Illinois Farm Bureau @ State Fair

New Records at Sale of Champions

It was Agriculture Day at the Illinois State Fair with the traditional Governor’s Sale of Champions Tuesday evening. The Junior Champion animals were put on the auction bloc. This year, two new records were set for the champion barrow and steer. Here’s a rundown of the auction results:

• Champion Poultry Pen Trio, exhibited by Kelley Grant of Charleston, purchased by Brandt Consolidated for $4,900.
• Champion Rabbit Pen Trio, exhibited by Amanda Hartman of Waterloo, purchased by Rex Evans Livestock Bedding for $4,000.
• Champion Meat Goat, exhibited by Alesha Binkley of Charleston, purchased by Jason Elvidge and Dr. Margaret MacGregor for $2,600.
• Champion Wether, shown by Nicole Hensler of Kankakee, was purchased by North American Midway Rides for $7,000.
• Champion Barrow, shown by Molly McGrew of Prairie City, was purchased by DeKalb/Asgrow for a record $20,600.
• Champion Steer, exhibited by Kevin Carey of Kinsman, was purchased by McDonald’s for a record $50,100.

Each of the champions and reserve champions were presented a framed photo this year by Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson during this evening’s sale.

In other Ag Day activities at the fair today, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias handed out 10 Excellence in Agriculture scholarships to ten high school seniors. Attorney General Lisa Madigan also announced her “Most Wanted” guide of dangerous children’s products. The free guide contains 170 children’s products recalled since January – ranging from toys, clothing and baby gear.

Champion Steer Selected

The lineup for Tuesday night's Sale of Champions is finally ready after the Champion Steer was selected Saturday evening.

Kevin Carey of Kinsman in Grundy County took top honors in the steer show with his crossbred steer. Kevin is the son of Tim and Belinda Carey.

Reserve Champion steer went to Trent Ray of Abingdon in Warren County.  His parents are Mark and Carol Ray.

The Sale of Champions is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Livestock Center on the State Fairgrounds.

McDonough County Girl Wins Champion Barrow

The bleachers at the Swine Barn were packed Friday evening with expectant spectators awaiting the final grand champion event for junior barrows. After what seemed to be a long deliberation, the two judges announced the junior grand champion. Nineteen-year old Molly McGrew of Prairie City and her cross-bred barrow “Rock Star” had won.

She is the daughter of Bill and Marcia McGrew and attended Bushnell-Prairie City High School in McDonough County.

Austin Bertolino of Witt in Montgomery County exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion. His parents are Mark and Tammy Bertolino.

Champion Wether

Fifteen-year old Nicole Hensler of Kankakee has won top honors in the Junior Sheep show Friday. Her heavyweight wether, named Nos, weighed in at one hundred forty-one pounds. Nos will sell along with the other grand champions in the Governor’s Sale of Champions on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Livestock Center.

Nicole’s parents are Randy and Sunday Hensler. She is a member of the Chebanse Little Ducks 4-H club of Kankakee County, and will be returning to McCutcheon High School as a sophomore in the fall.

Jared Whitcomb of Greenview inMenard County exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion wether. His parents are Ed and Conni Whitcomb.

Champion Meat Goat

Alesha Binkley’s Boer goat, named Marco, weighed in at one hundred and one pounds and received Grand Champion Meat Goat honors Friday afternoon in the Junior Livestock Building.

Thirteen-year old Alesha resides in Charleston, with her parents, Larry and Michelle Binkley. She is a member of the Ridge Runners 4-H Club of Coles County. She will be returning to Charleston Middle School as an eight grader in the fall.

Reserve Champion Meat Goat was exhibited by Gabe Botello of Mendota. His parents are Caron Wheeler and Robert Botello.

State Fair Officially Open

Gov. Blagojevich today cut the ribbon at the Main Gate of the Fairgrounds to officially open the annual event.  The 156^th Illinois State Fair began today and the theme of this year’s Illinois State Fair is "A Family Tradition."

“The Illinois State Fair is something that my family and I look forward to every year. The Fair offers something for everyone in the entire family to enjoy – from great entertainment, to good food, exciting rides, and educational opportunities.  This is truly a family tradition,” said Governor Blagojevich.

Dairy Highlights at the Fair

People may come to the Illinois State Fair looking for a variety of things, but it won’t take the average fair-goer too long to recognize the prominent role the state’s dairy industry plays at the fair. With a building of its own and claim to one of the most popular concessions, along with sponsorship of one of the fair’s main attractions, the Butter Cow, dairy farmers enjoy the kind of visibility at the fair that most businesses would envy.

"We think the fair is a great venue to connect consumers with dairy farmers and the wholesome and nutritious products they provide," said Marla Behrends, industry relations manager for Midwest Dairy, who manages the concession owned by Illinois dairy farmers in the fair’s aptly-named (and air-conditioned) Dairy Building. The concession features both soft -serve and hard ice cream, shakes, sundaes, crème puffs and the old standby, ice-cold milk.

There’s also the Butter Cow sculpted annually by artist Sharon BuMann of New York . It’s a State Fair exhibit paid for by the dairy farmers through Midwest Dairy Association, and it’s so popular that this year, the Illinois State Fair Post Office will highlight the sculpture in its cachet envelope. Only 500 of the envelopes are offered during the Fair, and they carry the Illinois State Fair cancellation.

This year’s sculpture extends the fair’s theme, "A Family Tradition," with a rendition of a cow on pasture.

Hog and Husband Calling Contests

Can you call your husband better than anybody else? What about your hog? Fairgoers who think they can do either of these amazing feats will have an opportunity to display their unique skills when the husband and hog calling contests return to the Illinois State Fair.

The competitions, which have a lot in common, will take place Sunday, August 10 at its new location, Lincoln Stage. The first competition will be the Hog Calling Contest at 2 p.m.; the Husband Calling Contest will begin at 2:30 p.m. Winners will receive $100 and $50 in premium money, second place will receive $30 and third place will get $15. Registration is available in advance by calling (217) 524-9825 and also an hour before the event.

The contests have one, simple rule: the fairgoer must present a call.

Poultry Champs Selected

The second of six grand champions were selected Thursday at the Illinois State Fair -- with the winners of the poultry meat trio named.

Kelley Grant of Charleston, in Coles County, exhibited the Grand Champion Meat Poultry Pen that will will sold of the Sale of Champions next Tuesday evening.  The 15-year-old showed a trio of Cornish-Rock Cross chickens.

Kelley's parents are Troy and Amy Pfeiffer and Dan Grant.

Reserve Grand Champion was shown by 11-year-old Katie Schmimm of Athens, in Menard County.  She also had a trio of Cornish Cross chickens.

Katie's parents are Bill and Cherie Schimm. 

On Friday, it's Opening Day of the 2008 Illinois State Fair and it will be extremely busy in the Jr. Livestock Show with the grand champion meat goat, wether and barrow to be named.

Here's a picture of the poultry judges looking at a pair of ducks.

Pork Patrol at the State Fair

Attendees of the Illinois State Fair – August 8-17 – will want to be on the look out for the “Pork Patrol”. This specially decorated golf cart will be issuing “citations” each day to fairgoers who are not eating pork during the ten-day event. Instead of penalizing fairgoers, the Pork Patrol “citation” will encourage them to eat pork and save money while at the Fair.

The Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) designed the Pork Patrol cart to promote pork to people attending the 2008 IL State Fair. Fairgoers issued “citations” will receive a coupon for a free drink with the purchase of a pork entrée at the Pork Patio, located in the Commodity Pavilion directly across from the Grandstand at the corner of Grandstand Avenue and the Avenue of Flags. 

(FYI..It's also where the Illinois Farm Bureau Stage is located)

Logan County Family as Grand Marshals

With the theme “A Family Tradition,” it’s only fitting to recognize an Illinois family as this year’s Twilight Parade grand marshal. For the last five decades, it has been a tradition for the Robert Meeker family to show livestock at the Illinois State Fair.

“It’s nice to have a family like the Meekers leading this year’s parade,” State Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick said. “I commend the Meeker family for their dedication to the state’s number one industry and their support of the Illinois State Fair for more than 50 years.”

The Meeker family of Emden, Ill., consists of three generations of state fair participants. The patriarch, the late Robert Meeker, Sr., exhibited hogs at the fair for about 53 years, and his five children have shown them for 48 years.

Monroe County Teen Wins Rabbit Show

The 2008 Illinois State Fair doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow evening’s Twilight Parade to the State Fairgrounds, but the first champion of the fair was selected Wednesday afternoon.

Thirteen-year-old Amanda Hartman of Waterloo in Monroe County exhibited the Grand Champion Rabbit Meat Pen – a trio of New Zealand White rabbits. Amanda is a member of the Golden Eagles 4-H club and attends Waterloo Junior High School.

Her parents are Kenneth, Jr. and Anita Hartman.

The Reserve Grand Champion Meat Pen – a trio of Californians -- was shown by 15-year-old Lexy Schafer of Brighton in Macoupin County.  Lexy is a member of the Brighton Farmhands 4-H club and attends Southwestern High School.

Her parents are Wayne and Lori Schafer.

This year, Illinois Farm Bureau is presenting framed photos to the Junior Grand Champion and Reserve Champion winners.