Sale of Champions invests in tomorrow’s agricultural leaders
Logan County youth Griffen Jodlowski earns $250 for his Best of Show Goat Milk

[August 21, 2017]    SPRINGFIELD - Being in the Governor’s Sale of Champions is something all livestock exhibitors dream about, but few are able to accomplish.

Each year, this marquis event of the Illinois State Fair Ag Day festivities showcases the hard work and dedication of the youth in the agriculture industry.

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

“The Illinois State Fair recognizes that these youth exhibitors are the future of Illinois agriculture,” stated Raymond Poe, Agriculture Director. “In the coming years, there is projected to be an influx of agriculture jobs available for those who are trained, educated and qualified to fill them. We strive to encourage these kids to stay involved in Illinois agriculture and make a career in our state’s number one industry.”

CME Group and AT&T also realize the importance of education, which is why they have collectively donated $60,000 in scholarships to this year’s Sale of Champions. Each of the ten Grand Champion exhibitors will received a $1,000 scholarship from AT&T and a $5,000 scholarship from CME Group, for a total of $6,000.

This year, the Department of Agriculture made significant changes to the formula used to award the money raised at tonight’s sale. These changes were designed to award more youth exhibitors for their agricultural achievements. Under new rules, this year’s Reserve Grand Champion exhibitors will be receiving a portion of the proceeds from this evening’s sale.

Below are the results of the 2017 Commodity Auction and the 2017 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 State Fair]

Commodity	Exhibitor	Location	Purchases	Price
Champion Cream Cheese	Swiss Valley	Luana, Iowa	Illinois Auctioneers Association Senator Sam McCann	$800
Champion Queso Fresco	V &V Supremo	Chicago, IL / Cook County	University of Illinois College of ACES Dean Kim Kidwell	$500
Champion Swiss Cheese	Shullsburg Cheese Company	Shullsburg, WI	Joe Hampton George Obernagle	$700
Champion Cheddar Cheese	Foremost Farms	Marshfield, WI	Rodd Buffington CTC	$550
Champion Ice Cream	Bob’s Ice Cream	Eureka, IL / Woodford County	Susan J. Koch, Chancellor, University of Illinois – Springfield	$600
Champion Snack Sticks	Ream’s Meat Market	Elburn, IL / Kane County	George Obernagle	$800
Champion Beef Jerky	AJ’s Lena Maid Meats	Lena, IL / Stephenson County	Amy Cheatham ISHA/Farm Credit of Illinois	$850
Champion Bacon	AJ’s Lena Maid Meats	Lena, IL / Stephenson County	Pearly Hanold Jr. Cracked Egg Diner	$1,350
Champion Ham	Eickman’s Processing Company	Seward, IL / Winnebago County	Earl Sorrells of Raymond, IL	$1,150
Best of Show Wine	Galena Cellars	Galena, IL /  Jo Daviess County	Senator Sam McCann Illinois State Auctioneers Association – District 5	$700
Grand Champion Honey	Angela Nelson	Elburn, IL / Kane County	Marty & Donna Davis – McDonald’s	$750
Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk	Griffen Jodlowski	Atlanta, IL / Logan County	Adcock-Britz Auction	$250

Grand Champion Rabbit Meat Pen	Dax    Gentes	Woodford	Agrivest Farm Management American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois Brandt	$3,000
Grand Champion Poultry Market Pen	Caroline  Gill	Peoria	Burrus Seed Company Friends of Caroline Gill Yordy Turkey Farm in Morton	$5,250
Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print	Morgan Olbrich	McHenry	Prairie Farms, Inc.	$3,000
Reserve Grand Champion Meat Goat Wether & Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether	Kadie Hummel	Kankakee	Skyride Battery Specialists Midwest Livestock – Shawn Andrews	$2,750
Grand Champion Meat Goat Wether & Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether	Tara Hummel	Kankakee	Evans Feed & Bedding Glen Werry Springfield Plastics John & Sherry Tomhave	$4,250
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Wether Lamb	Halie Runner	McDonough	Channel Seed Kumbach Agrigold Dearwester Grain Friends of Halie Runner Carol Lingley	$5,350
Grand Champion Wether Lamb	Kashen Ellerbrock	Henry	North American Midway Entertainment	$8,000
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Barrow	Bryce Bedeker	Grundy	Monsanto, DEKALB and Asgrow Marty & Donna Davis –Marty & Donna Davis –	$19,000
Grand Champion Barrow	Cooper Bertolino	Christian	CME Group	$25,000
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Steer	Adam  Miller	Livingston	Brandt Pease’s Bunn Gourmet Abby Tomhave	$29,100
Grand Champion Steer	Olivia Caldwell	Peoria	Governor and Mrs. Bruce Rauner	$50,000