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Lamb brings top price in meat sale

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Meat animal sale, Walworth County Fair, 2009

Highlights from the Walworth County Fair meat animal sale, Sept. 4, 2009. STORY Click to play

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Walworth County Fair, 2009

Scenes from the 160th Walworth County Fair in Elkhorn, Wis. CLICK HERE to send your photos from the fair.

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ELKHORN — Abriel Odling struggled to perfectly position her market lamb, Charlie.

She squatted low to the ground, hoisted up the lamb by his neck and smiled.

But the adjustment would last only for a moment.

Charlie again fidgeted. Odling again struggled.

It was a sequence that would repeat a couple times before their time in the auction ring was over.

But the awkward exchange between showman and animal was no distraction to either a group of men in blue jeans, who raised white placards indicating their interest in buying the lamb, or a crowd of fairgoers, who whooped and hollered to raise the going price of the lamb.

Odling, 16, of Sugar Creek Township beamed as the winning bid was announced: Charlie, a 140-pound crossbred lamb, went for a whopping $13 a pound.

It was the highest price per pound paid for any animal at the Meat Animal Sale of Champions at the Walworth County Fair on Friday.

Odling said it was “really cool” to be in the auction ring with her grand champion market lamb.

“It’s so intense to hear that dollar go up and up and up,” she said.

Odling said dealing with an ornery animal, as Charlie was during the sale, is part of the job.

“He’s getting tired, but I want him to look just right—how he looked yesterday (during judging),” she said. “I want him to be big and bold and show that power that the judge liked.”

Odling, who has been showing sheep since she was 9 years old, said it gets easier and easier to let her animals go as she gets older.

“I’ve gotten better about saying goodbye,” she said. “You know it’s gonna happen.”

Buyers spent $376,685 on 72 cattle, 108 lambs and 325 hogs, said Bob Handel, chairman of the meat animal sale committee and vice president of the fair board. That’s down quite a bit from last year’s total of $446,585, he said.

“The economy affected us a little bit,” Handel said. “But I don’t think anybody can complain. We got double to four times market price on everything.”

He added that there were 60 fewer animals in the sale this year compared to last year.

Stephanie Syverson was “really appreciative” of the price she got for her reserve champion barrow, Andele, and her grand champion carcass barrow, Uffda.

Buyers were reluctant at first, but the auctioneer encouraged them, talking up the quality of the animals and ratcheting up the price per pound.

Andele, a 268-pound crossbred hog, went for $4 a pound, and Uffda, a 249-pound crossbred hog, went for $3.75 a pound.

Syverson, 20, scooted out of the ring as soon as the winning bids were announced. She was relieved to be out of the spotlight.

“It’s pretty nerve-wracking,” she said. “But you just have to go out there and smile.”