer will start the bidding for the champion
poultry at approximately 11:15 a.m. in ring one. Bidding will pause in ring two.
“We will not sell champions at the same time,” said Deanna Walenciak, sale committee secretary. “We know a lot of champion buyers
are competitive, and we want to get the kids the most money we can for these
awesome projects.”
After the champions are sold, both rings will operate
simultaneously. Market rabbits will sell after the poultry.
Walenciak said
the major reason for the switch to two sale rings was to shorten the time
exhibitors are selling their animals. Last year, Wednesday's sale of market
lambs, goats, poultry and rabbits ran past 11 p.m. That’s a tough spot for the
exhibitors who have to attend school the next morning and for buyers to still
be in the audience.
“While our community has always been great to support
our youth all the way to the end of the sale,” she said, “without adding two
rings, future sales could have extended past midnight."
Planners hope this year’s sale wraps up by 8 p.m. The
market swine and beef will sell Thursday, starting at 8:30 a.m. in the Fair Event
Center.
“Our youth work very hard to prepare themselves and
their animals to exhibit at the fair,” said Hannah Getz, Ohio State University
Extension 4-H educator in Wayne County. “As numbers of livestock entries grow,
it’s necessary to cut down on sale time for the benefit of all.”
More than 2,500
livestock are entered in this year’s fair.
The large space in the event center will allow for two
sale rings. The auctioneers will face away from each other to cut down on the
sound of each interfering with the other.
Additional televisions purchased by the senior fair
board will help buyers to easily see exhibitors selling their animals and the
auctioneers. No animals are brought to the sale ring. Exhibitors auction their
animals by stepping on stage, and a photo of their animal appears on a screen. A
television in each ring will show the auction in the opposite ring.
Auction programs are printed in advance so buyers can
look ahead to see when different youth are selling.
Walenciak said the new design will likely come
with some bumps in the road.
“A big change can bring a little learning,” she
said, "but the committee is positive about the benefits, and the goal is a
better experience for our exhibitors and buyers.”
Another change this year is every junior fair
exhibitor will be eligible to receive add-on money, giving those who don’t sell
their animals a chance to receive support for their projects. That includes
Still and Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H projects.
An add-on is a donation made directly to an exhibitor.
In the past these could only be made to market exhibitors who sold animals at
the auction or dairy exhibitors who received funds from the dairy products
auction.
Add-ons provide an opportunity for a buyer to
recognize exhibitors for their hard work, Getz said. They can be made in two
ways:
