Colorado’s Electric Cooperatives Sponsor Junior Livestock Sale At State Fair
PrintMore than $500,000 went to rural young people who brought championship livestock to the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo in August. The annual Junior Livestock Sale, sponsored by Colorado’s Electric Cooperatives, is the largest event of its kind in Colorado and the championship event for the state’s 4-H and FFA youth. According to state fair officials, the 2019 sale included the record $66,000 sale of the grand champion market beef raised by Shae Stone of Eaton.
The sale is sponsored each year by Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Colorado Country Life, the Colorado Rural Electric Association, the Colorado Rural Electric Member Services group, Tri-State Generation and Transmission and 18 other electric co-ops in Colorado. The young exhibitors who won champion; reserve champion; and first, second and third place in their livestock divisions have the opportunity to auction their animals at this sale. All proceeds from the sale go directly to the education funds of the youth exhibitors.
“The electric cooperatives in Colorado are honored to sponsor this event, especially since most of the exhibitors live in electric co-op territory,” Paul Erickson, SDCEA CEO said.
For the last 39 years, gross sales have totaled more than $10.8 million, all of which went directly to the agricultural youth who raised the animals.
This year’s entrants in the sale from the SDCEA service territory included three representatives from Custer County: Benjamin Stafford, who entered a first-place market steer; Emma Rusk, who entered a second-place market steer; and Kenna Ingram, who entered a second-place middleweight blackface market lamb in the sale.
