What happens to 4-H animals after the Fair?

What happens to 4-H animals after the Fair?

After purchasing a pig, sheep or steer from a 4-H participant at the County Fair, buyers have a number of options. They can take the animal home, usually to breed, have it slaughtered and the meat processed for one’s own use; buy the animal to make a donation, but let it go to a commercial market.

Buying for meat

Hauling the animal to the processor is paid for by the Fair but the buyer will have an additional expense for processing.

There is a kill charge, which the buyer pays in addition to the price of the animal. Buyers will also have to specify what meat processor to use, and in a few days the butcher will call to ask how they want the meat cut and where they want it delivered. 4-H experts recommend telling the processor they are new and want a sample of all types of cuts because the “standard cut” doesn’t include tenderloin.

Additional charges apply for cutting and wrapping and are outlined in the auction catalog available on auction day. Buyers can expect to get about 75 percent of the hog’s market weight back as meat.

Buying as a donation

For a tax write-off, buyers deduct the market price from what they paid for the 4-H project. If a buyer pays $2.50 per pound for a 220-pound pig, the price will be $550. If the market rate for swine is 40 cents per pound, the buyer can deduct the entire difference, which in this case would be $462.

The junior livestock auction will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 7. Rabbits, chickens and hogs are generally sold at the beginning of the auction and beef, lambs and goats are sold after a lunch break.