Hokie Harvest Sale VI is a Huge Success!

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The 2000 Livestock Merchandising Class entertained an enormous crowd of prospective horse and beef cattle buyers at the 6th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 27th. Twenty and 24 lots of university beef cattle and horses, respectively, were sold concurrently at public auction in Campbell Arena (horses) and the Livestock Judging Pavilion (beef cattle) to 213 registered buyers from Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The beef cattle sale grossed $39,925 with a sale average of $1996, and the horse sale averaged $3776 with a sale gross of $90,625.

Three different breeds of beef cattle (Angus, Polled Hereford, and Gelbvieh) were sold with Lot 29 topping the cow/calf division at $2775. This Angus cow, a '93 daughter of Leachman Prompter, is a proven producer (WWR 5@106) whose dam and sire have Pathfinder status. She sold to Justin Grimsley of Markham, VA. Her bull calf, sired by EXT, sold to Danny Petty of Galax, VA.

In the bred heifer division, Lot 34A was the sale topper at $1650. This Angus female is a daughter of Woodhill Triple Threat and ranks in the top 3% of non-parent Angus females for YW EPD (+80). Glenn and Carolyn Branscom of Catawba, VA purchased this outstanding replacement female.

In the open heifers, Sarah Grace Kenley of McCoy, VA paid $1150 for a Polled Hereford female (Lot 41A) sired by Feltons 517 and out of a powerful X4 cow bred at Dunrovin Farm, Crozet, VA.

VPI Fortune Hunter 9J55 (Lot 45) drew the top bid from Charlie Linkous of Radford, VA in the yearling bull division. This Angus bull is a son of Stephenson Fortune 425C and out of a RR Traveler 5204 daughter. He sold for $1700.

The top selling horse was Lot 12, a 1998 bay gelding (16.2 h) named VT Rio Grande, which sold to Paul Kaiser of Troutville, VA for $16,000. Rio is a branded Oldenburg and is one of the most exceptional individuals ever produced at Virginia Tech. He is sired by an international show jumper, who was a member of the 1995 winning Canadian Equestrian Team. Lot 11, a 1998 branded Oldenburg gelding named VT Ivan brought $15,000 from Connie Lomax of Tryon, NC.

The 80 students did a marvelous job of preparing for the sale. They gained "hands-on" experience in sale management, budgeting, cataloging, advertising, livestock photography, clerking, and health requirements. A special thanks is extended to Jeff Marsh and Paul Coleman for serving as auctioneers for the horses and beef cattle, respectively. Students Travis Black, Lexington, VA; Matt Good, Harrisonburg, VA; Emily Horsley, Yorktown, VA; Latisha Reynolds, Abingdon, VA; and Adam Wampler, Mt. Crawford, VA served as ringmen for the beef cattle sale while Stuart Hood, Hood, VA worked the ring. Bid-takers for the horse sale were Kate Exley, Mechanicsburg, VA; Walter Graham, Tazewell, VA; Nikki Reid, Lynchburg, VA; and Cindy Walker, Suffolk, VA.

The Barbecue Committee, with assistance from the Block and Bridle Club in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, served a complimentary BBQ dinner to over 700 guests. Their support and cooperation are greatly appreciated.

The response from the buying public and feedback from the students in the class continue to be overwhelming in favor of hosting another student-managed livestock sale. Plans are currently underway for another beef cattle and horse sale on October 26, 2001.