Island County 4-H


CONTENTS:

Market Animal Project Overview

The 4-H Market Animal Project takes a 4-H'er through the entire process of raising an animal that is to become food for people. This is intense, and extremely meaningful - sustainability demands that humans understand and respect where their food comes from.

4-H'ers purchase their market animals between late fall and early spring (often using loans available through the Livestock Sale Committee), and then begin learning how to feed and care for the animals in an ethical and healthy manner.

The project culminates in an auction at the Island County Fair. This year, it is set for Saturday, August 16th, at noon, in the Livestock Arena. The public is encouraged to join this last phase of the project, participate in the bidding, and purchase locally raised beef, sheep, pork, and goat for their freezers.

So far, it looks like there will be 16 pigs, 12 sheep, 9 goats, and 10 beef (sold as quarters) for auction.

Please track on this page throughout the season as the projects develop.

Livestock Auction

Each August, during our Island County Fair, 4-H'ers in the Market Animal Project take one final opportunity to show off their animals as they enter the auction arena. The culmination of a year's worth of hard work, these market animals embody a wide variety of lessons learned.

The 4-H'ers who have cared for the animals have a deep personal understanding of how many resources and how much effort goes into raising them. They also know that they are living creatures who are now on their way to folk's dinner tables.

The auction runs from noon to about 3 on Saturday, August 16, at the Island County Fairgrounds in Langley, on Whidbey Island. With amusement rides whirling in the background, 4-H'ers bring their sheep, goats, beef, and pigs into the arena one by one. The auctioneer tells a little about each of the 4-H'ers and their project plans and goals, as well as how their animals did in the fitting and showing competitions. The audience, composed of local farmers, politicians, business owners, 4-H families, and other happy fair-goers, sits at the ready with their bidder numbers and check books.

After the bidding is done, the animals will return to their stalls to spending a final day in the barns, and will be taken to the meat processor on Sunday. Once they have been slaughtered, the 4-H'ers will gather again -- this time at the processing facility, to evaluate the carcasses, noting how different breeds and different feeding regimens resulting in different grades of meat. After that, packages of locally grown, natural beef, sheep, pork, and goat will be picked up by those high bidders from the Saturday auction.

Obviously, this is a very intense project. It is also perhaps one of the most powerful ones we have in our current 4-H Program. Unlike many, these kids know exactly where their hamburger comes from. They understand why things like mad cow disease and hoof and mouth cause panic. They know that farmers and ranchers are working extremely hard, under intense financial pressures, to keep food on our tables. And they accept that there are standards of behavior that are non-negotiable when dealing with living creatures and our environment - that raising livestock is not just about the bottom line, but is also about quality of life for all elements involved.

We feel this project touches on the idea of community, healthy youth development, rural life, food security, locally raised meat, healthy lifestyles, agricultural and environmental sustainability, and of course, down home fun at the auction. Can we interest you in meeting us at the Fair?

For more information on how to participate as a bidder,

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Our 4-H Livestock Auction is set for Saturday, August 16, at noon on the Island County Fairgrounds. This year we'll have goats, pigs, sheep, and beef (quarters available) in the auction arena. Here's your chance to buy naturally, humanely, locally grown meats for your freezer! Proceeds from the sale go directly to the 4-H'er who has raised the animal through the 4-H Market Animal Project.

Hope to see you and your friends there!

How Do I Participate in the Auction?

It's easy to take part in the 4-H Livestock Auction at the Island County Fair! Here's what you need to do.

  1. Between Thursday morning and Saturday morning, check out the animals that will be included in the sale. Talk with the 4-H'ers who have raised them. Learn about what they have been doing to produce good quality meat. Ask them about what they have invested in their projects in terms of both money and time.
  2. Consider whether you want to bid on an animal by yourself, or if you want to go in with friends/relatives on an animal. Beef are auctioned by the quarter, but you can informally share any animal that is auctioned, so long as you make your own arrangements with those friends/relatives. In other words, if you are going to share, decide before the auction what your bidding range will be, how the meat will be divided, etc.
  3. Be aware that even if you cannot be at the auction, you can appoint a proxy to bid for you! You will need to make sure they can attend and that they are willing to represent you. They will need to provide your name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and your cut and wrap order. You will need to send along cash, check, or credit card info with them, along with authorization to make the payment.
  4. Between 11 am and noon on Saturday, August 16, sign in as a bidder at the registration table near the livestock arena. This means your proxy, if you cannot attend. You will be given a bidder number that you can proudly raise each time you bid on an animal. Stick around. The Auction officially begins at high noon.
  5. Buy something! Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted. If using a credit card, a 4% fee is added so that the transaction fee is covered by the buyer instead of by the 4-H'er.
  6. Let the folks at the check-out table know about your cut and wrap order. This is the order form relating to the cuts of meat you want the butcher to prepare for you. The butcher (Del Fox Custom Meats) will be on hand during the auction, so you can ask questions about how this is all done. You can also ask to see a cut and wrap form at any of the livestock barns prior to the auction. His operation is in Stanwood, so you will need to ultimately pick up your order there. Information about directions and hours will be provided to you at the time of purchase.
  7. Once your order is ready, someone from Del Fox will contact you so that you can make arrangements to pick it up.

For more information, contact the WSU Extension Office at 360-240-5558, or visit us in the livestock barns or the WSU Extension Booth at the Fair. www.island.wsu.edu

Market Beef

Market Sheep

Market Swine

Market Goat

22 April, 2008 - HI, my name is Morgan Urtasun and I am in Whidbey Island Meat Goats 4-H. This is a picture of me and my goat Comet. He is three months old. Right now I am teaching him how to stand and walk on a lead. He is learning fast.


This page updated: 29 July 2008