A cloudy, wet day didn’t put a damper on sales or the turnout at the 2022 Kendall County Junior Livestock Show and Sale as this year’s auction was a record year in terms of sales, beating out last year’s $1.4 million amount.
With more than 500 buyers registered this year and 355 lots sold, the Kendall County Junior Livestock Association raised about $1.5 million this year, setting a new bar for President Joe Lozano to try to surpass next year.
“You know, it was a good year,” Lozano said. “Lot of new buyers. And of course, lots of returning buyers. With room to grow for sure.”
About 18 scholarships were handed out to students who participated in the junior livestock show this year, with about $29,000 to split among the recipients. Lozano said the scholarship funds come from previous sales years and a regular grant received each year.
The auction capped of a week of hardworking youth who touted their animals around the Kendall County Youth Agriculture and Equestrian Center, and it marks the last day of the show for children who dedicated labor, love and money to raising their animals for months.
This was the second year the auction has kept the animals at bay, opting to have the children come into the caged animal barricade and hold up their ribbons form the past week to show the value of their animal up for bid.
The junior livestock show is comprised of generations of families and newcomers, but Lozano said the youth learn valuable skills in communication and confidence that will carry on through their professional lives after school.
“I think the biggest skill these kids learn, and it’s one of those skills people lack these days, is that communication skill to be able to ask questions or to go out with confidence,” Lozano said. “These kids gain confidence.”
Lozano said by putting in the effort to raise these animals, ranging from chicks to cows, and displaying them on their own, the children are encouraged to learn to communicate and not to be afraid to ask questions. He said being pushed to communicate with agriculture agents and even other competitors teaches them valuable communications skills that will be helpful as they get older.
“It teaches you responsibility,” Lozano said. “Those work responsibilities. Those responsibilities as a grown up once we’re graduated.”
Lozano is not only looking at how this experience will help the children participating become better now, but he has seen and hopes to continue to see the experience encourage those children as they grow up to go back to the community that raised them and contribute to it.
“Firstly, it’s important to me because it’s something I grew up doing,” Lozano said. “It’s something that kind of career wise helped put me where I am, and I think that’s important for the kids of our community. I want to say I know at least four scholarship recipients returned to help us with the stock show. So, those scholarships and the stock show are important, too, because it gets these kids to come back home and pour back into the community.”
Not only has Lozano seen students return years after participating, but he said even several of the buyers who bid on children’s livestock this year participated in the stock show years and years ago. He said some of these former participants are coming back and buying back into projects and putting back into the community, which he said is important for the incoming youth to see.
2022 Kendall County Junior Livestock Assoc. Show Winners Grand champions
•Market steers: Cole Young
•Market goats: Justin Spenrath
•Market lambs: Rodalyn Dunham
•Market turkeys: Simon Mecke-Lozano
•Market broilers: Annika Fairchild
•Market barrows: Sophia Nelson
•Ag mechanics: Madeline McFarland
Reserve grand champions
•Market steers: Kali Fischer
•Market goats: Turner Matkin
•Market lambs: Reece Dunham
•Market turkeys: Natalie Burkholder
•Market barrows: Gigi Stehling
•Ag mechanics: Koby Hunter
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