Ventura County Fair

I went to the county fair last Friday. It was the day the 4-H, FFA and Grange kids sell their animals at auction. Goats, pigs, lambs, cattle, chickens, rabbits. Animals their young owners have fed, bathed, exercised and mucked out after for months. This takes character and builds character. They understand that the animals are not pets, that they are an important part of the food chain. Nevertheless there are some tears when the kids lead their animals back to their pens after they have paraded around the sales ring in front of the crowd of supporters and bidders, barraged by the drumming rhythm of the auctioneer’s incessant “Do I hear now …..?” Goats sold for $5, $6, $7 a pound. The ones I saw weighed between 65 and 100 pounds. The grand champion market lamb sold for $12 a pound and the grand champion chicken sold for a whopping $700! How much was that a pound I wonder. The buyers were ranchers, a towing company, individuals. The animals end up in the freezer or some may be as lucky as the Reserve Champion Replacement Heifer that sold for $3,800 and was going to a ranch in Somis “to become a mom,” as her 13-year-old owner told the local newspaper.