Top beef brings lower bid, but Sale of Champions rings up higher than ‘08
“Fort Worth, is that your verdict?” auctioneer Doak Lambert asked at the 113th Fort Worth Stock Show’s Sale of Champions as he tried to coax the bidders to reach higher stakes — if not another record price — for this year’s grand champion steer.
The 1,298-pound jet black European crossbred steer, chosen from more than 2,500 steers, highlighted the junior sale, the grand finale of the nationÂ’s oldest stock show and rodeo, which wrapped up on Feb. 8.
“Fort Worth, what do you want to do?” Lambert questioned the standing-room-only crowd in the West Arena.
When the gavel fell, 13-year-old Callie Stedje from the Panhandle town of Gruver, pocketed $140,000 for her grand champion steer, Blackjack. The amount was $45,000 less than the record-setting figures XTO Energy Inc. paid in 2007 and 2008. XTO Energy has purchased the past four grand champion steers.
Nevertheless, Stedje was happy with her sale to first-time major buyer Happy Davis Foundation of Weatherford. Like most of the other junior exhibitors, she plans to squirrel away her earnings for college. She said she hopes to attend Texas Christian University.
The eighth-grader seemed happier still when it was announced that Blackjack would be donated to the Fort Worth ZooÂ’s Texas Wild! Exhibit, home to the grand champion beeves for the past three years.
Overall, Stock Show officials were pleased with the sale proceeds, said Bill Poteet, chairman of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate. The Syndicate, a group of local businessmen and businesswomen dedicated to promoting agricultural education for Texas youth, spent $2.01 million for 278 steers, pigs, lambs and goats offered at this yearÂ’s auction. Last yearÂ’s sales totaled $1.972 million. Both figures, however, are shy of 2007Â’s chart-topping $2.316 million in sales.
Meagan Boxwell, 17, of Perryton, a cow chipÂ’s throw away from Gruver, cried with regret as she showed her reserve grand champion steer, a 1,328-pound shorthorn named L.D. Coors Distributing Co. of Fort Worth purchased the animal for $100,000, the same price Hillwood Development and Del FriscoÂ’s Double Eagle Steak House paid for the reserve champ in 2008 and 2007, respectively. But BoxwellÂ’s tearful frown turned into a huge smile when she learned L.D. would join Blackjack at the Fort Worth Zoo.
Howard Walsh III purchased the grand champion barrow, shown by Weston Richburg, a senior from Bushland, for $14,500. Richburg, 17, said he would use his winnings when he heads this fall to Colorado State University. His win capped off a perfect week: Richburg signed a letter of intent to play football for the Colorado State Rams just three days before the Sale of Champions.
Larry White Investments bid $8,500 for the reserve champion barrow, a Yorkshire shown by Peyton Hill of Nevada, Texas. Last year, Hofer Builders purchased the grand champion pig for $10,000 while LH Chaney Materials and Joe Rider Butane Inc. paid $5,200 for the reserve.
Once again, the Ladies on the Lamb purchased both the grand and reserve champion lambs, upping the amounts the club paid in 2008 for the top animals. The grand champion lamb, shown by Sydney Witte, 14, of Clint, sold for $20,000. The club paid $16,500 for the reserve champion lamb, exhibited by Erica Walker of Eastland. Last year, the Ladies bid $15,000 each for the grand champion and the reserve.
Larry White Investments also purchased the grand champion wether goat, shown by Chama Martin of Mason, for $15,000, a slight bit above the 2008 purchase price of $12,000. Hillwood Land & Cattle bought the reserve champion wether goat, shown by Conner Newsom of Ballinger, for $10,000, well above last yearÂ’s winning bid of $4,500.
Founded in 1980, the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, the largest single financial supporter of the sale, has spent more than $22 million by way of bids and scholarships that are presented to the junior exhibitors each year.
bdillard@bizpress.net
Junior Sale of Champions Winning Bids
Grand Champion Steer
$140,000
Reserve Grand Champion Steer
$100,000
Grand Champion Barrow
$14,500
Reserve Grand Champion Barrow
$8,500
Grand Champion Lamb
$20,000
Reserve Grand Champion Lamb
$16,500
Grand Champion Wether Goat
$15,000
Reserve Champion Wether Goat
$10,000
