Summary of the Hokie Harvest Sale VIII

Livestock Update, December 2002

D.E. Eversole, Extension Animal Scientist, VA Tech

The 2002 Livestock Merchandising Class entertained an enormous crowd of prospective horse and beef cattle buyers at the 8th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 25th. Twenty and 21 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 231 registered buyers from Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. The beef cattle sale grossed $37,575 with a sale average of $1879 with the following breed averages: Angus - $2063; Hereford - $1400; Gelbvieh - $1980; and Simmental - $900. The horse sale grossed $63,000 with a total sale gross of $100,575, which is the second highest grossing sale since the inception of the Hokie Harvest in 1995.

In the cattle sale of four different breeds, Lot 33 topped the cow/calf division at $2700. This Angus cow, a '96 daughter of Westwind Rito, stems from a very productive cow family and ranks in the top 1% of the Angus females for her Milk EPD of +29. She sold to Joseph Fortier of Blacksburg, VA. Her fancy heifer calf, sired by SAF 598 Bando 5175, sold to Jim Hinkle of New Castle, VA.

In the bred heifer division, lots 35A and 35B were sale toppers at $1175 each and were sired by GAR Traveler 1489 and Gibb Illini, respectively. Both Angus heifers were purchased by Sun Valley Farm of Lerona, WV.

In the open heifers, Clyde Cridlin of Christiansburg, VA paid $1125 for an Angus female (Lot 36A) sired by BT Ultravox 297E out of a powerful GAR Traveler 1489 cow.

VPI Gridiron 1L1 (Lot 42) drew the top bid from Joseph Sheppard of Blacksburg, VA in the yearling bull division. This Angus bull is a son of Rito 6I6 of 4B20 6807 and has a pedigree stacked with carcass and maternal strength. He sold for $1425.

The top selling horses were lots 13 and 14, and both were purchased by Tracy West and Lera VanMeter of Charleston, WV for $9000 each. Lot 13, a 2000 bay, branded Oldenburg gelding (16.0 hands) named VT Kiligari, has the boldness, athleticism, and physical abilities to become a top level performance horse. Lot 14 (VT Kudos) is a 2000 bay filly with style, grace, and excellent conformation and is a paternal half sister to Lot 13.

The 59 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 Bo Knight, McGaheysville, VA; Julie Sanborn, Cleveland, OH; Brian Sloan, Bedford, VA; and Diana Young, Stafford, VA served as ringmen for the beef cattle sale while Jonathan Wooldridge, Lynchburg, VA and Brian Umberger, Rural Retreat, VA worked the ring. Bid-takers for the horse sale were Emily Gold, Pittsburgh, PA; Amy Delwiche, Stafford, VA; Lynn Custis, Painter, VA; and Gary Shifflett, Scottsville, VA. Students who were clerking 'in the block' were Janna Douglas, Independence, VA and Jessica McClellan, Gate City, VA for the beef cattle and horses, respectively.

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 850 guests. Their support and cooperation are greatly appreciated.

The response from the buying public and feedback from the students in the class continues 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 24, 2003.

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