![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/GrandChamphog-300x214.jpg\" "\\"GrandChamphog\\"")
<\/a>Maddison Norsworthy\u2019s \u00a0(a Alva Middle student) champion pig fetched $1,441 on Saturday during the SWFL Lee County Fair livestock auction.<\/p>\n
The livestock auction is part of a 4-H and FFA program that encourages area children to purchase their own livestock, raise the animals and sell them at the fair.<\/p>\n
Norsworthy said she learned about responsibility and chores, saying she plans to raise another pig next year. Is farming in her future?<\/p>\n
A total of 159 animals — 133 swine and 26 steer were auctioned Saturday, said Tim Mann a Fair board member and auction organizer. \u201cThis is like their football, their volleyball,\u201d Mann said<\/p>\n
Students must feed the animals twice a day, groom them regularly, learn to show the animal at auctions and keep up with the amount spent versus expected income.<\/p>\n
All animals were sold Saturday, regardless of bid prices. Some kids, Mann said, lose money in the end. The lessons learned, however, are worth the effort and financial risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to learn the market and they keep records,\u201d Mann said. \u201cEach one of those kids should be able to tell you how much they need per pound to break even.\u201d<\/p>\n
All children involved in the livestock auction also must keep daily records of the animal\u2019s weight as well as financial records, which include feed and any veterinarian bills.<\/p>\n
Not only does the program instill business sense into these young minds, but the auction provides top-notch meat for local farmers, slaughterhouses and even grocery stores. Money spent on the animals is tax deductible.<\/p>\n
Tony Mast, part-owner of the local Culligan Water franchise, said he first attended the auctions as a child, going to the fair each year with his father. He wanted to raise livestock as a kid, but his family lived close to town, not near farmlands.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I have three daughters showing steers,\u201d Mast said. \u201cI finally was able to move east and own some farmland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mast\u2019s children all attend Riverdale High School.<\/p>\n
Mast, who bought Norsworthy\u2019s champion pig, said, \u201cIt\u2019s good meat too, the best bacon I\u2019ve ever had. This is going in the freezer. For the last year these animals have been treated like kings.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maddison Norsworthy\u2019s \u00a0(a Alva Middle student) champion pig fetched $1,441 on Saturday during the SWFL Lee County Fair livestock auction. The livestock auction is part of a 4-H and FFA… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19422"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}