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Governor’s Sale of Champions brings in more than $280,000 for Illinois ag youth
More than $280,000 was invested toward the future of Illinois ag youth during the 2023 Governor’s Sale of Champions at the Illinois State Fair.
Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker had the winning bid on the Grand Champion Steer for the 4th year in a row at $105,000 which tied the record the First Lady set in 2021. The steer will be donated to Feeding Illinois and sent to food banks across the state.
In addition to the sale income, the CME Group donated $45,000 and Beck’s donated $20,000 in scholarships to be split amongst the champion exhibitors.
Illinois Director of Agriculture Jerry Costello says the sale is “the cherry on top of the Illinois State Fair” as youth are rewarded for the hard work they put into their livestock projects.
| Animal | Exhibitor | County | Purchasers | Price |
| Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen | Chesney Thorton | McLean | Springfield Plastics, AgriVest Farm Management, Field Level Agriculture, Inc. | $6,500 |
| Grand Champion Poultry Meat Pen | Owen Pree | Iroquois | McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis, Mike McGraw, Michael Kasprzyk & Brad & Karol Davis | $5,250 |
| Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print | Alaina Dinderman | Stephenson | Midwest Dairy, Becks Seed-Ryan Family, Stephenson Farm Bureau & St. Louis Dairy Council | $4,200 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Meat Goat | Trig Stoller | Woodford | Evans Feed & Bedding, Ed Teefey & Farmers, State Bank & Trust Company-Mt. Sterling & Illinois State Fair Sky Ride | $5,500 |
| Grand Champion Meat Goat | Nolan Hoge | McDonough | George Obernagel- Waterloo, IL & Obernagel Family Farms | $6,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb | Bryce Clayton | Scott | AgriGold, Kiefer Farms, Pivot Bio, Logan Agri-Service, Inc., LG Seeds, Jones Show Feed-Andy & Darcie Jones, Roland Machinery | $7,500 |
| Grand Champion Market Lamb | Lilian Unger | Kankakee | North American Midway Entertainment, Syngenta, Eric Faugust & West Central Farm Supply | $11,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Barrow & Grand Champion Barrow | Hunter Shike | Champaign | CME Group | $25,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Steer | Maddox Reedy | Douglas | BRANDT | $40,000 |
| Grand Champion Steer | Kashen Ellerbrock | Henry | JB & MK Pritzker | $105,000 |
Wednesday evening’s event also included the 2023 Commodity Auction. Results include:
| Commodity | Exhibitor | Location | Purchases | Price |
| Champion Queso Blanco Cheese | V&V Supreme | Chicago, IL | University of Illinois Colleges of ACES | $850 |
| Champion Provolone Cheese | Jamison-Foremost Farms Inc. | Appleton, WI | McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis | $600 |
| Champion Sharp Cheddar Cheese | Foremost Farms Inc.-Marshfield | Marshfield, WI | McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis | $550 |
| Champion Vanilla Yogurt | Deerland Dairy | Freeport, IL | Illinois State Auctioneers Association | $450 |
| Champion 1% Chocolate Milk | Prairie Farms-Rockford | Rockford, IL | McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis | $450 |
| Champion Bacon | Behrmann Meat & Processing | Albers, IL | IL State Rep Charlie Meier, Weeke Electric, Eaglemann Construction | $3,100 |
| Champion Bone-In Ham | Eickman’s Processing Co. Inc. | Seward, IL | Forreston Mutual | $2,000 |
| Champion Beef Jerky | Jones Meat & Locker | Jacksonville, IL | Forreston Mutual | $1,700 |
| Champion Snack Sticks | Turasky Meats | Springfield, IL | George Obernagel & Joe Hampton | $1,800 |
| Champion Cooked Bratwurst | Turasky Meats | Springfield, IL | University of Illinois College of ACES | $1,300 |
| Best of Show Wine | Twelve Oaks Vineyard | Carlyle, IL | Illinois State Auctioneers Association | $1,000 |
| Grand Champion Honey | William Budd | Springfield, IL | Illinois State Auctioneers Association | $700 |
| Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk | Lillian Lee | Glenarm, IL | Paul Rice, Myers Rice Auction & Realty | $550 |
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