Small-animals Judge Ken Patterson hands a ribbon to Marshall Taggart, of Enterprise, on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, at the Wallowa County Fair.

ENTERPRISE — A total of $468,035 was bid on livestock auctioned during this year’s Wallowa County Fair Fat Stock Sale that concluded the fair Saturday, Aug. 13, according to the county fair office.

It was another record- breaking year. Last year’s sale yielded $360,345 in a fair that was coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, county Commissioner Todd Nash said he didn’t recall another sale that yielded such high proceeds, making this year’s even more of a record.

Nash said during this year’s sale he was concerned that there weren’t as many animals, but the kids largely got what they deserved.

Another way to get the kids what they deserved, Nash said, was to ensure speedy payment. That was accomplished earlier this year when the Board of Commissioners was offered an interest-free bridge loan of about $70,000 from Community Bank so the 4-H’ers and FFA kids could be paid promptly.

But the champion livestock didn’t always mean the top-dollar sales.

Among the market beef, both grand champions — 4-H and FFA — sold for $5,000 each. Aleksis Miller had the 4-H champion, while Gunnar McDowell had the FFA steer.

Miller’s weighed in at 1,369 pounds with a floor value of $1,848.15. McDowell’s animal weighed in at 1,334 pounds for a floor value of $1,800.90.

Lannie Stonebrink got the top-dollar steer with his FFA red-ribbon animal that weighed in at 1,193 pounds for a floor value of $1,610.55 and ultimately sold for $6,750.

The largest animal of any species belonged to Tegan Evans, whose red-ribbon FFA steer weighed in at 1,499 pounds for a floor value of $2,023.65.

Among the market sheep, the grand champion 4-H animal sold by Hallie Duncan for $1,600, as did the grand champion FFA sheep sold by Kane Johnson.

Katelyn Melville had the top-dollar sheep, selling her blue-ribbon animal for $1,750.

Market swine were the most numerous at the sale, with 59 animals. They ranged from Caden Fent’s 230-pound blue-ribbon FFA animal that had a floor value of $156.40 to Jayden Salmon’s 306-pound animal that had a floor value of $208.08.

The grand champion 4-H swine of Ryatt Stein’s weighed in at 248 pounds for a floor value of $168.64 and sold for $3,400 to Wallowa County Ace Hardware.

Sofia Salerno’s grand champion FFA swine weighed in at 276 pounds for a floor value of $187.68 and sold for $3,500 to the Enterprise Animal Hospital.

Among the five market goats, Paige Freels had the grand champion 4-H animal that weighed in at 84 pounds with a floor value of $184.80 and sold for $1,300, while Dakota DeLyria had the grand champion FFA animal that weighed in at 96 pounds with a floor value of $211.20 and sold for $1,250.

But it was JJ Cudmore’s red-ribbon 4-H goat that weighed in at just 154 pounds — the lightest of them all — and had a floor value of $154 but took the top dollar to sell for $1,800.

Not every animal had hooves. There were six turkeys and a cage of three chickens in the small-animals category. Eric Miles sold his grand champion turkey that weighed in at 42 pounds for $750 to Chrisman Development.

Brodie Wilbur-Foster’s pen of three chickens sold for $600.