2018 Governor’s Sale of Champions invests in future agricultural leaders
Three Logan County youth do well at annual State Fair Auction

[August 15, 2018]  A pair of new records were set at the 2018 Governor’s Sale of Champions Tuesday night at the Illinois State Fair. Each year, this marquee event of the Ag Day festivities showcases the hard work and dedication of youth in the agriculture industry.

From Logan County, Dawn Irwin sold her Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print for a high bid of $3,000. Griffin Jodlowski sold his Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk for $550. Ella Bobell won Grand Champion Barrow this year at the State Fair. On Tuesday evening that barrow brought a whopping $25,000.

In addition to being spotlighted before a full crowd at the Livestock Center on Tuesday night, these Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion exhibitors receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their animal. Many exhibitors use the money for their college education or invest it back into projects for next year.

“These youth exhibitors are the future of Illinois agriculture, which is our state’s number one industry,” said Raymond Poe, Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. “As agribusiness continues to grow and evolve, these kids will be educated and qualified to fill the industry needs. At the Department of Ag, we’re encouraging these young leaders to stay involved here in their home state to lead the ag industry.”

CME Group, Compeer Financial, and the Illinois 4-H Foundation also realize the importance of education, which is why they collectively donated $65,000 in scholarships to this year’s Sale of Champions. Thanks to these generous contributions, each of our Grand Champion exhibitors will go home with $6,000 in scholarships to further their careers in Illinois agriculture. Reserve Grand Champion exhibitors will also receive a portion of the proceeds from this evening’s sale.

Two new records were set at Tuesday night’s Sale of Champions:

The 2018 Grand Champion Honey sold for $2,600, breaking the previous record of $850. This year’s Grand Champion Honey was exhibited by Nancy Sweet of Chatham. Nancy says she’s been a longtime gardener and is currently a master gardener intern. Nancy says she plans to donate all proceeds from tonight’s sale to Alzheimer’s disease research.

The sale of the 2018 Grand Champion and Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether set a new record at $11,300, breaking the previous record of $11,050. Chase Tomhave of Jacksonville exhibited the winning Meat Goat Wether. Chase will be a freshman at Illinois College, majoring in ag business management. After college, he plans to return to the family farm to work with his dad and brother in farm real estate or crop insurance.

Below are the results of the 2018 Commodity Auction and the 2018 Governor’s Sale of Champions. It should be noted that the goats, sheep, barrows, and steers are being donated to the University of Illinois College of ACES.

[Illinois Department of Agriculture/Illinois State Fair]

Commodity		Exhibitor	Location	Purchaser(s)	Sale Price
Grand Champion Ice Cream		JB’s Gourmet Ice Cream	Worth, Illinois	Governor & Mrs. Rauner	$1,100
Grand Champion Aged Gouda		Caves of Faribault	Faribault, Minnesota	Marty & Madonna Davis, McDonald’s Restaurant	$800
Grand Champion Flavored Chihuahua Cheese		V & V Supremo Cheese Company	Chicago, Illinois	Governor & Mrs. Rauner	$1,000
Grand Champion Brie Cheese		Alouette, owned by Savencia Cheese USA	Made in Lena, Illinois	Governor & Mrs. Rauner	$1,050
Grand Champion Blue Cheese		Caves of Faribault	Faribault, Minnesota	Orion & Gloria Samuelson	$800
Grand Champion Snack Sticks		Turasky’s Meats	Springfield, Illinois	Dean Kimberlee Kidwell, University of Illinois College of ACES	$1,150
Grand Champion Beef Jerky		Turasky’s Meats	Springfield, Illinois	Rustic Oak Farms	$1,050
Commodity		Exhibitor	Location	Purchaser(s)	Sale Price
Grand Champion Bacon		Leiding’s Meats and Catering	Danville, Illinois	Raymond Poe, IL Director of Agriculture; Luke Sailer, State Fair Manager	$1,250
Grand Champion Luncheon Meats		Leiding’s Meats and Catering	Danville, Illinois	Joe Hampton & George Obernagel	$950
Grand Champion Ham		Eickman’s Processing Company	Seward, Illinois	Rich Brauer	$1,300
Best of Show Wine – Demi Sec Rosé		Illinois Sparkling Company	Utica, Illinois	Sen. Sam McCann	$500
Grand Champion Honey		Nancy Sweet	Chatham, Illinois	Governor & Mrs. Rauner	$2,600* new record
Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk		Griffen Jodlowski	Atlanta, Illinois	Turner Farms – in Memory of Jim Turner	$550
Animal	Exhibitor		County	Purchaser(s)	Sale Price
Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen	Sam Pree		Iroquois	George Obernagel; Glen Werry; Agrivest Farm Management	$3,500
Grand Champion Poultry Market Pen	Grant Wilderman		Bond	McDonald’s Group: Dave & Julie Embry, Paul & Mary Breznay, McGraw Enterprises, Davis Family	$4,000
Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print	Sarah Irwin		Logan	Prairie Farms Dairy	$3,000
Animal	Exhibitor		County	Purchaser(s)	Sale Price
Grand Champion & Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether	Chase Tomhave		Morgan	Springfield Plastics; Ed Teefey; The Sky Ride; Rex Evans; Kiefer Farms; IL Auctioneers Assoc. & Farm Credit; Hummel Livestock; Syngenta Crop Protection & Prairieland FS; Prairie View Farms	$11,300* new record
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Wether Lamb	Olivia Caldwell		Peoria	Becks, Stone, Channel, Tomhave Farms; IL Auctioneers Assoc.; Syngenta; Prairie View Farms	$7,250
Grand Champion Wether Lamb	Bryce Clayton		Scott	North American Midway Entertainment	$8,500
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Barrow	Morgan Wagner		Fulton	Monsanto; DeKalb; Asgrow	$15,500
Grand Champion Barrow	Ella Bobell		Logan	CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)	$25,000
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Steer	Tara Hummel		Kankakee	BRANDT	$30,000
Grand Champion Steer	Adam Miller		Livingston	Governor & Mrs. Rauner	$60,000