Illinois State Fair Sale of Champions Invests in Tomorrow's Agricultural Leaders
Governor and First Lady Pritzker Purchase Grand Champion Steer of $105K

[August 23, 2023]     Being in the Governor's Sale of Champions is something all livestock exhibitors dream about. Each year, this marquee event showcases the hard work and dedication of the youth in the agriculture industry.

Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker took home the Grand Champion Steer for the fourth year in row, donating $105,000 towards the purchase of the animal and tying the record Frist Lady MK Pritzker set in 2021. The Governor and First Lady also encouraged others at the Sale of Champions to make donations to go towards all of the champion exhibitors to further the advancement of youth in agriculture.

In addition to being spotlighted before the crowd on Wednesday 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.

“These exhibitors are the future of agriculture in our state and represent the best of the best,” said Jerry Costello II, Director, Illinois Department of Agriculture. “The Sale of Champions is the cherry on top of the Illinois State Fair. To see our youth in agriculture rewarded for the work that they put into these animals is my favorite aspect of the Illinois State Fair.”

CME Group also realizes the importance of education, which is why they have donated $45,000 in scholarships to this year’s Sale of Champions and for last decade. This year seed company Beck’s is providing a $20,000 scholarship to be split among the champions.

Below are the results of the 2023 Commodity Auction and the 2023 Sale of Champions. It should be noted that the Grand Champion Steer will be donated to Feeding Illinois and dispersed to food banks across the state.

[Illinois Office of Communication and Information]

Below are the results of the 2023 Commodity Auction and the 2023 Sale of Champions. It should be noted that the Grand Champion Steer will be donated to Feeding Illinois and dispersed to food banks across the state.
 

Commodity	Exhibitor	Location	Purchases	Price
Champion Queso Blanco Cheese	V&V Supreme	Chicago, IL	University of Illinois Colleges of ACES	$850
Champion Provolone Cheese	Jamison-Foremost Farms Inc.	Appleton, WI	McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis	$600
Champion Sharp Cheddar Cheese	Foremost Farms Inc.-Marshfield	Marshfield, WI	McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis	$550
Champion Vanilla Yogurt	Deerland Dairy	Freeport, IL	Illinois State Auctioneers Association	$450
Champion 1% Chocolate Milk	Prairie Farms-Rockford	Rockford, IL	McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis	$450
Champion Bacon	Behrmann Meat & Processing	Albers, IL	IL State Rep Charlie Meier, Weeke Electric, Eaglemann Construction	$3,100
Champion Bone-In Ham	Eickman’s Processing Co. Inc.	Seward, IL	Forreston Mutual	$2,000
Champion Beef Jerky	Jones Meat & Locker	Jacksonville, IL	Forreston Mutual	$1,700
Champion Snack Sticks	Turasky Meats	Springfield, IL	George Obernagel & Joe Hampton	$1,800
Champion Cooked Bratwurst	Turasky Meats	Springfield, IL	University of Illinois College of ACES	$1,300
Best of Show Wine	Twelve Oaks Vineyard	Carlyle, IL	Illinois State Auctioneers Association	$1,000
Grand Champion Honey	William Budd	Springfield, IL	Illinois State Auctioneers Association	$700
Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk	Lillian Lee	Glenarm, IL	Paul Rice, Myers Rice Auction & Realty	$550

 

Animal	Exhibitor	County	Purchasers	Price
Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen	Chesney Thorton	McLean	Springfield Plastics, AgriVest Farm Management, Field Level Agriculture, Inc.	$6,500
Grand Champion Poultry Meat Pen	Owen Pree	Iroquois	McDonalds Marty & Donna Davis, Mike McGraw, Michael Kasprzyk & Brad & Karol Davis	$5,250
Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print	Alaina Dinderman	Stephenson	Midwest Dairy, Becks Seed-Ryan Family, Stephenson Farm Bureau & St. Louis Dairy Council	$4,200
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Meat Goat	Trig Stoller	Woodford	Evans Feed & Bedding, Ed Teefey & Farmers, State Bank & Trust Company-Mt. Sterling & Illinois State Fair Sky Ride	$5,500
Grand Champion Meat Goat	Nolan Hoge	McDonough	George Obernagel- Waterloo, IL & Obernagel Family Farms	$6,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb	Bryce Clayton	Scott	AgriGold, Kiefer Farms, Pivot Bio, Logan Agri-Service, Inc., LG Seeds, Jones Show Feed-Andy & Darcie Jones, Roland Machinery	$7,500
Grand Champion Market Lamb	Lilian Unger	Kankakee	North American Midway Entertainment, Syngenta, Eric Faugust & West Central Farm Supply	$11,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Barrow & Grand Champion Barrow	Hunter Shike	Champaign	CME Group	$25,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Steer	Maddox Reedy	Douglas	BRANDT	$40,000
Grand Champion Steer	Kashen Ellerbrock	Henry	JB & MK Pritzker	$105,000