Support Junior Fair Auction
M onths of dedication and hard work will pay off today for hundreds of young people and it is all made possible thanks to the community.
Today is the Porterville Fair Junior Livestock Auction, the day hundreds of young 4-H and FFA members have looked forward to for months.
The climax of the Porterville Fair for young students who are exhibiting a market animal — rabbits, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and steers — comes early today when the auctioneer begins to do his or her magic in getting bidders to pay good money for animals.
Porterville-area residents have never let the kids down.
Last year’s Bid for the Kid effort netted more than $590,000 in sales, a remarkable amount. Livestock sale organizers are hoping to equal or break that mark today.
The young 4-H and FFA members will each have one eye on the auctioneer and the other on the bidders as each sells their animal. Each will be hoping for a good price.
The sale will begin with Bred Heifer auction at 9 a.m., followed by the market animals at 10 a.m. The Heritage Animal, a special animal raised every year to raise money for the Fair Heritage Association, will be auctioned at noon. Proceeds from that sale go to the young person selling the animal in the form of a scholarship, with the rest to the association which supports improvements at the fair.
The story of the auction the past several years is what is called “add-ons.” That is money donated to the livestock auction and not for any specific child or animal, but can be used to boost prices when the bidders slow down a bit. It evens out the amount paid so all of those young people selling an animal get a good price. Remarkably, a significant percentage of the total spent at the auction comes from those add-ons, which are basically donations to the fair auction.
Often, prices tend to drag a bit in the middle of the sale after all the champions have been sold and before the final few animals are put in the center ring. It is those animals where the add-ons really help.
It is not too late to contribute. You can contact the fair office to see how you might help a young exhibitor and make the 2018 Fair one they will never forget.
If you have time, take in the auction. It is a lot of fun and maybe while you are there, you can make a bid for the kid, or help out on the Heritage Animal which benefits the fair.